04-01-2023  1:00 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

Most Gig Workers Paid Sick Leave Under New Seattle Law

The measure expands pandemic-era protections and strengthens labor rights for app-based workers.

Seattle Audubon Changes Name, Severing Tie to Slave Owner

James Audubon, a naturalist known for his watercolor paintings of birds, also owned, sold and bought enslaved African Americans through his general store in Kentucky and was a staunch opponent of abolition.

Idaho Law Could Criminalize Helping Minors Get Abortions

The measure would create a new crime of “abortion trafficking,” punishable by up to five years in prison, barring adults from obtaining abortion pills and “recruiting, harboring, or transporting" a pregnant minor.

Legislative BIPOC Caucus Announces 2023 Priorities

In a historic milestone for the state, this is the most diverse Legislature in Oregon history, with 20 BIPOC legislators serving this session.

NEWS BRIEFS

Mask Requirements in Healthcare Settings Lifting April 3

Some health care settings may decide to continue requiring masks even after the statewide requirement is lifted. ...

OHCS Applauds Gov. Kotek’s Signing of HBs 2001 and 5019 to Address Housing Needs

Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) applauds Gov.Tina Kotek who today signed bipartisan legislation addressing the state’s...

County Distributes $5 Million in Grants to Community-Based Organizations

Awards will help 13 community-based organizations fund capital improvements to better serve historically marginalized...

Call for Submissions: Play Scripts, Web Series, Film Shorts, Features & Documentaries

Deadline for submissions to the 2023 Pacific Northwest Multi-Cultural Readers Series & Film Festival extended to April 8 ...

Motorcycle Lane Filtering Law Passes Oregon Senate

SB 422 will allow motorcyclists to avoid dangers of stop-and-go traffic under certain conditions ...

Man charged with murder in deaths of missing mom, girl

VANCOUVER, Wash. (AP) — The man named as a person of interest in the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend and her 7-year-old daughter was charged with two counts of murder in their deaths, police in Washington state said Friday. Detectives from the Vancouver Police Department booked...

52 years after capture, orca Lolita may return to Pacific

MIAMI (AP) — More than 50 years after the orca known as Lolita was captured for public display, plans are in place to return her from the Miami Seaquarium to her home waters in the Pacific Northwest, where a nearly century-old, endangered killer whale believed to be her mother still swims. ...

Pop, Gasol, Hammon, Parker, Nowitzki, Wade heading to Hall

Tony Parker and Pau Gasol played for him. Becky Hammon coached alongside him. Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade waged battles against him. He is Gregg Popovich. And he, finally, is a Hall of Famer. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame made it official...

MLB The Show breaks barrier with Negro League players

LOS ANGELES (AP) — MLB The Show has broken a video game barrier: For the first time, the franchise will insert some of the greatest Negro League players — from Satchel Paige to Jackie Robinson — into the 2023 edition of the game as playable characters. Video gamers are now able...

OPINION

Oregon Should Reject Racist Roots, Restore Voting Rights For People in Prisons

Blocking people with felony convictions from voting started in the Jim Crow era as an intentional strategy to keep Black people from voting ...

Celebrating 196 Years of The Black Press

It was on March 17, 1827, at a meeting of “Freed Negroes” in New York City, that Samuel Cornish, a Presbyterian minister, and John Russwurn, the first Negro college graduate in the United States, established the negro newspaper. ...

DEQ Announces Suspension of Oregon’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program

The state’s popular incentive for drivers to switch to electric vehicles is scheduled to pause in May ...

FHA Makes Housing More Affordable for 850,000 Borrowers

Savings tied to median market home prices ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Minneapolis and state agree to revamp policing post-Floyd

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The city of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights signed a “court-enforceable settlement agreement” Friday to revamp policing in the city where George Floyd was murdered by an officer nearly three years ago. The agency issued a blistering...

Developer drops land purchase in historically Black town

EATONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A developer on Friday ended plans to purchase a 100-acre (39-hectare) property from the local school system in a historically Black town in Florida following a public outcry that the deal threatened the cultural heritage of the community made famous by Harlem Renaissance...

North Dakota governor vetoes transgender pronouns bill

North Dakota's Republican governor vetoed a bill that would generally prohibit public schools teachers and staff from referring to transgender students by pronouns other than those reflecting the sex assigned to them at birth. The state Senate voted 37-9 to override the veto Thursday...

ENTERTAINMENT

Baldwin codefendant gets 6 months probation on gun charge

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A codefendant in the case against actor Alec Baldwin in the fatal 2021 shooting of a cinematographer on a movie set in New Mexico was convicted Friday of unsafe handling of a firearm and sentenced to six months of probation. Safety coordinator and assistant...

Gwyneth Paltrow won her ski trial. Here's how it played out

PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial. But Gwyneth Paltrow’s live-streamed trial over her...

Review: Boygenius is cohesive and powerful in 'The Record'

“The Record” by Boygenius (Interscope) The internet's favorite indie girls welcome you into the brilliant, colorful world of Boygenius, again. The supergroup, consisting of best friends Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, formed and released their...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Wisconsin Supreme Court control, abortion access at stake

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and likely the future of abortion access,...

Biden and his 2024 campaign: Waiting for some big decisions

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has all but announced he's running for reelection, but key questions about...

'War of the states': EV, chip makers lavished with subsidies

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — States are doling out more cash than ever to lure multibillion-dollar microchip, electric...

Kenyan opposition leader to sue over alleged attempt on life

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga has denounced the point-blank firing of a tear gas...

Russia might put strategic nukes in Belarus, leader says

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Russian strategic nuclear weapons might be deployed to Belarus along with part of...

UN food chief: Billions needed to avert unrest, starvation

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Without billions of dollars more to feed millions of hungry people, the world will see...

The Skanner News

This release was just sent out by the Portland Public Schools. District spokesman Matt Shelby says it does not cover the schools which were closed or the central office staff who already received pink slips, including the community engagement staff dedicated to working with immigrant and refugee families.

More details as they are made available.



Tentative Agreement Restores School Cuts, Maintains Full School Year

The Mayor's Office, the Portland Association of Teachers, and Portland Public Schools have reached a tentative agreement that would restore school staffing cuts and maintain a full school year for PPS students.

Full details of the agreement will not be formally released until ratification of the tentative agreement by members of the Portland Association of Teachers.

"As we strive for a more prosperous economy and community, we recognize that a key to that success is education," Portland Mayor Sam Adams said. "Our recently adopted Portland Plan calls for partnerships such as the one we're announcing today, as we work together to make sure that all youth have the necessary support and opportunities to thrive."

The outline of the City's contribution will included in the Mayor's Proposed Budget, released later today. The Mayor's proposed budget is subject to approval by the Portland City Council.

Portland Public Schools Superintendent Carole Smith said, "I deeply appreciate the collaborative commitment of the Mayor, the City Council and the Portland Association of Teachers to safeguard our students from this funding shortfall. We all recognize the shared sacrifices of our hardworking staff. This is a one year solution which underscores our need to work together to find a long-term answer that delivers adequate and permanent funding for our schools."

Portland Association of Teachers President Gwen Sullivan said, "Our students, parents, and teachers know and understand what these devastating cuts mean in their schools.  Our Mayor also recognizes the adverse effects that these cuts would have on our whole city.  It is vital for every student to have a full school year.  Year after year cutting programs and instructional staff has had a harmful impact on our kids' future.   If we truly want our kids to reach their full potential, we need to invest in them.  Now is the time to join together on their behalf for stable and adequate funding."

MLK Breakfast 2023

Photos from The Skanner Foundation's 37th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast.