04-23-2024  10:45 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

The Drug War Devastated Black and Other Minority Communities. Is Marijuana Legalization Helping?

A major argument for legalizing the adult use of cannabis after 75 years of prohibition was to stop the harm caused by disproportionate enforcement of drug laws in Black, Latino and other minority communities. But efforts to help those most affected participate in the newly legal sector have been halting. 

Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

 Seattle is marking the first anniversary of its landmark Race and Social Justice Initiative ordinance. Signed into law in April 2023, the ordinance highlights race and racism because of the pervasive inequities experienced by people of color

Don’t Shoot Portland, University of Oregon Team Up for Black Narratives, Memory

The yearly Memory Work for Black Lives Plenary shows the power of preservation.

Grants Pass Anti-Camping Laws Head to Supreme Court

Grants Pass in southern Oregon has become the unlikely face of the nation’s homelessness crisis as its case over anti-camping laws goes to the U.S. Supreme Court scheduled for April 22. The case has broad implications for cities, including whether they can fine or jail people for camping in public. Since 2020, court orders have barred Grants Pass from enforcing its anti-camping laws. Now, the city is asking the justices to review lower court rulings it says has prevented it from addressing the city's homelessness crisis. Rights groups say people shouldn’t be punished for lacking housing.

NEWS BRIEFS

Mt. Tabor Park Selected for National Initiative

Mt. Tabor Park is the only Oregon park and one of just 24 nationally to receive honor. ...

OHCS, BuildUp Oregon Launch Program to Expand Early Childhood Education Access Statewide

Funds include million for developing early care and education facilities co-located with affordable housing. ...

Governor Kotek Announces Chief of Staff, New Office Leadership

Governor expands executive team and names new Housing and Homelessness Initiative Director ...

Governor Kotek Announces Investment in New CHIPS Child Care Fund

5 Million dollars from Oregon CHIPS Act to be allocated to new Child Care Fund ...

A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...

Ex-police officer wanted in 2 killings and kidnapping shoots, kills self in Oregon, police say

SEATTLE (AP) — A former Washington state police officer wanted after killing two people, including his ex-wife, was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a chase in Oregon, authorities said Tuesday. His 1-year-old baby, who was with him, was taken safely into custody by Oregon...

Missouri hires Memphis athletic director Laird Veatch for the same role with the Tigers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hired longtime college administrator Laird Veatch to be its athletic director on Tuesday, bringing him back to campus 14 years after he departed for a series of other positions that culminated with five years spent as the AD at Memphis. Veatch...

KC Current owners announce plans for stadium district along the Kansas City riverfront

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The ownership group of the Kansas City Current announced plans Monday for the development of the Missouri River waterfront, where the club recently opened a purpose-built stadium for the National Women's Soccer League team. CPKC Stadium will serve as the hub...

OPINION

Op-Ed: Why MAGA Policies Are Detrimental to Black Communities

NNPA NEWSWIRE – MAGA proponents peddle baseless claims of widespread voter fraud to justify voter suppression tactics that disproportionately target Black voters. From restrictive voter ID laws to purging voter rolls to limiting early voting hours, these...

Loving and Embracing the Differences in Our Youngest Learners

Yet our responsibility to all parents and society at large means we must do more to share insights, especially with underserved and under-resourced communities. ...

Gallup Finds Black Generational Divide on Affirmative Action

Each spring, many aspiring students and their families begin receiving college acceptance letters and offers of financial aid packages. This year’s college decisions will add yet another consideration: the effects of a 2023 Supreme Court, 6-3 ruling that...

OP-ED: Embracing Black Men’s Voices: Rebuilding Trust and Unity in the Democratic Party

The decision of many Black men to disengage from the Democratic Party is rooted in a complex interplay of historical disenchantment, unmet promises, and a sense of disillusionment with the political establishment. ...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges' financial ties with Israel

Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their schools: Stop doing business with Israel — or any companies that empower its ongoing war in Gaza. The demand has its roots in a decades-old campaign against Israel's...

Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi is 'tickled pink' to inspire a Barbie doll

Like many little girls, a young Kristi Yamaguchi loved playing with Barbie. With a schedule packed with ice skating practices, her Barbie dolls became her “best friends.” So, it's surreal for the decorated Olympian figure skater to now be a Barbie girl herself. ...

A conservative quest to limit diversity programs gains momentum in states

A conservative quest to limit diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives is gaining momentum in state capitals and college governing boards, with officials in about one-third of the states now taking some sort of action against it. Tennessee became the latest when the Republican...

ENTERTAINMENT

What to stream this weekend: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift reigns

Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver” landing on Netflix and Taylor Swift’s “The Tortured Poets Department” album are some of the new television, movies, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your time as...

Music Review: Jazz pianist Fred Hersch creates subdued, lovely colors on 'Silent, Listening'

Jazz pianist Fred Hersch fully embraces the freedom that comes with improvisation on his solo album “Silent, Listening,” spontaneously composing and performing tunes that are often without melody, meter or form. Listening to them can be challenging and rewarding. The many-time...

Book Review: 'Nothing But the Bones' is a compelling noir novel at a breakneck pace

Nelson “Nails” McKenna isn’t very bright, stumbles over his words and often says what he’s thinking without realizing it. We first meet him as a boy reading a superhero comic on the banks of a river in his backcountry hometown in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia....

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Pro-Palestinian student protests target colleges' financial ties with Israel

Students at a growing number of U.S. colleges are gathering in protest encampments with a unified demand of their...

Olympian Kristi Yamaguchi is 'tickled pink' to inspire a Barbie doll

Like many little girls, a young Kristi Yamaguchi loved playing with Barbie. With a schedule packed with ice...

Villagers in Mexico organize to take back their water as drought, avocados dry up lakes and rivers

VILLA MADERO, Mexico (AP) — As a drought in Mexico drags on, angry subsistence farmers have begun taking direct...

Haiti health system nears collapse as medicine dwindles, gangs attack hospitals and ports stay shut

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — On a recent morning at a hospital in the heart of gang territory in Haiti’s...

Modi is accused of using hate speech for calling Muslims 'infiltrators' at an Indian election rally

NEW DELHI (AP) — India's main opposition party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using hate speech after...

5 migrants die while crossing the English Channel hours after the UK approved a deportation bill

PARIS (AP) — Five people, including a child, died while trying to cross the English Channel from France to the...

Melanie Hicken CNN Money

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The days of shopping at major online retailers like Amazon.com without paying sales tax could soon be history.

The Senate passed legislation Monday that would allow the 45 states (and the District of Columbia) that charge sales tax to require online retailers to collect taxes on purchases made by their residents. The bill will now move to the House.

So how would the passage of the "Marketplace Fairness Act" affect your online shopping? A lot depends on where you live. From California to New York, here's a look at what you can expect.

What does the bill propose?

Big brick-and-mortar retailers with an online presence, such as Wal-Mart, already charge sales tax for web purchases. But in many states, you can still shop tax-free at Internet-only retailers like Amazon.com or Overstock.com.

Currently, these online sellers are only required to collect tax in states where they have a physical presence, such as a store or warehouse. But under the proposed law, states would be able to require online sellers to collect sales tax if they have sales of at least $1 million outside of states where they have physical operations.

Is this a new tax?

No. While some opponents of the bill argue that it constitutes a tax increase, in most states you're already supposed to be paying taxes on all online purchases.

Most states require you to pay a so-called "use tax" when a sales tax wasn't collected at online checkout. But few people actually do so.

How much more would I have to pay?

In some cases, nothing.

In recent years, some states have passed laws forcing major online retailers to collect sales tax, while others have inked individual agreements directly with Amazon.com to collect taxes on purchases made by residents of certain states.

If you live in Arizona, California, Kansas, Kentucky, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington -- states where the Internet giant has warehouses -- you are already paying taxes on Amazon purchases. And some states, like New York, have laws that require any online retailer with a so-called in-state "affiliate," such as marketers who link to the retailer's site, to collect taxes on purchases.

If you're a resident of a state that doesn't charge any sales tax, like Montana or New Hampshire, then your online shopping bills would also stay the same.

In many states, however, you will pay more. How much more depends on the rates set by state and local governments. For example, a $1,000 television sent to New Jersey will carry a $70 tax, while a resident of Maine would pay $50 in sales tax on the same purchase.

Will all online retailers be charging a sales tax?

No. Smaller retailers likely won't meet the $1 million threshold for out-of-state sales.

That means the necklace you buy from a budding entrepreneur in another state on Etsy.com or the movie poster you snag in someone's auction on eBay will likely remain untaxed.

Will all products be taxed?

It all depends on the sales tax laws where you live.

In general, states tax the purchase of so-called "tangible goods," but there are often a laundry list of exceptions. For example, in New Jersey all clothing is tax-free. Meanwhile, clothing items and footwear that cost less than $110 are not taxed in New York.

Want to buy an American flag to hang outside? Some states like Connecticut and Wisconsin won't charge a tax on American or state flags, for that matter.

Prescription medications or grocery products, like milk or raw chicken, are often tax-free but other food products, such as prepared food or junk food, will often get hit.

What about digital music, streaming movies and e-books?

Like other products, the Marketplace Fairness Act wouldn't create any new taxes on so-called "digital goods," but it would let states enforce the laws they have in place already.

Washington state, for example, has a digital goods sales tax that applies to everything from streaming music and movies to e-books. Florida, meanwhile, taxes streaming video but not digital books.

Many sellers already collect these taxes. For example, if you live in Washington, where Amazon.com is based, you're already paying tax on digital purchases. Apple already collects sales tax for iTunes purchases in states where digital music is taxed, according to its website. And Netflix also already collects tax where applicable.

To find out what items are taxed in your state and at what rate, contact your state's tax and revenue agency. A map with links to the 50 state tax websites can be found here.

 

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast