04-19-2024  9:55 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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.

Four Ballot Measures for Portland Voters to Consider

Proposals from the city, PPS, Metro and Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District.

Washington Gun Store Sold Hundreds of High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines in 90 Minutes Without Ban

KGW-TV reports Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in Kelso, described Monday as “magazine day” at his store. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington.

NEWS BRIEFS

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 ...

Bank Announces 14th Annual “I Got Bank” Contest for Youth in Celebration of National Financial Literacy Month

The nation’s largest Black-owned bank will choose ten winners and award each a $1,000 savings account ...

Literary Arts Transforms Historic Central Eastside Building Into New Headquarters

The new 14,000-square-foot literary center will serve as a community and cultural hub with a bookstore, café, classroom, and event...

Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Announces New Partnership with the University of Oxford

Tony Bishop initiated the CBCF Alumni Scholarship to empower young Black scholars and dismantle financial barriers ...

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Firefighters douse a blaze at a historic Oregon hotel famously featured in 'The Shining'

GOVERNMENT CAMP, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters doused a late-night fire at Oregon's historic Timberline Lodge — featured in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film “The Shining” — before it caused significant damage. The fire Thursday night was confined to the roof and attic of the lodge,...

Two-time world champ J’den Cox retires at US Olympic wrestling trials; 44-year-old reaches finals

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — J’den Cox walked off the mat after dropping a 2-2 decision to Kollin Moore at the U.S. Olympic wrestling trials on Friday night, leaving his shoes behind to a standing ovation. The bronze medal winner at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016 was beaten by...

University of Missouri plans 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri is planning a 0 million renovation of Memorial Stadium. The Memorial Stadium Improvements Project, expected to be completed by the 2026 season, will further enclose the north end of the stadium and add a variety of new premium...

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

The drug war devastated Black and other minority communities. Is marijuana legalization helping?

ARLINGTON, Wash. (AP) — When Washington state opened some of the nation's first legal marijuana stores in 2014, Sam Ward Jr. was on electronic home detention in Spokane, where he had been indicted on federal drug charges. He would soon be off to prison to serve the lion's share of a four-year...

Lawsuits under New York's new voting rights law reveal racial disenfranchisement even in blue states

FREEPORT, N.Y. (AP) — Weihua Yan had seen dramatic demographic changes since moving to Long Island's Nassau County. Its Asian American population alone had grown by 60% since the 2010 census. Why then, he wondered, did he not see anyone who looked like him on the county's local...

USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student's speech

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday, announcing the cancelation of a keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu just days after making the controversial choice to disallow the student valedictorian from speaking. The...

ENTERTAINMENT

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27

Celebrity birthdays for the week of April 21-27: April 21: Actor Elaine May is 92. Singer Iggy Pop is 77. Actor Patti LuPone is 75. Actor Tony Danza is 73. Actor James Morrison (“24”) is 70. Actor Andie MacDowell is 66. Singer Robert Smith of The Cure is 65. Guitarist Michael...

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Indians vote in the first phase of the world's largest election as Modi seeks a third term

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting on Friday in a six-week election that's a referendum on...

Bitcoin's latest 'halving' has arrived. Here's what you need to know

NEW YORK (AP) — The “miners” who chisel bitcoins out of complex mathematics are taking a 50% pay cut —...

USC cancels graduation keynote by filmmaker amid controversy over decision to drop student's speech

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The University of Southern California further shook up its commencement plans Friday,...

5 Japanese workers in Pakistan escape suicide blast targeting their van. A Pakistani bystander dies

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — A suicide bomber targeted a van carrying Japanese nationals in Pakistan's port city of...

A trial is underway for the Panama Papers, a case that changed the country's financial rules

PANAMA CITY (AP) — Eight years after 11 million leaked secret financial documents revealed how some of the...

Indians vote in the first phase of the world's largest election as Modi seeks a third term

NEW DELHI (AP) — Millions of Indians began voting on Friday in a six-week election that's a referendum on...

Tracers
Kam Williams Special To The Skanner News

BIG BUDGET FILMS   

The Gunman (R for profanity, sexuality and graphic violence) Pierre Morel (Taken) directed this international action thriller revolving around a military vet-turned-soldier of fortune (Sean Penn) ready to retire but on the run to clear his name when he unfairly becomes marked for assassination. With Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, Ray Winstone and Jasmine Trinca.

Insurgent (PG-13 for sensuality, pervasive violence, intense action, mature themes and brief profanity) Second installment of the sci-fi series based on Veronica Roth’s best-selling Divergent trilogy. Sequel finds the intrepid heroine (Shailene Woodley) confronting her demons while continuing the fight against an unholy alliance posing a threat to what’s left of society. Ensemble cast includes Theo James, Naomi Watts, Kate Winslet, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ashley Judd, Octavia Spencer, Maggie Q, Janet McTeer and Mekhi Phifer.

Tracers (PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, peril and intense violence) Action thriller, set in NYC, about a bike messenger (Taylor Lautner) on the run from Chinese mobsters who joins forces with a parkour-practicing gang with the help of a fetching femme fatale (Marie Avgeropoulos). With Rafi Gavron, Adam Rayner and Sam Medina.

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS 

Amour Fou (Unrated) Costume drama, set in Berlin in the Romantic Era, about a young poet (Christian Friedel) who enters a suicide pact with a terminally-ill socialite (Schnoeink) after failing to convince his kissing cousin (Sandra Hueller) to do so. Supporting cast includes Stephan Crossmann, Barbara Schnitzler and Marc Bischoff. (In German with subtitles)

Compared to What (Unrated) Prestige biopic painting an intimate portrait of former Congressman Barney Frank, who represented Massachusetts’ 4th District in the House of Representatives from 1981-2013.

Danny Collins (R for profanity, nudity and drug use) Al Pacino plays the title character in this fact-based tale as an aging, aspiring rock star who decides to clean up his act and reconnect with his family after rereading a 40 year-old letter sent to him by John Lennon. With Jennifer Garner, Christopher Plummer, Annette Bening, Bobby Cannavale and Melissa Benoist.

Do You Believe? (Unrated) Serendipitous, faith-based drama revolving around a dozen strangers who turn to Christ after their lives unexpectedly intersect in catastrophic fashion. Co-starring Lee Majors, Mira Sorvino, Cybill Shepherd, Ted McGinley, Sean Astin, Brian Bosworth, Andrea Logan White and Shwayze.

Growing Up and Other Lies (Unrated) Buddy drama about a guy (Josh Lawson) moving back to Ohio who persuades his BFFS (Adam Brody, Wyatt Cenac and Danny Jacobs) to spend his last day in NYC reminiscing while walking all around Manhattan. With Amber Tamblyn, Scott Adsit and Lauren Miller   

Hunting Elephants (Unrated) Israeli crime comedy, set in Jerusalem, about a trio of revenge-minded retirees (Sasson Gabai, Patrick Stewart and Moni Moshonov) who hatch a plan to rob a bank with the help of a precocious 12 year-old (Gil blank).  Featuring Yael Abecassis, Tzvika Hadar and Moshe Ivgy. (In Hebrew and English with subtitles)

Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter (Unrated) Rinko Kikuchi handles the title role in this character-driven drama inspired by the urban legend about a cash-strapped woman who migrates from Japan to the U.S. in order to find the loot the film Fargo suggested is buried somewhere in Minnesota. With Shirley Venard, Nobuyuki Katsube, and David and Nathan Zellner. (In English and Japanese with subtitles)

Lily & Kat (Unrated) Coming-of-age dramedy about the strain placed on a couple of inseparable friends’ (Jessica Rothe and Hannah Murray) relationship when one suddenly announces that she’s moving from NYC to London in less than a week. Cast includes Jack Falahee, David Wilson Barnes and Mimi Gianopulos. 

Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed (Unrated) Road comedy, set in Spain in 1966, revolving around a rabid Beatles fan (Javier Camara) who picks up a couple of hitchhikers (Francesc Colomer and Natalia de Molina) while en route to a movie set where John Lennon is rumored to be shooting a film. With Ramon Fontsere, Rogelio Fernandez and Jorge Sanz. (In Spanish with subtitles)

Secret of Water (Unrated) Eye-opening, eco expose’ illustrating the toll that humans’ misuse of H2O is taking on the planet and a precious natural resource.

She’s Lost Control (Unrated) Psychological drama about a lonely sexual surrogate (Brooke Bloom) whose life starts to unravel when she crosses an ethical line by becoming emotionally involved with her new doctor client (Marc Menchaca). With Laila Robins, Ryan Homchick and Roxanne Day.

Zombeavers (R for gory violence, crude humor, graphic sexuality, gratuitous nudity and pervasive profanity) High attrition-rate, horror comedy about a group of college kids whose plans for a wild weekend of debauchery at a riverside cabin is ruined by the arrival of a horde of bloodthirsty zombie beavers. Co-starring Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm and Lexi Atkins.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast