04-23-2024  11:28 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
  • Cloud 9 Cannabis CEO and co-owner Sam Ward Jr., left, and co-owner Dennis Turner pose at their shop, Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, in Arlington, Wash. Cloud 9 is one of the first dispensaries to open under the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board's social equity program, established in efforts to remedy some of the disproportionate effects marijuana prohibition had on communities of color. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

    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.  Read More
  • Lessons for Cities from Seattle’s Racial and Social Justice Law 

    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 Read More
  • A woman gathers possessions to take before a homeless encampment was cleaned up in San Francisco, Aug. 29, 2023. The Supreme Court will hear its most significant case on homelessness in decades Monday, April 22, 2024, as record numbers of people in America are without a permanent place to live. The justices will consider a challenge to rulings from a California-based federal appeals court that found punishing people for sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

    Supreme Court to Weigh Bans on Sleeping Outdoors 

    The Supreme Court will consider whether banning homeless people from sleeping outside when shelter space is lacking amounts to cruel and unusual punishment on Monday. The case is considered the most significant to come before the high court in decades on homelessness, which is reaching record levels In California and other Western states. Courts have ruled that it’s unconstitutional to fine and arrest people sleeping in homeless encampments if shelter Read More
  • Richard Wallace, founder and director of Equity and Transformation, poses for a portrait at the Westside Justice Center, Friday, March 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

    Chicago's Response to Migrant Influx Stirs Longstanding Frustrations Among Black Residents

    With help from state and federal funds, the city has spent more than $300 million to provide housing, health care and more to over 38,000 mostly South American migrants. The speed with which these funds were marshaled has stirred widespread resentment among Black Chicagoans. But community leaders are trying to ease racial tensions and channel the public’s frustrations into agitating for the greater good. Read More
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

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 ...

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 ...

Minnesota and other Democratic-led states lead pushback on censorship. They're banning the book ban

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A movement to ban book bans is gaining steam in Minnesota and several other states, in contrast to the trend playing out in more conservative states where book challenges have soared to their highest levels in decades. The move to quash book bans is welcome to...

US advances review of Nevada lithium mine amid concerns over endangered wildflower

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The Biden administration has taken a significant step in its expedited environmental review of what could become the third lithium mine in the U.S., amid anticipated legal challenges from conservationists over the threat they say it poses to an endangered Nevada wildflower. ...

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

USC remains silent on O.J. Simpson's death, underscoring complicated connections to football star

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A copy of O.J. Simpson's Heisman Trophy still sits in Heritage Hall on the campus of the University of Southern California, at least when it isn't being displayed elsewhere along with the rest of the school's large collection. Simpson's jersey is still retired by...

Legendary athlete, actor and millionaire: O.J. Simpson's murder trial lost him the American dream

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For a long time, O.J. Simpson was the man who had it all. He lived the American dream as a sports legend, movie actor, commercial pitchman and millionaire. With his wildly successful career, startling good looks and a gorgeous wife, he became an image of success for...

The OJ Simpson saga was a unique American moment. 3 decades on, we're still wondering what it means

NEW YORK (AP) — A dog’s plaintive wail. A courtroom couplet-turned-cultural catchphrase about gloves. A judge and attorneys who became media darlings and villains. A slightly bewildered houseguest elevated, briefly, into a slightly bewildered celebrity. Troubling questions about race that echo...

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

Moscow court rejects Evan Gershkovich's appeal, keeping him in jail until at least June 30

MOSCOW (AP) — Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will remain jailed on espionage charges until at...

After 4 decades in music and major vocal surgery, Jon Bon Jovi is optimistic and still rocking

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — When Jon Bon Jovi agreed to let director Gotham Chopra follow him with a documentary...

Wall Street is looking to Tesla's earnings for clues to Musk's plan to restore company's wild growth

Faced with falling global sales and a diving stock price, Tesla has slashed prices again on some of its electric...

In Vietnam, farmers reduce methane emissions by changing how they grow rice

LONG AN, Vietnam (AP) — There is one thing that distinguishes 60-year-old Vo Van Van’s rice fields from a...

The US is expected to block aid to an Israeli military unit. What is Leahy law that it would cite?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel expects its top ally, the United States, to announce as soon as Monday that it's...

A well-known figure in a German far-right party tells his trial he is completely innocent

BERLIN (AP) — One of the best-known figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party said Tuesday at his...

break dancers
By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

Bike To Work Day: Stop by the Seattle Public Library's Commute Station May 15

The Seattle Public Library will participate in Bike to Work Day 2015 on Friday, May 15 with Books on Bikes commute stations for morning bicycle commuters at two locations.

  • 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 15 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Atsuhiko and Ina Goodwin Tateuchi Plaza. Bike commuters can roll right up to the Library's plaza, outside the Fourth Avenue entrance.
  • 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Friday, May 15 at the Green Lake Branch, 7364 E. Green Lake Dr. N., 206-684-7547. Bike commuters can stop by the steps of the Green Lake Branch.

Stop by to sign up for a Library card, check out popular media, pick up some free swag and see the Books on Bikes trailers. The trailer at the Central Library was designed by local builder Haulin' Colin, and the Library's newest bike trailer at the Green Lake Branch was painted by local artist Eroyn Franklin.

Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required.

This event is presented in partnership with F5 and Cascade Bicycle Club.

For more information, call the Library at 206-684-4720 or www.spl.org.

 

City To Provide Free Activities During May 19 Teacher Walk-Out

21 community centers to serve students from kindergarten to 8th grade.

Seattle Parks and Recreation has announced it will open and staff drop-in activities at 21 designated community centers for Seattle Public School students from kindergarten to 8th grade in response to the May 19 teacher walk-out. The free program will operate from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, May 19 and will include supervised recreation activities, with an anticipated supervision ratio of 20 children to 1 adult leader.

Due to space limitations, eligible students will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. All students must have a completed registration form. Registration forms can be obtained at open community centers, at the community centers the day of the drop-in service, or printed from www.seattle.gov/parks. To hold a spot at a center register in advance please go online at https://class.seattle.gov/parks/Start/Start.asp. A registration form still must be brought to the community center on the 19th.

Seattle Parks and Recreation and the Associated Recreation Council will staff these sites. Parents are asked to drop off eligible children by 9 a.m. Spaces for parents who have pre-registered will not be held past 9:00 a.m. Once signed in, children will only be released to the authorized contacts listed on the registration form (identification is required).

Parents are asked to send a sack lunch with their child. Snacks will be provided to all students, and lunch will be provided to those students who are unable to bring their own.

Parks’ Teen Centers will be open 2:30-8:00 p.m. in order to provide some daytime drop-in activities for teens. Geographically located Teen Centers are Meadowbrook, Garfield, and Southwest. For the complete list of open centers go to http://www.seattle.gov/parks/tlc.

 

Use Your Library Card to Visit Museums for Free

The Living Computer Museum has joined The Seattle Public Library’s Museum Pass program, bringing the total to 14 Seattle museum partners offering free admission to Library cardholders.

The Museum Pass program allows patrons of The Seattle Public Library to use their Library card to check out free museum passes.

Participants can reserve a pass to an individual museum once every 30 days, and may use one pass per week. All passes are good for up to two people -- some passes even include free admission for kids ages 17 and under.

The program reservation system requires the cardholder enter their Library card number, personal identification number (PIN), choose a specific date, and print the museum pass. To read more details and reserve a museum pass, visit www.spl.org/museumpass.

Other participating museums include: The Burke Museum, The Center for Wooden Boats, EMP Museum, Henry Art Gallery, The Log House Museum, Museum of Flight, Museum of History & Industry, Nordic Heritage Museum, Northwest African American Museum, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Aquarium, Seattle Asian Art Museum and Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.
The Museum Pass program is sponsored by The Seattle Public Library Foundation.

For more information, call the Library at 206-386-4636 or go to www.spl.org.

 

Washington Verizon, Sprint Consumers Hit With Bogus Charges Can Claim Refunds

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that more than 750,000 Washington Sprint and Verizon customers will be eligible for refunds for unauthorized charges on their cell phone bills as a result of legal action by his office.

An estimated 774,900 Washington customers were wrongly charged millions of dollars for unauthorized services. Consumer victims of this practice, called “cramming,” are socked with charges, typically $9.99 per month, for “premium” text message services (PSMS) — such as horoscopes, trivia, and sports scores — that they have never requested or often even heard of.

Ferguson urged Washington consumers to obtain the refunds they deserve by submitting claims for reimbursement to Verizon and Sprint. (Claims instructions below.)

Affected customers can submit claims, find information about refund eligibility, and request a free account summary that details PSMS purchases on their accounts at the websites below.

Verizon Consumers can submit claims by visiting www.CFPBSettlementVerizon.com or calling the claims administrator at 888-726-7063 (Verizon).

Sprint customers can submit claims at www.SprintRefundPSMS.com or call 877-389-8787 (Sprint).

 

Build a Kite at The Seattle Public Library June 3

School's out early! Come build a colorful kite or pinwheel from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 3 at The Seattle Public Library, Wallingford Branch, 1501 N. 45th St., 206-684-4088.

Library programs are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is not required. A limited amount of parking is reserved for Library users in the adjacent parking lot. Street parking is free and available near the branch.

On Wednesday, June 3, all Seattle Public Schools have a two-hour early dismissal. All materials for building kites and pinwheels will be provided. This program is designed for children ages 6 and up.

For more information, contact the Library at 206- 684-4088 or www.spl.org.

 

 

For more Seattle area events, visit The Skanner's Community Calendar.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast