04-18-2024  10:05 am   •   PDX and SEA Weather
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NORTHWEST NEWS

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.

Five Running to Represent Northeast Portland at County Level Include Former Mayor, Social Worker, Hotelier (Part 2)

Five candidates are vying for the spot previously held by Susheela Jayapal, who resigned from office in November to focus on running for Oregon's 3rd Congressional District. Jesse Beason is currently serving as interim commissioner in Jayapal’s place. (Part 2)

NEWS BRIEFS

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 jumi,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 ...

Mt. Hood Jazz Festival Returns to Mt. Hood Community College with Acclaimed Artists

Performing at the festival are acclaimed artists Joshua Redman, Hailey Niswanger, Etienne Charles and Creole Soul, Camille Thurman,...

Idaho's ban on youth gender-affirming care has families desperately scrambling for solutions

Forced to hide her true self, Joe Horras’ transgender daughter struggled with depression and anxiety until three years ago, when she began to take medication to block the onset of puberty. The gender-affirming treatment helped the now-16-year-old find happiness again, her father said. ...

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators shut down airport highways and key bridges in major US cities

CHICAGO (AP) — Pro-Palestinian demonstrators blocked roadways in Illinois, California, New York and the Pacific Northwest on Monday, temporarily shutting down travel into some of the nation's most heavily used airports, onto the Golden Gate and Brooklyn bridges and on a busy West Coast highway. ...

The sons of several former NFL stars are ready to carve their path into the league through the draft

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. wears his dad’s No. 54, plays the same position and celebrates sacks and big tackles with the same signature axe swing. Now, he’s ready to make a name for himself in the NFL. So are several top prospects who play the same positions their fathers played in the...

Caleb Williams among 13 confirmed prospects for opening night of the NFL draft

NEW YORK (AP) — Southern California quarterback Caleb Williams, the popular pick to be the No. 1 selection overall, will be among 13 prospects attending the first round of the NFL draft in Detroit on April 25. The NFL announced the 13 prospects confirmed as of Thursday night, and...

OPINION

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. ...

COMMENTARY: Is a Cultural Shift on the Horizon?

As with all traditions in all cultures, it is up to the elders to pass down the rituals, food, language, and customs that identify a group. So, if your auntie, uncle, mom, and so on didn’t teach you how to play Spades, well, that’s a recipe lost. But...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Armenian victims group asks International Criminal Court to investigate genocide claim

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — A human rights organization representing ethnic Armenians submitted evidence to the International Criminal Court on Thursday, arguing that Azerbaijan is committing an ongoing genocide against them. Azerbaijan’s government didn't immediately comment...

A Georgia beach aims to disrupt Black students' spring bash after big crowds brought chaos in 2023

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (AP) — Thousands of Black college students expected this weekend for an annual spring bash at Georgia's largest public beach will be greeted by dozens of extra police officers and barricades closing off neighborhood streets. While the beach will remain open, officials are...

Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson is first Native American to represent the US solo at Venice Biennale

VENICE. Italy (AP) — Jeffrey Gibson’s takeover of the U.S. pavilion for this year’s Venice Biennale contemporary art show is a celebration of color, pattern and craft, which is immediately evident on approaching the bright red facade decorated by a colorful clash of geometry and a foreground...

ENTERTAINMENT

Robert MacNeil, creator and first anchor of PBS 'NewsHour' nightly newscast, dies at 93

NEW YORK (AP) — Robert MacNeil, who created the even-handed, no-frills PBS newscast “The MacNeil-Lehrer NewsHour” in the 1970s and co-anchored the show with his late partner, Jim Lehrer, for two decades, died on Friday. He was 93. MacNeil died of natural causes at New...

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 week: Conan O’Brien travels, 'Migration' soars and Taylor Swift will reign

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...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Frustrated farmers are rebelling against EU rules. The far right is stoking the flames

ANDEREN, Netherlands (AP) — Inside the barn on the flat fields of the northern Netherlands, Jos Ubels cradles a...

25 years after Columbine, trauma shadows survivors of the school shooting

DENVER (AP) — Hours after she escaped the Columbine High School shooting, 14-year-old Missy Mendo slept between...

The Latest | Netanyahu says Israel will decide how to respond as Iran warns against retaliation

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air...

Croatia's conservatives believe they'll soon form a majority government despite inconclusive vote

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia ’s ruling conservatives said Thursday that talks have already started about the...

Nigeria's army rescues a woman abducted from Chibok as a schoolgirl, and her 3 children

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Nigerian soldiers rescued a woman who was abducted by extremists a decade ago while she...

Prominent figure in German far-right party stands trial over alleged use of Nazi slogan

HALLE, Germany (AP) — One of the most prominent figures in the far-right Alternative for Germany party went on...

Stacy M. Brown (NNPA News Wire Contributor)

Sponsorships and donations have been pouring into the new Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), which is set to open on Sept. 24 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Most recently, the popular 1990s R&B group En Vogue donated their performance-worn dresses to the museum.

“Our dresses from the ‘Never Gonna Get It/My Lovin’ video and the ‘Giving Him Something He Can Feel’ video will be debuting in the Smithsonian African American History museum on September 24,” group member Terry Ellis said. “So, we’re really super excited about that.”

NBA Icon Michael Jordan also announced this month that he was providing a $5 million gift to the museum along with his game-worn 1996 NBA Finals jersey.

The museum will reportedly place the famous jersey in a wing called “Michael Jordan Hall,” that will feature stories of 17 historic athletes.

In a news release, Jordan noted athletes like Jesse Owens whose “talent, commitment and perseverance broke racial barriers and laid the groundwork for the successful careers of so many African-Americans in athletics and beyond.”

Also, in a statement, museum director Lonnie G. Bunch III said Jordan’s contribution will enable museum “visitors to explore how sports were used to break barriers as a way to gain full participation in American society.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African-American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African-Americans, according to the museum’s website. To date, the museum has collected more than 36,000 artifacts.

Nearly 100,000 individuals have become charter members of the museum and, when it opens, it will be the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

Museum officials noted the four pillars upon which the NMAAHC stands: It provides an opportunity for those who are interested in African-American culture to explore and revel in this history through interactive exhibitions; It helps all Americans see how their stories, their histories, and their cultures are shaped and informed by global influences; It explores what it means to be an American and share how American values like resiliency, optimism, and spirituality are reflected in African-American history and culture; and it serves as a place of collaboration that reaches beyond Washington, D.C., to engage new audiences and to collaborate with the myriad of museums and educational institutions that have explored and preserved this important history well before this museum was created.

Earlier this year, The Hartford, a popular financial services company, announced its founding sponsorship of the museum. The company made a $1 million contribution over five years to support the design and construction of the building.

“The Hartford has been a part of American history for more than 200 years, growing, thriving and changing along with our nation,” said Susan Johnson, head of diversity and inclusion at The Hartford. “We are proud to be a founding sponsor of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and celebrate the important contributions of African Americans to the American Dream.”

On Feb. 22, 2012, the Smithsonian broke ground on the NMAAHC at a five-acre site on Constitution Avenue between 14th and 15th streets in Northwest Washington, D.C.

The 400,000-square-foot building has five levels above ground and four below. It will have exhibition galleries, an education center, a theater, café and store as well as staff offices.

Pinnacle donors – those who have contributed $20 million or more – include the Lilly Endowment Inc., Robert Frederick Smith, and the Oprah Winfrey Charitable Foundation.

Capstone donors – those who have contributed at least $10 million – include the Atlantic Philanthropies, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Rhimes Family Foundation and David M. Rubenstein.

Cornerstone donors – those who have contributed at least $5 million – include 3M, American Express, The Boeing Company, Ford Foundation, GE, Robert L. Johnson, Kaiser Permanente, The Rockefeller Foundation, Target, United Health Group, and Walmart.

Keystone Donors – those who have contributed at least $2 million – include 21st Century Fox and News Corp, Bank of America, The Walt Disney Company, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Kovler Foundation, Medtronic Foundation, The Moore Charitable Foundation/Louis Moore Bacon, Stavros Niarchos Foundation, Northrop Grumman, Prudential, Smithsonian Channel, Earl W. and Amanda Stafford, Patty Stonesifer and Michael Kinsley, Time Warner Foundation, Toyota, United Technologies Corporation, Walton Family Foundation, Anthony and Beatrice Welters and the Vincent Wilkinson Foundation.

Verizon, Xerox, Wells Fargo, Google, Tyler Perry, New York Life, MetLife Foundation, Fed Ex, Ford Motor Company Fund, General Motors and a host of others have donated at least $1 million, making them “milestone donors.”

“After more than a decade of hard work and dedication on the part of so many, we will open the doors of the museum and let visitors see that it is a place for all people,” Bunch said in an earlier statement.

Bunch continued: “We have created exhibitions and programs designed to unite and capture the attention of millions of people worldwide. It will be a place for healing and reconciliation, a place where everyone can explore the story of America through the lens of the African American experience.”

The National Museum of African American History and Culture officially opens to the public following the dedication ceremony on Saturday, September 24, 2016. The museum keeps its doors open for extended hours Sunday, September 25, from 10 am to 10pm.

The Skanner Foundation's 38th Annual MLK Breakfast