10-31-2024  4:55 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

African American Alliance On Homeownership Turns 25, Honors The Skanner Cofounder Bernie Foster

AAAH's executive director Cheryl Roberts recalls how the efforts of Bernie Foster led to an organization that now offers one-on-one counseling for prospective home buyers, homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention services, estate planning, assistance with down payments and more.

Police Say Fires Set at Ballot Boxes in Oregon and Washington Are Connected; ‘Suspect Vehicle’ ID'd

Surveillance images captured a Volvo stopping at a drop box in Portland, just before security personnel nearby discovered a fire inside the box. That fire damaged three ballots inside, while officials say a fire at a drop box in nearby Vancouver, Washington, early Monday destroyed hundreds of ballots.

Two Major Affordable Housing Developments Reach Milestones in Portland

Both will provide culturally specific supportive services to residents. 

Washington State AG and Ex-Sheriff Face off in Governor's Race

Former U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert is trying to become Washington’s first GOP governor in 40 years. But he faces a difficult hurdle in the Democratic stronghold against longtime Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, a darling of liberals for his many lawsuits against the Trump administration. 

NEWS BRIEFS

Oregon Department of Education Releases Cell Phone Policy Guidance

ODE recommends creating policies to limit or reduce cell phone use during the school day. ...

Metro, Central City Concern and Partners to Mark Affordable Housing Complex Grand Opening With Halloween Celebration

Meridian Gardens will offer 85 single room occupancy and studio apartments to people who are in substance use disorder recovery and...

Oregon MESA Expands with Two New Regional Centers in Washington County and Lane County

“Our regional partners are embedded in the communities MESA serves, bringing a wealth of local knowledge and expertise. Regional...

Historic Seattle Black Church Hosts "Bring Your Ballot to Church" Event to Mobilize Voters

As Seattle's oldest African American-founded church, FAME carries forward the legacy of Black churches as centers of civic engagement...

Statement Regarding Ballot Box Incident in Vancouver, WA

While an investigation is ongoing, we believe some ballots were damaged. We are confident the Clark County Auditor’s Office will...

He’s fast, feisty and could play Quidditch. Meet the bat that won a beauty contest

ASHLAND, Ore. (AP) — A winged creature from Oregon was crowned this year’s winner Thursday in an annual bat beauty contest put on by the Bureau of Land Management. On Halloween, which was also the last day of International Bat Week, a hoary bat with a feisty personality named...

A national campaign to lessen polarization pushes states to ditch partisan primaries

DENVER (AP) — A national campaign is backing ballot measures in six states to end partisan primaries, seeking to turn down the temperature in a polarized country by removing a process that gives the most active members of both major parties an outsize role in picking the country's leaders. ...

Many top players from one-bid leagues left for bigger schools. Here are some of the best who stayed

Identifying the top returning players in the era of the transfer portal is trickier than ever. Now that players can transfer without having to sit out a season, mid-major and low-major programs have essentially become farm systems for power-conference teams. Players who earn...

Miller rushes for 2 TDs, No. 15 Alabama picks off 3 passes in 34-0 win over No. 21 Missouri

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Jamarion Miller rushed for two touchdowns and No. 15 Alabama's defense had three interceptions in a 34-0 victory Saturday over No. 21 Missouri, which played most of the game without starting quarterback Brady Cook. The Crimson Tide (6-2, 3-2 Southeastern...

OPINION

The Skanner News 2024 Presidential Endorsement

It will come as no surprise that we strongly endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for president. ...

Black Retirees Growing Older and Poorer: 2025 Social Security COLA lowest in 10 years

As Americans live longer, the ability to remain financially independent is an ongoing struggle. Especially for Black and other people of color whose lifetime incomes are often lower than that of other contemporaries, finding money to save for ‘old age’ is...

The Skanner Endorsements: Oregon State and Local Ballot Measures

Ballots are now being mailed out for this very important election. Election Day is November 5. Ballots must be received or mailed with a valid postmark by 8 p.m. Election Day. View The Skanner's ballot measure endorsements. ...

Measure 117 is a Simple Improvement to Our Elections

Political forces around the country have launched an all-out assault on voting rights that targets Black communities. State legislatures are restricting voting access in districts with large Black populations and are imposing other barriers and pernicious...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Man who killed eagles on a Native American reservation gets nearly 4 years in prison

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A Washington state man who authorities said killed at least 118 eagles as part of a wildlife trafficking ring that operated on a Native American reservation in Montana was sentenced Thursday to three years and 10 months in prison, and must pay more than 7,000 in...

Donald Trump gambles with late-stage trips to Democratic New Mexico and Virginia

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Donald Trump is traveling to New Mexico and Virginia in the campaign's final days, taking a risky detour from the seven battleground states to spend time in places where Republican presidential candidates have not won in decades. The former president...

Survivors of deadly collapse at Georgia dock seek state's help for funerals, counseling

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Survivors of a deadly walkway collapse at a state-run ferry dock on a Georgia island said Thursday that the government should help them pay for funerals for the seven people who died as well as medical bills and mental health counseling for those who lived. ...

ENTERTAINMENT

A$AP Rocky to go to trial next year on charges he fired a gun at a former friend

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A$AP Rocky is set to go to trial in Los Angeles early next year on charges that he fired a gun at a former friend and collaborator on the streets near a Hollywood hotel in 2021. The trial of the 36-year-old rapper, fashion mogul, Grammy nominee and celebrity...

Tears for Fears are in full bloom with a concert film, a live album, new songs and Vegas dates

NEW YORK (AP) — When Tears for Fears hit the stage at Firstbank Amphitheater in Franklin, Tennessee, on July 11, 2023, there were no tears but some fears. “We walked on stage and I felt like a deer caught in the headlines,” says singer and guitarist Roland Orzabal, half of the...

Samuel L. Jackson lauded at MoMA film benefit by close family and friends

NEW YORK (AP) — The Museum of Modern Art was filled with expletives and laughter Wednesday evening as Samuel L. Jackson’s family and friends celebrated the actor and director’s storied career of box office hits, larger-than-life characters and explosive one-liners at the annual film benefit. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

About 8,000 North Korean troops at Ukraine's border are expected in combat in days, US says

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some 8,000 North Korean soldiers are now in Russia near Ukraine’s border and are preparing...

US voters hear a stark message in the presidential race: The country's fate is on the line

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Few elections in the nation’s history have provided such a divide as this year's,...

The struggle for Senate control goes down to the wire as spending shatters records

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Billions of dollars in advertising are raining down on voters across the Rust Belt, Rocky...

All 3 Iranian Consulates in Germany ordered shut after execution of Iranian German prisoner

BERLIN (AP) — Germany ordered the closure of all three Iranian Consulates in the country on Thursday in response...

Britain has banned protests outside abortion clinics, but silent prayer is a gray area

LONDON (AP) — A British ban on protesting outside abortion clinics went into effect on Thursday, though it left...

Ukrainian front-line school system goes underground to protect against bombs and radiation

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — To be a parent in the Ukrainian front-line city of Zaporizhzhia means weighing your...

Scott Bauer the Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Opponents of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, spurred by anger over his successful push to take away nearly all public worker collective bargaining rights, blanketed the state Tuesday to launch an unprecedented effort to gather 540,000 signatures and force a recall election.

The petition drive began in the early morning hours with rallies and pajama parties. More than 100 events were planned across Wisconsin as supporters tried to collect an average of 9,000 signatures a day to meet the target.

Lisa Tareski of Milwaukee, who voted for Walker, was one of eight people who won a contest sponsored by the Democratic Party to be the first to sign the petitions.

"I want to fix my mistake and be one of the first to tell Scott Walker that he did not have my full support in 2010 and he never will," Tareski said in a statement.

Walker recall organizers hope to tap ongoing anger over the collective bargaining law, which took away public employee unions' power to negotiate anything other than wage increases no greater than inflation, and build on momentum from last week's vote rejecting a similar law in Ohio. Wisconsin doesn't allow for a referendum challenging its law to be put on the ballot, so opponents are targeting Walker and at least three state senators for recall.

Two potential Democratic gubernatorial candidates, along with a citizen who said she was never before involved in politics, on Tuesday delivered to state elections officials a signed filing required in the recall process.

"We will not only gather 540,000 signatures, we will return Wisconsin to the values we share," said Kathleen Falk, a former Dane County executive who is considering running against Walker. She was joined by Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Wisconsin Professional Firefighters union and another possible candidate.

A rally to gather signatures from Walker's neighbors was planned for Tuesday outside his home in the Milwaukee suburb of Wauwatosa. Walker splits his time between that house and the governor's mansion in Madison.

He said organizing such an event outside his house, where his two teenage sons live, crossed the line.

"You see a total disregard for people's families and others here," Walker said in an interview Tuesday on WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee. "I do think that's crossing the line and I think most people in Wisconsin would agree with that, no matter where they're at in the spectrum."

Walker said at a Tuesday news conference in Racine, where he was announcing a project that would bring hundreds of jobs to Wisconsin, that he would remain focused on his campaign promise to grow jobs in the state by 250,000 before the four-year term he was elected to serve is over.

"We are going to be judged by that, whether it's judged in 2012 or 2014 we're not going to take our eye off that focus," Walker said. "To me the campaign is not any different than the campaign we're on in terms of jobs issues."

As ground was broken on the expansion for Ruud Lighting, a few dozen protesters chanted "Recall Walker!"

Walker launched his first television ad of the campaign Monday, defending his record while the words "Recall: No" appeared on the screen. The ad was running statewide, except in Milwaukee, according to Walker's campaign manager Keith Gilkes.

Walker said in an interview that he planned a series of ads with people talking about how his initiatives are working in their communities as well as his plans for the future.

"I think it's important for people to hear my positive vision," he said.

Governors have been recalled from office only twice in U.S. history, in North Dakota in 1921 and in California when voters removed Gov. Gray Davis from office in 2003.

Democrats do not yet have an announced candidate to take on Walker should enough signatures be collected to force an election. The earliest such an election could occur, without any expected delays in verifying the signatures or legal challenges, is March 27. Most expect any election would be later in the spring or in the summer.

Also Tuesday, Democrats filed recall petitions against Sens. Van Wanggaard of Racine, Pam Galloway of Wausau and Terry Moulton of Chippewa Falls. Republicans currently hold a one-seat majority in the state Senate after two GOP incumbents were ousted in recall elections this summer.

All three said they would vigorously defend their records.

Associated Press writer Carrie Antlfinger contributed to this report from Racine, Wis.

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