10-02-2024  2:48 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

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NORTHWEST NEWS

Companies Back Away From Oregon Floating Offshore Wind Project as Opposition Grows

The federal government finalized two areas for floating offshore wind farms along the Oregon coast in February. But opposition from tribes, fishermen and coastal residents highlights some of the challenges the plan faces.

Preschool for All Growth Outpaces Enrollment Projections

Mid-year enrollment to allow greater flexibility for providers, families.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden Demands Answers From Emergency Rooms That Denied Care to Pregnant Patients

Wyden is part of a Democratic effort to focus the nation’s attention on the stories of women who have faced horrible realities since some states tightened a patchwork of abortion laws.

Governor Kotek Uses New Land Use Law to Propose Rural Land for Semiconductor Facility

Oregon is competing against other states to host multibillion-dollar microchip factories. A 2023 state law created an exemption to the state's hallmark land use policy aimed at preventing urban sprawl and protecting nature and agriculture.

NEWS BRIEFS

New Washington Park South Entry Complete: Signature Gateway Is Open for All Visitors

The south entry is one of the few ways vehicles can enter Washington Park and access its many attractions and cultural venues (Oregon...

Celebrate Portland Arbor Day at Glenfair Park

Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry team presents Portland Arbor Day 2024, Saturday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. - 2...

Dr. Pauli Murray’s Childhood Home Opens as Center to Honor Activist’s Inspiring Work

Dr. Pauli Murray was an attorney, activist, and pioneer in the LGBTQ+ community. An extraordinary scholar, much of Murray’s...

Portland-Based Artist Selected for NFL’s 2024 Artist Replay Initiative Spotlighting Diverse and Emerging Artists

Inspired by the world of football, Julian V.L. Gaines has created a one-of-a-kind piece that will be on display at Miami Art Week. ...

University of Portland Ranked #1 Private School in the West by U.S. News & World Report

UP ranks as a top institution among ‘Best Regional Universities – West’ for the sixth consecutive year ...

Condoms aren’t a fact of life for young Americans. They’re an afterthought

OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — It’s hard to miss the overflowing bowl of condoms at the entrance of the gym. Some University of Mississippi students walking past after their workout snicker and point, and the few who step forward to consider grabbing a condom rethink it when their friends...

Tribes celebrate the end of the largest dam removal project in US history

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border. Through protests, testimony and lawsuits, local tribes...

College football Week 6: Missouri-Texas A&M is the only Top 25 matchup, but other games loom large

The ebb and flow of the college football season hits a low this week if measured by the number of Top 25 matchups. The only one is No. 9 Missouri at No. 25 Texas A&M, the fewest since there were no ranked teams pitted against each other during Week 3 last season. ...

No. 7 Mizzou overcomes mistakes once again, escapes with a 30-27 double-OT win over Vandy

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — There are two very different ways to look at seventh-ranked Missouri's last two wins, a pair of come-from-behind affairs against Boston College and a double-overtime 30-27 victory over Vanderbilt in its SEC opener on Saturday night. The Tigers were good enough...

OPINION

No Cheek Left to Turn: Standing Up for Albina Head Start and the Low-Income Families it Serves is the Only Option

This month, Albina Head Start filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to defend itself against a misapplied rule that could force the program – and all the children it serves – to lose federal funding. ...

DOJ and State Attorneys General File Joint Consumer Lawsuit

In August, the Department of Justice and eight state Attorneys Generals filed a lawsuit charging RealPage Inc., a commercial revenue management software firm with providing apartment managers with illegal price fixing software data that violates...

America Needs Kamala Harris to Win

Because a 'House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand' ...

Student Loan Debt Drops $10 Billion Due to Biden Administration Forgiveness; New Education Department Rules Hold Hope for 30 Million More Borrowers

As consumers struggle to cope with mounting debt, a new economic report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York includes an unprecedented glimmer of hope. Although debt for mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and more increased by billions of...

AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE NEWS

Police delivered a 'beatdown' that killed Tyre Nichols, prosecutor says in trial closing

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Memphis police officers who beat Tyre Nichols to death wanted to punish him after he ran from a 2023 traffic stop and thought they could get away with it, a prosecutor said Wednesday as closing arguments began in the federal trial of three of the officers. ...

Maryland approves settlement in state police discrimination case

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland officials approved a [scripts/homepage/home.php].75 million settlement on Wednesday to resolve a federal investigation into discriminatory hiring practices affecting Black and female applicants to the Maryland State Police. The settlement, approved by the Maryland Board of...

Tribes celebrate the end of the largest dam removal project in US history

The largest dam removal project in U.S. history was completed Wednesday, marking a major victory for tribes in the region who fought for decades to free hundreds of miles of the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border. Through protests, testimony and lawsuits, local tribes...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: 'The Last Dream,' short stories scattered with the seeds of Pedro Almodovar films

The seeds of Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar's later cinematic work are scattered throughout the pages of “The Last Dream,” his newly published collection of short writings. The stories and essays were gathered together by Almodóvar's longtime assistant, including many pieces...

Book Review: Louise Erdrich writes about love and loss in North Dakota in ’The Mighty Red’

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Louise Erdrich (“The Night Watchman,” 2021) returns with a story close to her heart, “The Mighty Red.” Set in the author’s native North Dakota, the title refers to the river that serves as a metaphor for life in the Red River Valley. It also carries a...

Book Review: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point' is fan service for readers of Gladwell's 2000 book

It's been nearly 25 years since Malcolm Gladwell published “The Tipping Point," and it's still easy to catch it being read on airplanes, displayed prominently on executives' bookshelves or hear its jargon slipped into conversations. It's no surprise that a sequel was the next logical step. ...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

NASA switches off instrument on Voyager 2 spacecraft to save power

NEW YORK (AP) — To save power, NASA has switched off another scientific instrument on its long-running Voyager 2...

The fall of Vuhledar is a microcosm of Ukraine's wartime predicament

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The fall of a front-line town nestled atop a tactically significant hill is unlikely to...

US bans new types of goods from China over allegations of forced labor

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that it would ban the import of goods...

Two predawn explosions rock the area around the Israeli Embassy in Copenhagen but no one is injured

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Three young Swedes were arrested Wednesday in connection with two predawn explosions...

Javier Bardem on Gaza: ‘We cannot remain indifferent’ in call for hostage release and cease-fire

Javier Bardem was no longer comfortable being silent on Gaza. The Spanish actor spoke out about the...

Mexico's Sheinbaum keeps doing morning briefings, though her style is unlike her predecessor's

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's new President Claudia Sheinbaum started her day Wednesday much like her political...

By The Skanner News | The Skanner News

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Country duo Sugarland was named in a lawsuit filed Tuesday by 44 survivors of the Indiana State Fair stage collapse and family members of four people who died, by far the largest claim yet stemming from the tragedy.

Attorneys representing at least 20 law firms across Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky filed the complaint alleging breach of reasonable care to the victims in Marion Superior Court in Indianapolis.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Sugarland, producers, stage riggers and others associated with the Dec. 13 show. Stage rigging collapsed into spectators following a wind gust of at least 60 mph, killing seven people and injuring more than 40 others. Sugarland had not yet taken the stage when the collapse occurred.

Sugarland's contract specified the act had the final say on whether to cancel the concert due to weather, plaintiff's attorney Mario Massillamany of Logansport said in a news release.

"Unfortunately, this tragedy could have been prevented if the responsible parties had been concerned about the concertgoers that night," Massillamany said.

The contract reached between Sugarland's agent, Creative Artists Agency, and the Indiana State Fair Committee guaranteed the duo $300,500 to perform, $34,500 for sound, lights and catering, and 85 percent of gross box office receipts over $470,000, Massillamany said.

"This is a devastating tragedy that has impacted hundreds of people," plaintiffs' so-counsel Scott Starr said. "It is critical to help the victims pay the medical bills and other financial expenses that they have incurred from this incident."

The plaintiffs include Lisa Hite of Cass County, who was with her 8-year-old custodial granddaughter in the area immediately in front of the stage called "the Sugar Pit."

"The injuries I sustained have left me unable to provide for my family. The financial and emotional strain this has caused has left a lasting impact on my family," said Hite, who is represented by Starr and Massillamany.

Sugarland's publicist didn't immediately return a call Tuesday seeking comment.

The complaint charges that Sugarland and the other entities owed a duty to provide a safe concert environment and use reasonable care in the direction, set-up and supervision of the concert.

The complaint does not name the fair or the state of Indiana among the defendants. They were named separately in at least 40 tort claims filed with the attorney general's office. Indiana law caps the state's liability for damages from the incident at $5 million.

A separate State Fair Remembrance Fund has paid about $564,000 to 28 people, and the remaining $400,000 in the state-administered fund will be paid out on a prorated basis to people who have already received money, State Fair Commission chairman Andre Lacy said Monday. Fair officials said another 28 people applied for aid but were turned down.

At least two other lawsuits on behalf of other victims of the stage collapse have been filed against Sugarland and other defendants.

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