09-30-2024  3:35 pm   •   PDX and SEA Weather

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

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

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 ...

Portland Diamond Project Signs Letter of Intent to Purchase Zidell Yards for a Future MLB Baseball Park

Founder of Portland Diamond Project said signing the letter of intent is more than just a land purchase, it’s a chance to transform...

Oregon DMV waited weeks to tell elections officials about voter registration error

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Oregon transportation authorities waited weeks to tell elections officials about an error that registered over 1,200 people to vote, despite them not providing proof of U.S. citizenship. Oregon's Driver & Motor Vehicle Services, or DMV, first learned of the...

As many forests fail to recover from wildfires, replanting efforts face huge odds -- and obstacles

BELLVUE, Colo. (AP) — Camille Stevens-Rumann crouched in the dirt and leaned over evergreen seedlings, measuring how much each had grown in seven months. "That's two to three inches of growth on the spruce,” said Stevens-Rumann, interim director at the Colorado Forest Restoration...

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...

Blake Craig overcomes 3 FG misses, hits in 2OT to deliver No. 7 Missouri 30-27 win over Vanderbilt

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Blake Craig made up for three missed field goals in regulation by hitting from 37 yards in the second overtime, and Vanderbilt kicker Brock Taylor missed a 31-yarder to keep the game going to allow No. 7 Missouri to escape with a 30-27 win in double-overtime Saturday night. ...

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

Justice Department will launch civil rights review into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Justice Department announced Monday it plans to launch a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, an attack by a white mob on a thriving Black district that is considered one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. The...

Cincinnati Opera postpones Afrofuturist-themed `Lalovavi' by a year to the summer of 2026

CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Opera has postponed the premiere of the Afrofuturist-themed “Lalovavi” by one year to the summer of 2026. The company said Monday the libretto by Tifara Brown is still being worked on, delaying the music composition by Kevin Day. ...

Man is sentenced to 35 years for shooting 2 Jewish men as they left Los Angeles synagogues

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California man was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison for shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year, federal prosecutors said. Jaime Tran, 30, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of hate crimes with intent to...

ENTERTAINMENT

Book Review: Sally Rooney’s latest novel 'Intermezzo' examines unacknowledged grief

Ivan and Peter Koubek’s father has just died, but neither seems willing to talk much about it, let alone to one another. After all, it’s not like the two brothers are even friends. Peter, the eldest by a decade, pities his awkward, 22-year-old brother, a competitive chess player...

Music Review: Andy Rourke's posthumous album, Blitz Vega's 'Northern Gentleman,' is a soft swan song

Blitz Vega, the band helmed by The Smiths' bassist Andy Rourke and Kav Sandhu of Happy Mondays, formed in 2016 and ended when Rourke died from pancreatic cancer in 2023. He was 59. The band’s lone album, “Northern Gentleman,” has finally been released — 10 tracks largely written and...

Drag queen Pattie Gonia aims to give the climate movement a makeover with joy and laughter

NEW YORK (AP) — Dressed in a sequin-laced, sleeveless top and puffy pink skirt, drag queen Pattie Gonia strides around the stage in white high-heeled boots that come up to the knees, telling the crowd that nature must be a woman. “She is trying to kill us in the most...

U.S. & WORLD NEWS

Trump is pointing to new numbers on migrants with criminal pasts. Here's what they show

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans are pointing to newly released immigration enforcement data to bolster their...

NYC Mayor Eric Adams accepted harmless 'courtesies,' not bribes, his lawyer says

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams launched a legal attack on the federal corruption case against...

Lindor homer sends Mets to playoffs with 8-7 win over Braves, who need victory in twin-bill 2nd game

ATLANTA (AP) — The Mets are headed to the postseason after Francisco Lindor's two-run homer in the ninth capped...

Britain's last coal-fired electricity plant is closing. It ends 142 years of coal power in the UK

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s last coal-fired power plant is closing on Monday, ending 142 years of coal-generated...

As big supermarkets pursue profits, new research shows growing exploitation of shrimp farmers

BANGKOK (AP) — Indonesian shrimp farmer Yulius Cahyonugroho operated more than two dozen ponds only a few years...

Mother of Egyptian activist starts hunger strike to call for his release

LONDON (AP) — The mother of a prominent Egyptian rights activist said Monday that she started a hunger strike to...

Gene Johnson the Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) -- A city already anxious about a recent spate of shootings was rattled further when a man walked into an arts cafe near a Seattle university and opened fire, fatally wounding four people. Police say he later killed a woman during a carjacking before shooting himself.

As officers closed in during a widespread manhunt on Wednesday, the suspect put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. He died at a hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The five victims brought the number of homicides in Seattle so far this year to 21, matching the total for all of last year, and left city leaders wondering what could be done to stop the bloodshed.

"Two tragic shootings today ... have shaken this city," Mayor Mike McGinn said at a news conference. "It follows on the heels of multiple, tragic episodes of gun violence that have occurred throughout the city."

In the last month, there had already been two random killings. A man died last week when he was hit by a stray bullet as he drove, and a woman was killed in a drive by shooting in late April. No arrests have been made.

Police did not publicly name the suspect in the shootings, but the Seattle Times identified him as Ian Lee Stawicki, 40, of Seattle, citing unidentified law enforcement sources.

Andrew Stawicki, 29, of Ellensburg, told the Times he recognized a photo shown on TV newscasts of the alleged gunman as his brother Ian. Andrew Stawicki said Ian Stawicki was mentally ill.

"It's no surprise to me this happened," he told the newspaper. "We could see this coming. Nothing good is going to come with that much anger inside of you."

A phone number for Andrew Stawicki rang busy when The Associated Press tried to reach him for comment.

Gunfire erupted about 11 a.m. at Cafe Racer, a restaurant and music venue north of the University of Washington.

Police quickly released two photos from inside the cafe, apparently taken from a security camera. One showed a man walking into the establishment, with a woman nearby reading a book and people chatting at the nearby cafe bar. Another photo about a minute later showed stools overturned, and the man standing and holding what appeared to be a handgun.

Two men died at the cafe, and a third man and a woman from the cafe died at a hospital.

Police said it appeared the gunman fled to the First Hill neighborhood near downtown, where he fatally shot a woman in a parking lot and stole her SUV.

He then drove the SUV to West Seattle and ditched it, leaving a gun in the car. After officers found the vehicle, they flooded that area with uniformed and plainclothes officers.

A detective spotted the suspect later and called for backup and a SWAT team, Assistant Police Chief Jim Pugel said. As those officers arrived, the man shot himself, he said.

A King County medical examiner's spokeswoman said her office might be able to release the dead victims' identifications Thursday.

The only survivor of the cafe shooting, Leonard Meuse, was upgraded from critical to serious condition at Harborview Medical Center. He remained in the intensive care unit Thursday, said spokeswoman Susan Gregg. Meuse's father, Raymond Meuse, told the Times his son was shot in the jaw and armpit but was expected to survive.

Evan Hill, who lives above the building where the shooting happened, said the cafe was an artists' collective and performance space.

"It's the strangest place to think of a shooting," said Hill, who heard four to five shots. He said he ran to his balcony and called 911, but didn't see a suspect.

On a corner across from the cafe, friends of the victims gathered by the ivy-covered wall of an apartment building. Some collapsed in grief. The cafe's owner hugged them and commiserated.

Units of police officers marched by with rifles and shotguns, knocking on doors and checking driveways and yards in the neighborhood of single-family, bungalow-style homes, restaurants and businesses.

During the manhunt, Roosevelt High School, Eckstein Middle School and Greenlake Elementary were locked down, according to the school district.

In other recent violence to hit Seattle, a bystander was wounded near the Space Needle Saturday when he was struck by a bullet that police say was fired by a gang member involved in a dispute with another man. Later that night, about 60 shots were fired in drive-by shootings at four houses. No one was hit.

Besides a plan to increase the number of officers on patrol in high-crime areas, police are urging people with information about shootings to come forward. They also said Seattleites could expect an increased police presence in the near future.

City councilman Bruce Harrell said leaders needed to consider everything - from changing laws to addressing the culture of violence.

"If we are to be honest, there's no easy fix," he said.

© 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.