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October 23, 2019
Rep. Elijah Cummings at a hearing on Capitol Hill in March. (AP photo)
Elijah Cummings Funeral Set
Powerful Congressman
was civil rights champion
A wake and funeral for U.S. Rep. Elijah Cum-
mings will be held Friday, Oct 25 at the New Psalm-
ist Baptist Church in Baltimore, Md., the congrega-
tion where he worshipped for nearly four decades.
Cummings, a sharecropper’s son who rose to be-
come a civil rights champion and the chairman of
one of the U.S. House committees leading an im-
peachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, died
Thursday of complications from longstanding health
problems. He was 68.
Cummings was a formidable orator who advocat-
ed for the poor in his black-majority district, which
encompasses a large portion of Baltimore and more
well-to-do suburbs.
As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform
Committee, he led investigations of the president’s
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Week Review
Portland Student Mourned
Fighting back tears, the family of
18-year-old University of Portland
student Owen Klinger described
their son as “A beautiful, beauti-
ful soul,” Monday, two days after
identifying a body found near the
St John Bridge as him and two
weeks after he went missing. The
UP community also held a mass Tuesday to remem-
ber Klinger and to mourn his loss.
Teen Missing 12 Days
A foster mom put out a plea for
her 16-year-old missing foster
son, Doug Faoa, Tuesday, saying
he has been missing for 12 days
in Clackamas County and there’s
been no help in looking for him.
Faoa left Palmer’s home in Alba-
ny on Oct. 10, to spend 90 days at
a treatment facility in Happy Valley.
Homeless Deaths Report
Paul Neufeldt
r ePorter /W eb e ditor : Beverly
government dealings, including probes in 2019 re-
lating to Trump’s family members serving in the
White House.
A lifetime member of the NAACP, Cummings
consistently brought attention to the plight of Afri-
can-Americans and oppressed populations through-
out his 23-year service in the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives.
He became a nationally-recognized figure when he
was appointed the chair of the Committee on Over-
sight and Government Reform in 2019. One of the few
African-Americans to lead such a prestigious commit-
tee, Rep. Cummings often took swift action to call out
inequity and abuse of power when confronted.
“Among the many accolades he received through-
out his storied life, his legacy of championing is-
sues, facing injustice head-on and speaking truth to
power will forever be a part of his greatest contri-
butions,” said Leon W. Russell, Chairman, NAACP
Board of Directors.
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A report last week cited meth overdoses as the lead-
ing cause of homeless deaths across Multnomah
County in 2018. At least 92 people died while ex-
periencing homelessness in 2018 with methamphet-
amines listed as the leading contributor to 29% of
those deaths. The report also found that 10 people
died from homicides, 6 of which involved a gun.
Gov. Welcomes Refugees
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has responded to a recent
executive order from President Trump which allows
states to reject the resettlement of refugees by say-
ing that refugees are welcome in Oregon. In a video
posted Monday on Twitter, she called resettlement
a lifeline that America provides to the world’s most
vulnerable refugees.
Gwen Ifill Memorialized
Trailblazing
journalist
Gwen Ifill will be memori-
alized on a new U.S. Postal
Service Forever stamp. If-
ill, who died in November
2016, became the first Af-
rican American woman to
host a national political TV
talk show on PBS’ Wash-
ington Week. She later be-
came co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour.
New Bias Crime Conviction
A Portland man who attacked two gay men outside
a downtown bakery pleaded guilty Friday, the first
conviction under the state’s new bias crime law. Don
Kirchhoff, 50, was accused of using homophobic
and racial terms against the couple before shoving
one of them into a brick wall.
Lilliard Named Best Leader
Who do NBA general manag-
ers view as the best leader in the
league? Look no further than
Portland Trail Blazers guard Da-
mian Lillard. NBA.com released
its annual GM survey on Thursday and Lillard
earned the top spot when general managers were
asked to name the best leader in the NBA.