NOVEMBER 21, 2018
25
CENTS
Portland and Seattle Volume XLI No. 8
News ...............................3,9,10 A & E .....................................6-7
Opinion ...................................2 Amazing Grace ................7
Calendars ........................... 4-5 Bids/Classifieds ....................11
CHALLENGING PEOPLE TO SHAPE A BETTER FUTURE NOW
SERAW REMEMBERED
PHOTO BY
Ruby Haughton-
Pitts, Director,
AARP Oregon
By Christen McCurdy
Of The Skanner News
n October AARP Oregon announced
Ruby Haughton-Pitts was its new
state director, taking over from Jer-
ry Cohen, who opened the office in
1996.
Most
recently,
Haughton-Pitts
worked as director of outreach and
advocacy for AARP Illinois in Chicago,
but the new position marks a return to
Oregon. Previously she worked as di-
rector of legislative and public affairs
at CareOregon, vice president of ex-
ternal affairs for OCHIN (a nonprofit
healthcare innovation center) and vice
president of government relations for
U.S. Bancorp in Portland. In her new
I
STEPHANIE ZOLLSHAN/THE BERKSHIRE
EAGLE VIA AP, FILE
See AARP on page 3
In this Nov. 29, 2014, file photo shoppers form
a long line at checkout during Small Business
Saturday at the Arcadian Shop in Lenox, Mass
Small
Business
Saturday page 8
Kam Previews New
Movies Opening This
Weekend
page 6
Many gathered to honor Mulugeta Seraw at a conference organized by the Urban League of Portland on Nov. 13, 2018, the 30th anniversary of his death.
Seraw was a 28-year-old Ethiopian college student living in Portland when he was murdered by racist skinheads outside of his apartment on November
13, 1988. Held at the University Place Conference Center, the event commemorated Seraw, spotlighted the history of anti-Black violence in Oregon, and
sought to identify ways to combat hate in Portland’s communities. The following day, commemorative street sign toppers in English and Amharic were
unveiled to honor Seraw at the intersection of Southeast 31st and Pine, where he was killed.
US Judge Stalls Enforcement of Trump Asylum Restrictions
Court says government cannot enforce a ban on asylum seekers
By Nomaan Merchant
Associated Press
HOUSTON — A judge has
ordered the U.S. govern-
ment not to enforce a ban
on asylum for people who
cross the southern border
illegally, another court
setback for the Trump ad-
ministration’s efforts to
impose new immigration
restrictions without con-
gressional approval.
U.S. District Judge Jon
Tigar agreed Monday with
legal groups that immedi-
ately sued after President
Donald Trump issued a
Nov. 9 proclamation saying
anyone who crossed the
southern border between
official ports of entry
would be ineligible for asy-
lum. The administration
argued that caravans of
migrants approaching the
southern border made the
new restrictions immedi-
ately necessary.
“Whatever the scope of
the President’s authority,
he may not rewrite the im-
migration laws to impose
a condition that Congress
has expressly forbidden,”
said Tigar, a nominee of
former President Barack
Obama.
Trump stopped family
separations at the border
earlier this year after a
global outcry, but it was a
federal judge who ruled
the administration had to
reunify the families. An-
other judge rejected the
administration’s request to
try to detain migrant fami-
lies in long-term facilities.
Monday’s ruling remains
in effect for one month,
barring an appeal. In lim-
iting asylum, Trump used
the same powers he used
to impose a travel ban —
the third try was ultimate-
ly upheld by the Supreme
Court.
A joint statement by
Homeland Security and the
Justice Department said
the Supreme Court had al-
ready shown the president
had the legal right to re-
strict asylum.
“Our asylum system is
broken, and it is being
abused by tens of thou-
sands of meritless claims
every year,” the depart-
ments said. “We look
forward to continuing
to defend the Executive
Branch’s legitimate and
well-reasoned exercise of
its authority to address the
crisis at our southern bor-
der.”
See ASYLUM on page 3
Fire Victims’ Families Urged to Give DNA for Search
System can analyze DNA from bone fragments or
other remains, then match to relatives’ samples
By Kathleen Ronayne
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authori-
ties are using a powerful tool in their
effort to identify the scores of peo-
ple killed by the wildfire that ripped
through Northern California: rapid
DNA testing that produces results in
just two hours.
The system can analyze DNA from
bone fragments or other remains,
then match it to genetic material pro-
vided by relatives of the missing. But
the technology depends on people
coming forward to give a DNA sam-
ple via a cheek swab, and so far, there
are not nearly as many volunteers as
authorities had hoped for.
As of Tuesday, nearly two weeks
after the inferno devastated the town
of Paradise and surrounding areas,
the number of confirmed dead stood
See DNA on page 3
PHOTO BY SUDHIN THANAWALA
New director started job
in October
PHOTO BY ANTONIO HARRIS
Haughton-
Pitts Heads
Up AARP
Oregon
In this November 16, 2018 photo, Stephen Meer,
chief information officer, ANDE, demonstrates in
Chico, Calif., his company’s Rapid DNA analysis
system, which is being used to try to ID victims
of the Northern California wildfire.