The BulleTin • SaTurday, May 29, 2021 A3
TODAY
LOCAL, STATE & REGION
GRADUATION | MATH, READING, WRITING
Students would no longer have
to prove proficiency in core skills
BY BETSY HAMMOND
The Oregonian
A bill removing the require-
ment that Oregon students in
the classes of 2022, 2023 and
2024 demonstrate basic pro-
ficiency in math, reading and
writing to earn a high school
diploma passed a key mile-
stone Thursday and is likely to
become law.
The bill, approved by major-
ity Democrats in the Senate,
was greenlit by Democrats on
the House Education Com-
mittee for a vote on the House
floor as early as next week.
The provision to cancel
the requirement that Oregon
schools get all students profi-
cient in the three core skills by
the end of high school is in a
bill requiring an in-depth ex-
amination and likely update of
Oregon’s graduation require-
ments. Such a reexamination is
almost universally supported.
Oregon might, for instance, set
differentiated requirements for
students who opt for a career
tech or fine arts focus in their
high school educations. The
report would be ready for the
2023 Legislature to act on.
But all Republicans who’ve
been given a chance to vote
on Senate Bill 774, plus Sen.
Betsy Johnson, a Scappoose
Democrat who parts way with
her party more than any other
Democratic lawmaker, voted
no due to the removal of profi-
ciency standards.
When the Senate approved
the bill in April, Senate Re-
publicans issued a press re-
lease headlined, “Democrats
Drop Education Standards.” It
charged Democrats with trying
to cover up the lack of learn-
ing since schools were ordered
closed last March.
Proponents of dropping the
requirement to demonstrate
the ability to read, write and
do math at about a 10th-grade
level say students who pass all
classes required for graduation
shouldn’t have to do more.
Many of them are critical of
standardized tests. But Ore-
gon gives students the option to
demonstrate proficiency with
in-depth work done at school
and graded by their own teach-
ers. And some concede that if
the bill is approved, as expected,
students who can’t write very
well or do elementary algebra
would nonetheless be allowed
to graduate without the school
having to teach them more.
Alaska cruise lines announce summer sailings
BY JAMES BROOKS
Anchorage Daily News, Alaska
President Joe Biden on
Monday signed legislation that
will allow large cruise ships
to travel to Alaska this sum-
mer. The first voyages under
the new Alaska Tourism Res-
toration Act are scheduled for
late July.
Federal law prevents large
cruise ships from traveling be-
tween the Lower 48 and Alaska
without a stop in Canada, but
that nation has blocked most
cruise travel until February
2022.
The Alaska Tourism Resto-
ration Act temporarily waives
the requirement that those Alas-
ka-bound ships stop in Canada.
Small ships were not affected by
the Canadian action.
The president’s press secre-
2021
Becky Bohrer/AP file
A boat maneuvers near a large cruise ship near Juneau, Alaska, in 2018.
tary, Jen Psaki, called the sign-
ing “a critical step to returning
to normal in a state where 1
in 10 jobs is in the tourism in-
dustry.”
Shortly before the bill was
STAR-SPANGLED
BARGAIN DAYS!
signed, Royal Caribbean
Cruise Lines announced that
it will send two ships to Alaska
this year. Combined with pre-
viously announced voyages
from other cruise lines, that
means at least six large ships
will come to Alaska on weekly
visits later this summer.
More than 1.2 million tour-
ists visited Alaska by cruise
ship in 2019. Last year, during
the COVID-19 pandemic,
just 48 passengers came to the
state, according to Rain Coast
Data, a Juneau economics firm.
The six ships coming to
Alaska later this summer have
a combined average capacity
of 3,200 passengers. If each
were to sail for eight weeks on
average at full capacity, that’s
the potential for 153,600 cruise
tourists.
It’s Saturday, May 29, the 149th
day of 2021. There are 216 days
left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
In 2020, fired Minneapolis police
officer Derek Chauvin was arrest-
ed and charged with third-degree
murder and second-degree man-
slaughter in the death of George
Floyd. He would be convicted in
April 2021 on those charges as
well as second-degree uninten-
tional murder.
In 1790, Rhode Island became the
13th original colony to ratify the
United States Constitution.
In 1914, the Canadian ocean liner
RMS Empress of Ireland sank in
the St. Lawrence River in eastern
Quebec after colliding with the
Norwegian cargo ship SS Storstad;
of the 1,477 people on board the
Empress of Ireland, 1,012 died.
The Storstad sustained only minor
damage.
In 1953, Mount Everest was con-
quered as Edmund Hillary of New
Zealand and Tensing Norgay of
Nepal became the first climbers to
reach the summit.
In 1973, Tom Bradley was elected
the first Black mayor of Los An-
geles, defeating incumbent Sam
Yorty.
In 1977, Janet Guthrie became
the first woman to race in the
Indianapolis 500, finishing in 29th
place; the winner was A.J. Foyt.
In 1985, 39 people were killed at
the European Cup Final in Brus-
sels, Belgium, when rioting broke
out and a wall separating British
and Italian soccer fans collapsed.
In 1988, President Ronald Rea-
gan and Soviet leader Mikhail S.
Gorbachev opened their historic
summit in Moscow.
In 1998, Republican elder states-
man Barry Goldwater died in Para-
dise Valley, Arizona, at 89.
In 2009, a judge in Los Angeles
sentenced music producer Phil
Spector to 19 years to life in prison
for the murder of actor Lana Clark-
son. Spector remained in prison
until his death in January 2021.
In 2014, Starbucks closed thou-
sands of stores for part of the
day to hold training sessions for
employees on unconscious bias,
in response to the arrests of two
Black men in Philadelphia at one
of its stores.
In 2015, the Obama administra-
tion formally removed Cuba from
the U.S. terrorism blacklist.
In 2019, in his first public remarks
on the Russia investigation, spe-
cial counsel Robert Mueller said
charging President Donald Trump
with a crime was “not an option”
because of federal rules, but he
emphasized that the investigation
did not exonerate the president.
Ten years ago: A week after Jop-
lin, Missouri, was nearly leveled by
the deadliest tornado to strike the
U.S. in decades, President Barack
Obama visited the city to offer
hope to survivors and promises
of help.
Five years ago: An Army veteran
of two Afghanistan tours killed
one person and wounded several
others during a shooting rampage
in west Houston before being
gunned down by a SWAT officer.
Alexander Rossi won the 100th
running of the Indianapolis 500.
One year ago: Thousands of
protesters in Minneapolis angered
by the death of George Floyd
ignored a curfew as unrest again
overwhelmed authorities; fires
burned unchecked in cars and
businesses. In a tweet, President
Donald Trump called protesters in
Minneapolis “thugs” and added
that “when the looting starts, the
shooting starts.” The tweet was
flagged by Twitter for “glorifying
violence.” Protests over Floyd’s
death spread to dozens of cities.
Hundreds of protesters gathered
outside the White House, some
throwing rocks and tugging at
barricades; officials later said Se-
cret Service agents rushed Trump
to an underground bunker.
Today’s Birthdays: Former Base-
ball Commissioner Fay Vincent is
83. Motorsports Hall of Famer Al
Unser is 82. Actor Helmut Berger
is 77. Rock singer Gary Brooker
(Procol Harum) is 76. Movie com-
poser Danny Elfman is 68. Singer
LaToya Jackson is 65. Actor Ted
Levine is 64. Actor Annette Ben-
ing is 63. Actor Rupert Everett is
62. Actor Adrian Paul is 62. Singer
Melissa Etheridge is 60. Actor Lisa
Whelchel is 58. Actor Tracey Breg-
man is 58. Rock musician Noel
Gallagher is 54. Actor Anthony
Azizi is 52. Actor Laverne Cox is
49. Cartoonist Aaron McGruder
(“The Boondocks”) is 47. Singer
Melanie Brown (Spice Girls) is 46.
NBA player Carmelo Anthony is 37.
Actor Billy Flynn is 36. Actor Blake
Foster is 36. Actor Riley Keough is
32. Actor Lorelei Linklater is 28.
— Associated Press
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