Latest news with #RooseveltHighSchool
Chicago Tribune
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
City of Gary to host two-day Jackson 5 celebration in August
A new two-day celebration in August will celebrate the legacy of the Jackson 5 in Gary and remind the community that 'world-changing talent' can rise from its own neighborhoods, a city news release announced this week. On Aug. 29 and 30, the city will host the 2300 Jackson Street Block Party at Roosevelt High School's campus. 'As Mayor of Gary, I'm proud to celebrate the enduring legacy of Michael Jackson and the entire Jackson family with this incredible homecoming event,' Mayor Eddie Melton said in a news release. 'The 2300 Jackson Street Block Party is more than a celebration — it's a tribute to the roots of greatness that started right here in our city. We honor the Jacksons not just for their global impact, but for the pride and inspiration they continue to give the people of Gary.' The celebration will start on Michael Jackson's birthday, Aug. 29, and will be hosted by actor and comedian Chris Tucker. Attendees will hear and see Michael Jackson's 'legendary music and films that continue to inspire generations worldwide.' On Aug. 30, Gary will honor the Jackson family and welcome Jackie and Marlon Jackson, who are both original members of the Jackson 5. The city will also recognize Tito Jackson, who died in September 2024. Tito Jackson was the third of nine Jackson children and was a background singer who played guitar in the band, according to Post-Tribune archives. Tito Jackson repeatedly returned to Gary and supported Melton's mayoral campaign, saying he would return the city to the vibrant community he grew up in. Grammy-award winning vocalist Deniece Williams will host the event on Aug. 30. Other performers will include rapper Freddie Gibbs, DJ Kid Capri and Edward Hollis, a nationally recognized Michael Jackson impersonator, according to the city. Jackie and Marlon Jackson both acknowledged in the release how important Gary is to their family, saying that the Jackson 5 got its start in the city. Marlon Jackson called it a blessing to return and celebrate with people who knew the family before its fame. 'Coming back to 2300 Jackson Street is always deeply emotional for me,' Jackie Jackson said. 'This is where it all started for the Jackson 5, and I have so many memories here. To see Gary celebrating our family's legacy and our roots in this very neighborhood means the world to us.' The celebration comes just about two months after a new mural of the Jackson 5 was installed in Gary. East Chicago artist Felix Maldonado painted the mural, which was sponsored by Karren and Pat Lee and Tom and Sylvia Collins. The mural is located on the north side of the Vogue Cleaners building at 610 S. Lake St. in the city's Miller neighborhood, according to Post-Tribune archives. The art replaces a previous one that was located on Lake Street and removed in 2018 because of deterioration. 'The Jackson family's music helped define a generation — and it all started right here in Gary,' Maldonado said in a news release. 'I wanted this new mural to feel alive, so that people can connect with the joy and pride this city feels for them. It's not just art — it's a celebration of legacy.'
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon lawmakers scale back proposal for unemployment strike payments amid blowback
Hundreds of educators, parents and students joined a rally Nov. 1. 2023 at Roosevelt High School in north Portland to support striking teachers. Teachers like them could soon receive up to 10 weeks of unemployment benefits under a compromise negotiated by Oregon lawmakers.(Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle) A particularly controversial measure that would give unemployment benefits to public and private Oregon workers during labor strikes survived a key Wednesday hearing after lawmakers agreed to cut the length of time in which workers on strike could cash checks by more than half. Senate Bill 916 would have limited striking workers to receiving benefits for 26 weeks, in line with the current caps on unemployment checks for Oregonians. But after the Senate rejected an amended version of the bill on Tuesday, a bicameral conference committee voted Wednesday to set a new cutoff at 10 weeks after a two-week waiting period. Committee members voted along party lines, with the sole Republican present voting against the amendments. 'I do feel like this is a massive compromise,' said Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, the bill's lead author. 'It's not something I'm entirely thrilled with.' The measure would be a first-in-the-nation move by Oregon, establishing a right to strike for public and private employees while ensuring them the ability to apply for unemployment benefits. Aside from traditionally strike-exempt public employees such as firefighters and police, workers such as nurses and teachers could claim benefits after two weeks of striking. The bill has been among this session's most controversial measures, laying bare deep divisions over how best to use the state's $6.4 billion unemployment insurance fund. The changes come after support for a Democrat-led bill collapsed in a concurring Senate vote on Tuesday amid concerns from Republicans and a key dissenting Democrat. It had already drawn opposition from school board leaders who help negotiate teacher strikes, business groups, and local government leaders who contribute to the state's unemployment fund. 'We have a healthy fund today due in no small part because all the agreements in the years have been honored,' committee member Sen. Daniel Bonham, R- The Dalles, told his colleagues before voting against the amended bill. 'It is a healthy enough fund that I don't know that this will be a massive draw on it, but again the kids will lose if teachers are incentivized to strike.' House Democrats got the bill over the finish line in their chamber last week, arguing that the benefits would be used sparingly and not as a tool to prolong strikes, but to shorten them. A change made in a House committee would cap benefits to eight weeks if the state's unemployment fund is at risk, and lawmakers also included an amendment that mandates deductions in backpay for benefits claimed by teachers during strikes. Grayber on Tuesday repeated a promise she has made to continue monitoring the bill's implementation if it were to pass, but also signaled that she hoped to move past concerns that the bill would promote misuse of the unemployment system or dramatically hamper school life and public facilities. She said she's been 'guided by the math' behind the bill from the beginning, a subtle nod to the estimates from the state's employment department that the bill would not change existing tax structures for businesses and government agencies paying into the state's unemployment funding. 'I have heard the opposition,' she said. 'I very much look forward to moving past what feels like a worst-case scenario focus that we've maintained for several weeks now.' Oregonians who have lost a job can currently apply for unemployment weekly checks ranging from $196 to $836. The bill would allow benefits to kick in immediately if workers are locked out of facilities by their employer during negotiations. Sen. Mark Meek, D-Gladstone, is a sponsor of the legislation, but withdrew his support when it came up short in a 15-14 Senate vote on Tuesday. In a brief interview after the hearing, he declined to comment on whether he supported the proposed changes. He referred to another attempt at a transportation and infrastructure funding bill that the Legislature has taken up in the final weeks of the session: 'If there's time to pass a transportation package, there's time to get this right,' he said. The new amendment pushes the bill closer to a similar law passed in Washington that caps benefits at six weeks, but which doesn't go so far as to protect public employees like Oregon's proposed legislation. New Jersey and New York have also passed laws in recent years to provide unemployment benefits to striking private sector workers, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a similar effort in 2023 over fiscal concerns. Another bill extending benefits to striking workers in Connecticut is currently sitting on Gov. Ned Lamont's desk, but he is expected to veto it. The bill passed out of committee on a 4-1 vote. Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, was excused. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Oregon workers could soon claim strike payments under bill passed by House
Hundreds of educators, parents and students joined a rally Nov. 1. 2023 at Roosevelt High School in north Portland. A new bill would extend unemployment benefits to them during work stoppages. (Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Oregon could soon become the first state in the nation to extend unemployment benefits to striking workers. House lawmakers passed Senate Bill 916 Wednesday in a 33-23 vote along party lines with one dissenting Democrat, a decision that followed an hours-long debate about the bill's impact on schools, health care, and private businesses. The bill already cleared the Senate in May in a 16-12 vote, but will need to go back to that chamber before the month's end for a re-vote to clear further amendments. The legislation would allow striking workers — including most public employees — to collect unemployment benefits after their first two weeks of striking and up until the eight week of a strike, pending the financial stability of the state's unemployment fund. Several other states, including Washington, New Jersey, and New York, extend unemployment benefits and payments to striking private sector workers, but not to public employees. If unemployment funding is available, striking workers could collect benefits for up to 26 weeks. Payments range from $196 to a maximum of $836 weekly, according to a 2024 policy from the Oregon Employment Department. After the House voted down a scaled-back proposal by Republicans Wednesday morning, lawmakers debated the extent to which Senate Bill 916 would lengthen or shorten strikes, and the potential strain it could impose on schools and private business. 'SB 916 won't encourage strikes — it will shorten them,' state Rep. Travis Nelson, D-Portland, wrote in an emailed statement Wednesday. 'It will bring employers to the table faster, and let workers stand up without having to worry that their families will starve should they choose to exercise their right to strike. Fundamentally, this legislation is about dignity and fairness for workers.' Republicans, led by state Rep. Lucetta Elmer, R-McMinnville, sought to derail the proposal with their own measure that also would've capped benefits to six weeks of payments after the first two weeks of a strike. 'We can have the conversation about making sure that employees are paid well and they are protected and their voices heard,' Elmer said. 'This bill isn't the way — this is too much and too far.' Prior to the vote, opposition to the measure was piling up in testimony from school board leaders and business groups concerned the bill could allow strikes to drag on and put a wrench in day-to-day operations. Leaders of teacher unions and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, a statewide coalition of unions that represents over 300,000 workers, have testified in support of the bill, as have nurses, teachers and state workers. 'Regardless of income level or industry, Oregon workers all want the same things — to work hard, support themselves, and build a better life,' the Oregon AFL-CIO said in a social media post prior to the vote. 'Senate Bill 916 is an opportunity for our state to support working class Oregonians by strengthening their right to strike through expanding unemployment benefit access.' The Oregon Employment Department told the Legislature in April that the bill wouldn't result in any changes to unemployment taxes paid by employers. The bill was amended in the House Committee on Labor and Workplace Standards in May to allow school districts to deduct the cost of benefits from backpay some teachers receive after a strike has ended, under union contracts. Multiple Democrats reiterated their argument following the vote that the bill would not raise costs for businesses and schools. 'I also firmly believe that this policy will help our businesses, education and healthcare communities by bringing these strikes to a close sooner and with greater certainty,' said state Rep. Dacia Grayber, D-Portland, in closing the discussion on the House floor. If the bill clears its revote in the Senate, it will head to Gov. Tina Kotek's desk for final consideration. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Roosevelt High community mourns senior killed by alleged drunk driver in ‘devastating' crash
PORTLAND, Ore. () — A community is in mourning after an alleged drunk driver crashed into a car of three high schoolers, one of whom died at the scene. This happened along State Road 14 near Camas, Washington, on Monday night. The student who was killed was 18-year-old Mico O'Brien, a senior at Portland's Roosevelt High School, who died instantly in the crash. His friends were seriously hurt. Budget crunch may impact jobs for homeless program Just days before graduation, a vigil was held at the school's football field on Wednesday night. It was supposed to be the senior sunset night, where high school seniors gathered together one last time. Instead, hundreds of people also said goodbye forever to one of their friends, lighting a candle and sharing their memories. 'Mico, it will never be the same without you,' one speaker at the vigil said. Roosevelt High School Principal KD Parman told KOIN 6 she wants her students to know it's okay to feel all of the emotions that come with a tragedy like this. 'I think losing a classmate, losing a student, is always hard, but to do it at the beginning of the week of all these celebrations has been just, just devastating. So I think there are students who are resilient and strong, and they're navigating this to the best of their ability. And the students really felt that this was a really nice way to remember Mico and to tell his family how much we care about them,' Parman said. Reynolds catalytic converter thief caught on camera The suspected wrong-way driver in the deadly crash is 24-year-old Erik Moya. He appeared in a Clark County Courtroom Wednesday afternoon. According to court documents, there were several alcoholic beverages in his car when responding officers arrived, with Moya telling police he was 'just trying to get to his parents' house.' Moya's next court appearance is set for June 11. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Afghan refugee family in need of help after patriarch dies of heart attack
Genesis Youth Foundation is asking for the community's support for an Afghan refugee family facing hardship after recently losing their patriarch. The family, which participates in the Des Moines nonprofit's soccer programs, can't pay rent, utilities and other basic needs, said Sam Gabriel, who launched the organization with his wife, Tricia Gabriel, and who came to Iowa themselves as Liberian refugees. The foundation launched a $10,000 fundraising campaign May 21 — a goal that was met in two days — for the family, who have struggled to resettle in Des Moines since they arrived in 2021. Sam Gabriel said the organization will continue to accept donations aimed at helping the family over the next three to six months get back on their feet. Money raised on GiveButter, which by May 23 reached over $11,000, will be used to cover the family's living expenses and mental health and grief counseling. Gabriel said his staff is working to enroll the children in different summer programs and the family in social benefit programs. More: 'We don't have anything': Des Moines pastor loses everything, 3 family members in fire Noor Pari Jan Darmaan, 41, said her family's journey to Iowa comes with hardship. Her husband, who last week died from a heart attack, was the sole provider but had a tough time finding steady work and later fell ill, putting Darmaan's eldest son — 16-year-old Waliullah Darmaan — in an even tougher predicament. Waliullah, a sophomore at Roosevelt High School, recently left school for a part-time job to support his mother and four siblings. He said he works nights, from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m., and in the mornings, he takes his siblings to school. "They faced a lot of challenges, like they became homeless," said Ameer Karimy, a bilingual family liaison at Des Moines Public Schools who provided translation for the Darmaans. "They went to live in the shelter. ... Her husband was jobless for two and a half years. "He was trying to apply for different jobs. He applied, but nobody accepted his application." Part of the Gabriels' campaign seeks to offer job training for Noor Pari Jan Darmaan and her eldest daughter, who is 18, and some financial stability so Waliullah Darmaan can return to school. "It's kind of hard for him," Karimy said of the weight Wailullah now carries. "And he also wants to continue with his schooling, too." To donate, visit More information about Genesis Youth Foundation can be found online at F. Amanda Tugade covers social justice issues for the Des Moines Register. Email her at ftugade@ or follow her on X @writefelissa. This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Afghan refugee family in need of help after patriarch dies
