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☆ Oregon Is Recriminalizing Drugs. Here’s What Portland Learned.
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Oregon embarked on a landmark plan three years ago to decriminalize hard drugs, it wagered that a focus on treatment over punishment would create a new model for drug policy around the country. But after a deluge of overdose deaths and frequent chaos in the streets of Portland, Gov. Tina Kotek signed into law on Monday a measure to restore criminal penalties for drug possession. The rollback has supporters among a wide range of public officials, including Mayor Ted Wheeler of Portland, who found himself presiding over a series of crises since taking office in 2016. He has battled in court to ban daytime camping and tried to establish mass shelter locations (known in Portland as TASS sites) for those without housing.

Persons: Tina Kotek, Ted Wheeler, Wheeler Organizations: Oregon, Gov Locations: Portland

☆ Baltimore Investigation Turns to Ship’s Deadly Mechanical Failure
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-30 | by ( Mike Baker | Peter Eavis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Just minutes before the cargo ship Dali was set to glide under Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, the ship’s alarms began to blare. The lights went out. Even the rudder, which the crew uses to maneuver the vessel, was frozen. As a frantic effort to restore the ship was underway, the pilot soon recognized that the aimless vessel was drifting toward disaster, and called for help. The cascading collapse of the vessel’s most crucial operating systems left the Dali adrift until it ultimately collided with the Key bridge, knocking the span into the river and killing six people.

Persons: Dali, Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Organizations: Engineers

There are more heavily trafficked routes across the Baltimore Harbor than the Francis Scott Key Bridge. The Harbor Tunnel carries double the daily traffic of the Key Bridge and the Fort McHenry Tunnel much more than that. The six men who are missing were part of this tradition of working Baltimore: members of a construction crew, working overnight hours filling potholes on the bridge. One day in 1977, Mr. Metzger said, his father, a truck driver, was coming back home from his route and happened upon the bridge’s ribbon cutting. And the Key Bridge is gone.”

Persons: Francis Scott Key, “, ”, Kurt L, Mr, Schmoke, Rafael Alvarez, Dali, Jim Lo Scalzo, Curtis Bay, Alvarez, Baltimoreans, James Metzger, Metzger, Metzger’s Organizations: Fort, University of Baltimore, Chesapeake, Washington , D.C, Bethlehem Steel Plant, Amazon Locations: Baltimore, Fort McHenry, Baltimore’s, Maryland, Washington ,, New York City, Shutterstock

Follow our live coverage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore. But after the cargo ship Dali lost power early Tuesday, there were precious few minutes to act. In those minutes, many people — from the ship’s crew, who sent out a mayday signal, to the transportation authority police officers, who stopped traffic heading onto the Francis Scott Key Bridge — did what they could to avert catastrophe, most likely saving many lives. And the Key Bridge was particularly vulnerable. As long ago as 1980, engineers had warned that the bridge, because of its design, would never be able to survive a direct hit from a container ship.

Persons: Francis Scott Key, Dali Organizations: Eastern Seaboard Locations: Baltimore

Listen and follow The DailyApple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon MusicIn 2020, motivated to try a different way to combat drug use, Oregon voted to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs including fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine. Things didn’t turn out as planned. Mike Baker, a national reporter for The Times, explains what went wrong.

Persons: Mike Baker Organizations: Spotify, The Times Locations: Oregon

☆ ‘Uncommitted’ Effort to Protest Biden Will Shift Its Focus to Washington State
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Reid J. Epstein | Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After gaining some traction in Michigan and Minnesota, the next stop in the campaign to protest President Biden’s handling of Israel’s war in Gaza will be the Washington State primary next Tuesday. Like in Michigan, which has a large Arab American population, and Minnesota, where there is a significant population of East African immigrants and their children, the Washington State effort is counting on Middle Eastern immigrants and progressives to serve as a moral voice against America’s foreign policy alliance with Israel. Rami Al-Kabra, a Palestinian-American who is a City Council member in the Seattle suburb of Bothell, said activists have been reaching out to immigrant communities and others who have expressed disillusionment with Democrats. Some, he said, had thrown away their mail ballots, feeling like they did not have a voice. But after learning of the option to vote “uncommitted,” they have requested replacement ballots to submit.

Persons: Biden’s, Israel, Rami Al, “ uncommitted, ” Organizations: Washington State, City Locations: Michigan, Minnesota, Gaza, East, Washington, Palestinian, Seattle, Bothell

☆ Officers Charged Her With Drunken Driving. But Her Brain Was Bleeding.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-18 | by ( Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Driving home from work on the day her life changed forever, Nicole McClure could feel her feet tingling and her sense of direction faltering. Then she noticed colorful lights illuminating the early morning landscape. “Oh, pretty lights,” she remembers thinking, not realizing that a highway patrol car was coming up behind her. The state trooper who had followed her ran to her door with his gun drawn, shouting at her to get out of the car, according to his dash cam video. She was taken to jail, accused of driving under the influence.

Persons: Nicole McClure, McClure, “ I’m Organizations: Walmart Locations: Olympia, Wash

☆ 9 Key Revelations in Maui’s First Review of the Lahaina Inferno
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Mike Baker | Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Six months after a firestorm destroyed the town of Lahaina, Hawaii, a detailed new report on the tragedy reveals that a large number of victims died along a single street — a stark indication of the ferocity of the blaze that swept through the historic island town, killing 100 people. The 98-page report from the Maui Police Department on the Aug. 8 disaster came after months of pressure to provide more information about the fire and the government’s response to it, which has been criticized for failing to adequately warn residents in time for them to evacuate. It provides a detailed timeline of a fire that started near a downed electrical line in the morning hours, then flared up in the afternoon and burned through the city for hours. As residents fled for their lives, many were unable to leave because key exit routes were blocked by downed power lines, trees and the raging fire itself. The fire claimed victims across a distance of more than two miles, and possibly over many hours, the report showed, including in neighborhoods that were already ablaze before evacuation alerts were issued.

Organizations: Maui Police Department Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii

☆ Fire Blanketed Lahaina in Toxic Debris. Where Can They Put It?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-25 | by ( Mike Baker | Lisa L. Schell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When a firestorm consumed the Hawaii town of Lahaina last year, killing 100 people, it left behind a toxic wasteland of melted batteries, charred propane tanks, and miles of debris tainted by arsenic and lead. Crews have already removed some of the most hazardous items, shipping them out for disposal on the mainland. Now begins the even more formidable task of collecting hundreds of thousands of tons of additional debris and soil — enough to cover five football fields about five stories high. Even as excavators began filling dump trucks this month, the question of where it should all ultimately go remained unanswered. For now, the county has chosen a “temporary” dump site in Olowalu, a few miles south of Lahaina on the West Maui coastline.

Persons: Crews Locations: Hawaii, Lahaina, Olowalu, Maui

☆ An ‘Unimaginable’ Death Toll Among Anchorage’s Homeless Residents
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Mike Baker | More About Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The arrival of frigid temperatures and heavy snow in recent days has contributed to a spate of deaths of homeless people in Anchorage, Alaska, adding to a toll that had already left political leaders scrambling for new solutions. One woman died when fire consumed her makeshift shelter in the woods. A running tally of homeless deaths kept by the city’s largest newspaper, The Anchorage Daily News, is now up to 49 — more than double last year’s toll. “It is fairly depressing, just unimaginable, the number of deaths we have been having,” said Felix Rivera, a member of the Anchorage Assembly who leads the Housing and Homelessness Committee. The harsh winters in Alaska have long brought dangers for those sleeping outside.

Persons: ”, Felix Rivera Organizations: Anchorage Daily, Housing, Homelessness Committee Locations: Anchorage , Alaska, Anchorage, Alaska

☆ ‘Is This Hell?’ The Pilot Accused of Trying to Crash a Plane Tells His Story.
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-10 | by ( Mike Baker | More About Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Upon landing, police officers took Mr. Emerson, 44, into custody, and Multnomah County prosecutors charged him with 83 counts of attempted murder — one for every passenger and crew member he was accused of trying to kill. Separately, federal prosecutors accused him of interfering with a flight crew. Prosecutors did not discuss the case beyond the charging documents. Mr. Emerson, who has pleaded not guilty, said he had no intention of hurting anyone that day. It was a loss that had plunged him into deep grief and triggered a search for help with what he realized were longstanding mental health issues.

Persons: Emerson, ” Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Portland, Multnomah County

But within 12 hours, Lahaina was consumed. Robert ArconadoFROM GRASS FIRE TO INFERNOBefore the fire, a major forecast model used by the National Weather Service predicted a dire situation in Lahaina, according to data analyzed by The Times, with projected hurricane-force gusts of up to 76 miles per hour. OAHU MAUI Lahaina HAWAII OAHU MAUI Lahaina HAWAII Forecast wind gusts Aug. 8, 4 a.m. 0 76 m.p.h. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationBut rather than highlighting the risks in Lahaina, the weather service issued a broad warning for all the Hawaiian islands, and that warning never made reference to the 76 m.p.h. Instead, the initial warning to the public said gusts could be over 65 m.p.h., and that number was later lowered to around 60 m.p.h.

Persons: Robert Arconado, Cliff Organizations: National Weather Service, The Times, University of Washington Locations: Lahaina, OAHU MAUI Lahaina HAWAII OAHU MAUI Lahaina HAWAII

The average salary for a Portland teacher is $87,000, according to Portland Public Schools, slightly above the area median income for a single person and below the median for a family of four. Portland Public Schools has offered raises of 4.5 percent for the first year, and 3 percent in subsequent years of the contract. The strike in Portland may set the tone for other districts in Oregon that are also struggling to finalize new labor agreements. The union has encouraged parents to make plans for child care while 81 schools in the district are closed. Portland Public Schools is making meals available for pick up at certain schools.

Persons: ”, Angela Bonilla, Tina Kotek, “, Long Organizations: Portland Association of Teachers, Portland Public Schools, Gov, Democrat Locations: Portland, Oregon, Salem

☆ A New Era of Psychedelics in Oregon
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-23 | by ( Mike Baker | More About Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In a carpeted office suite, Alex Beck settled onto a mattress and, under the watch of a trained guide, began chomping through a handful of “Pumpkin Hillbilly” mushrooms. Now he was ready for a different kind of journey, a psychedelic trip through the nether regions of his own mind. As he felt his thoughts starting to spin, his “facilitator,” Josh Goldstein, urged him to surrender and let the mushrooms guide him. Stigmatized in law and medicine for the past half-century, psychedelics are in the midst of a sudden revival, with a growing body of research suggesting that the mind-altering compounds could upend psychiatric care. Governments in several places have cautiously started to open access, and as Oregon voters approved a broad drug decriminalization plan in 2020, they also backed an initiative to allow the use of mushrooms as therapy.

Persons: Alex Beck, Beck, Josh Goldstein, “, ” Organizations: Marine Corps Locations: nether, Oregon

As the blaze began moving into the neighborhood below, some residents began evacuating on their own. Image The Maui Emergency Management Agency sent a wireless evacuation alert for portions of Lahaina at 4:16 p.m. Credit... Lani PohaikealohaRecords show that it was only at 4:16 p.m., after the fire had begun moving through town, that the county sent an emergency cellphone alert. It was sent to a portion of the town’s residential area east of the commercial district. She went back in the house and flipped through television stations but saw no sign of trouble. The county has said it did not activate its audible warning sirens, fearing that people would think a tsunami was coming.

Persons: Lani Pohaikealoha, Matthews Organizations: Maui Emergency Management Agency, Lani Pohaikealoha Records Locations: Maui, Lahaina

Firefighters spent hours dousing the blaze with water and carving boundaries around the burning fields with heavy machinery. They managed to keep the fire away from nearby homes, containing it to some empty plots of land. Then came what could prove to be one of the key turning points in a disaster that became the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. With hurricane-force gusts still blowing over the fire site and the surrounding arid shrubbery, crews left the neighborhood. The death toll has reached at least 115, and more than 2,000 structures were destroyed.

Organizations: Firefighters Locations: Lahaina, Maui

Hours before the wildfire became an inferno that wiped out the historic Hawaiian town of Lahaina, officials at the West Maui Land Company reached out to the state with an urgent request. The company, a real estate developer that supplies water to areas southeast of Lahaina, took note of the dangerous combination of high winds and drought-parched grasses Maui was facing. It asked for permission to fill up one of its private reservoirs in case firefighters needed it. In the interim, a brush fire that had been contained that morning flared up once again and swept through Lahaina, burning everything in its path. It is unlikely that filling up the private reservoir would have changed the course of the Lahaina wildfire, state officials say, and winds were so high that day that helicopter crews would have been unable to reach it.

Organizations: Maui Land Company Locations: Lahaina, Maui

Warning: This episode contains descriptions of death. When fires swept West Maui, Hawaii, many residents fled for their lives — but soon discovered they had nowhere to go. Thousands of structures, mostly homes, have been reduced to rubble. Husks of incinerated cars line the historic Front Street in Lahaina, while search crews nearby make their way painstakingly from house to house, looking for human remains. Ydriss Nora, a resident of Lahaina, recounts his experience fleeing the inferno and Mike Baker, the Seattle bureau chief for The Times, explains how an extraordinary set of circumstances turned the city into a death trap.

Persons: Ydriss Nora, Mike Baker Organizations: The Times Locations: West Maui, Hawaii, Lahaina, Seattle

☆ Judge Rules in Favor of Montana Youths in Landmark Climate Case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Mike Baker | More About Mike Baker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A judge in Montana ruled on Monday that young people in the state have a constitutional right to a healthful environment, finding in a landmark case that the state’s failure to consider climate change when evaluating new projects was causing harm. The case, brought by a group of young Montana residents ranging in age from 5 to 22, is the first of its kind to go to trial in the United States. In her ruling, Kathy Seeley, a district court judge, found that the state’s emissions “have been proven to be a substantial factor” in affecting the climate. Laws that limited the ability of regulators to consider climate effects were unconstitutional, she ruled. “This is a huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy and for our climate,” said Julia Olson, the executive director of Our Children’s Trust, which brought the case.

Persons: Kathy Seeley, ”, Julia Olson Organizations: Montana Locations: Montana, United States

A utility pole on Friday that had been damaged in the high winds this week in Lahaina, Hawaii. But Hawaiian Electric, the state’s largest utility and the parent company of the power provider on Maui, made wildfire prevention its lowest priority in a state regulatory filing in April. In fact, the utility had no plan to cut power to prevent further ignitions even after flames began consuming the island. The recent devastation on Maui served as a reminder that climate-driven disaster can strike anywhere. “From what we’ve learned, we believe the Lahaina fires could have been prevented had proper safety precautions been taken,” said Gerald Singleton, one lawyer who issued a release about potential lawsuits.

Persons: ”, Jennifer Potter, Potter, Jim Kelly, we’ve, Gerald Singleton, Nicole Lowen, Ms, ” Ms, “ Organizations: Hawaii Public Utilities Commission, Pacific Gas & Electric, San Diego Gas &, Hawaiian Electric, Energy, Hawaii State Legislature Locations: Lahaina , Hawaii, Maui, California, Lahaina, “, Hawaii

These two firefighters declined to be named because they were not authorized to discuss the emergency effort. The water pressure was a continuing problem, he said. At one point, the crew found a hydrant further north that seemed to have more water, and they doused a commercial building. They left the scene, he said, hoping that the water they had applied to the structure would be enough to keep it safe. “I thought it had a chance,” Mr. Ho said.

Persons: Ho, Mr, ” Organizations: Hawaii Fire Fighters Association Locations: Maui, Lahaina

The power was out and the air-conditioning off when Dustin Kaleiopu woke up on Tuesday morning in Lahaina. “The wind was noisy,” said Mr. Kaleiopu, 26. When the fire reached his neighbor’s yard, Mr. Kaleiopu said he loaded his grandfather into a car and began preparing to leave. Mr. Kaleiopu has spent recent days with family in another part of Maui, a comfort that others do not have. Still, Mr. Kaleiopu said, there was no question that he would return to Lahaina, that he would carve out a new life in a rebuilt town.

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Persons: Dustin Kaleiopu, ”, Kaleiopu, “, Mr, it’s, grandpa, ‘ He’ll, we’ve, ’ Organizations: Longtime, Investors Locations: Lahaina ., Lahaina, Maui, Honolulu

Image The Pioneer Inn in Lahaina, Hawaii, last year. Image Shops and dining destinations along the sidewalks and streets in Lahaina, Maui. Mr. Hedani said the fabled beach areas on Oahu that Hawaii is best known for held nothing on Lahaina. “The sunset looks fake every time I see it.”Image Sunset in Lahaina, Hawaii. “What happens when you take away the most important street on Maui?” he said.

Persons: George Alan Freeland, Freeland’s, ”, Theo Morrison, Daejas, Baldwin, Ephraim Spaulding, Dwight Baldwin, Morrison, Mark Twain, “, —, Kiha Kaina, Patrick T, Kaina, Lee Anne Wong, Wong, Tony Novak, Clifford, Ronald Williams, Williams, it’s, Jared Hedani, Tommy Bahama, Hedani, “ You’re, Jim Wilson, Kamehameha the, Kaniela Ing, Ing, “ I’d, Amy Qin, David W, Chen, Mitch Smith Organizations: Lahaina Restoration Foundation, The New York Times, East Coast, ., Fallon, Agence France, French Culinary Institute, Hawaii State Archives, New York Times, Green New Deal Network Locations: Lahaina, British, Maui, Hawaii, “, United States, Lahaina , Hawaii, Massachusetts, East, Berkeley, Calif, ”, Papa’aina, New York City, Maui . Credit, Mexico City, Shaw, Paradise, Oahu, Waikiki

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