April's "Race Talks" discussion looked at the divisive issue of fluoridation. Portland City Council voted in favor of water fluoridation last fall, but a campaign, named "Clean Water Portland," gathered 43,000 signatures in one month, enough to put the issue on the ballot this May. Voters will have an opportunity to vote for or against water fluoridation in the May 21 special election.

In the midst of heated gun control debate on Capitol Hill, Florida Atlantic University researchers say one startling statistic is going unnoticed. Homicide is the number one killer of young Black men.

Sen. Chip Shields has sponsored a bill in the Oregon legislature targeted at changing the terms of the Portland Police Bureau contract. Senate Bill 747 would remove officers' right to state arbitration when they are fired or disciplined for misconduct or use of force

Police have asked the public to look out for a medically endangered woman last seen around 8 p.m.  Friday, April 5, in the 4600 block of N. Michigan Ave. 

After serving in Vietnam, Cleveland McCord was given a brief medical exam, a fresh uniform and a one-way bus ticket to Oregon. That was in 1970. In 2010 McCord was awarded 90 percent service connected disability benefits from the Veterans Administration. That was after years of filing claims and appealing rejected claims.

The Skanner News publisher Bernie Foster and executive editor Bobbie Foster are among the 2013 recipients of the Oregon Historical Society's Oregon History Makers Medal.

The new medical vocational school will partner with nearby medical facilities and provide internships and mentorships for its students. It will also honor the legacy of one of the profession's most important, yet unsung heroes.

Portland Police detectives have released sketches of a suspect in an assault on a woman. The assault took place just after midnight on March 26 at North Larabee and N. Interstate.

Services are planned for Gary Duane Washington who died Saturday, march 30 at the age of 53. Washington was the brother of the late Portland Observer publisher, Charles Washington.