Music icon James DePriest has died in Scottsdale, Ariz., at age 77.

The Oregon Legislature is beginning its 2013 session with hundreds of proposals for new laws. The Urban League of Portland is taking African Americans and other minority advocates to Salem to make sure all of our voices are heard.

The Portland Parks & Recreation E205 Initiative to build up East Portland parks is officially a wrap after a year and a half of improvements to a dozen play areas and greenspaces. Now the bureau is getting ready to visualize its next 10 years, including exploring the possibility of a new bond measure for the November ballot.

Researchers at Washington State University are challenging the widespread belief that private prisons can help job growth in rural counties.

Jeff Selby, whose work experience includes jobs at Walt Disney Imagineering, Kuni BMW-Cadillac-Saab,  and as a U.S. Army broadcaster, has been hired as Communications Program Coordinator for The Office of Equity and Human Rights and Portland Human Rights Commission.

News media across the United States carried a Washington Post story, Tuesday, saying the Federal Communications Commission wants to give free Wi-Fi to everyone. But don't ditch your cell phone plan yet. Newsflash! The news media may have got it wrong.

Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen delivered an upbeat State of the County speech Feb. 1 at the City Club of Portland's Friday Forum at the Governor Hotel in downtown Portland. 

Joe Mcferrin, CEO and President of Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center is The Skanner's Newsmaker of The Year.

A federal jury in Oregon found Mohamed Osman Mohamud, 21, guilty of one count of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. The Defense said the FBI entrapped the 19-year-old Somali-born student

Speaking in Portland Tuesday, economist Jared Bernstein said America's best strategy for revitalizing the economy and lifting families out of poverty would be a national jobs program to create full employment.   But that is not on the agenda Bernstein said, because the public debate has been hijacked by wealthy campaign donors, who want policies that benefit them.