The key issue she will address if about how local vendors and services providers of color can successfully sell their products and abilities to local government. "Social equity and sustainability are our key priorities and core values," she said. This year's conference theme is, "Crossroads to Raising the Bar for Contract Compliance and Diversity."

A campaign inspired by the tragic death of Andre Dupree Payton seeks to prevent any further shooting deaths. Men from Portland's African American Community plan to make their presence felt at this week's football game between Grant and Benson high schools. They will be wearing buttons that say "Restore the Village," signifying that they are there to support and mentor and encourage black youth. The game will be held 7 pm Friday at Cleveland High School football field.

It may come as no surprise, but children are much more likely to witness acts of violence than adults. According to the Department of Justice, about 60 percent of children report being exposed to violence.

They've been called the "backbone of the economy" by President Obama.

For years, the Northwest Health Foundation has funded the efforts of many of the local, low-income health clinics in Portland.

In a heartbreaking instant, Andre Dupree Payton, 19, was shot and killed last weekend in downtown Portland. The shooting was another tragic outbreak of gang-related violence – but those who knew the teen well say that he was a decent young man who was hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Sam Williams, in-school coordinator with Self enhancement Inc., has been working with Payton for the last 4 years. "He worked very, very hard to graduate from Grant High School in the class of 2010," Williams said. "I want to emphasize what a good, good kid Andre was."

Includes Hydrotherapy, AromaTherapy, and Polarity Therapy.

If an emergency strikes your neighborhood, Carmen Merlo wants her staff at Portland Office of Emergency Management to have your contact information. Say, a bridge has collapsed, for example, or dangers such as downed power lines, or a toxic chemical spill are lurking in your neighborhood, they could send you warnings in the form of texts, emails or voicemails.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The recession spread poverty into thousands of mom-and-dad households where good jobs had been common, a study of food stamp use in Oregon concludes.

If you're a felon, Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna wants to make sure you can't vote until you're no longer under the jurisdiction of the state.
This week, the state's top law enforcement officer traveled to San Francisco to argue before an 11-member panel of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to strike down a January 2010 decision that found the state's prohibition on prisoner suffrage violated the Voting Rights Act