Going through a rough patch in life, writer Leon McCoy was inspired to improve his life – and wrote a book about it. Here the author speaks about how the book came about and how it can help others heal from past tragedies.

The Connected program, which in 2011 sought to bring 100 men out to a major gang hotspot every Friday night as a way to build positive relationships with young people, is branching out.

Latay Hammick, 13, promotes the need for donors as she herself faces a blood disorder. Give patients like Latay a fighting chance; donate with the Red Cross and join the Be The Match and Donate Life Northwest registries.

Responding to dismal statistics – and heartbreaking personal stories of broken families – the Oregon Department of Human Services is launching a major initiative to reduce the number of children in foster care statewide.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- A man who was slurring his speech and appeared intoxicated was found dead on New Year's Day at a controversial center in Anchorage where chronic street alcoholics are allowed to keep drinking.

MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, Wash. (AP) -- Mount Rainier National Park remained closed Tuesday following the discovery of the body of the suspected gunman in the fatal shooting of a park ranger that has devastated the close-knit group of park workers.

University of Oregon researchers recently released a study that concluded the football team's success reduced male students grades relative to female grades. It also questioned the allocation of subsidies to the athletic department.

Judges and criminal justice experts say harsher sentences only turn troubled kids into chronic offenders. But will Oregon's Commission on Public Safety Agree?

The importance of learning the trades has not been stressed enough in the black community, says Portland Community College instructor Eddie Lincoln.