Walter Kelsaw had a story in his head that he just couldn't shake. It was pieces of his life on the streets of Portland, people he once knew, and the lifestyles they used to lead -- plus a good dose of fiction in between. Kelsaw has now joined a growing army of independent book publishers, authors who've had either bad luck or no luck getting publishing houses to pay attention to their work.

Two of the seven Portland Public Schools board members voted against continuing with the proposed high school redesign  March 9 – educator and former Latino Network President, Martin Gonzalez, and Portland State University Professor Dilafruz Williams.
Gonzalez told The Skanner that while he agrees that Portland's high schools are segregated and vastly unequal, he disagrees with the idea that students of color will be better off in large comprehensives.
"The outcomes are not there," Gonzalez said. "Grant High School is a large comprehensive with all the characteristics they say every school should have. And 95 percent of White students are meeting or exceeding the academic benchmarks in reading but only 45 percent of African American students are meeting or achieving the benchmark.

The scene was a public meeting at Portland Community College's Cascade campus, organized by the Oregon Association of Black School Educators. The topic was Portland Public Schools' proposal to change the high school system from the ground up. School district administrators John Wilhelmi and Charles Hobson made the case for turning two high schools into small specialized "focus" schools, while sending most students to larger neighborhood comprehensives. Their audience -- made up mostly of teachers, was less than enthusiastic.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that workers can be fired for using medical marijuana even if they have a card from the state program authorizing its use.

The state of Oregon will soon be holding hearings to let the public voice their concerns about where money should be allocated within the Department of Human Services. MindFreedom International – an organization made up of mental health care consumers –is calling upon the state to financially support a advocacy office for customers of the state's mental healthcare system

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Jurors on Tuesday found the Boy Scouts of America negligent and awarded $1.4 million to a former Portland man who was abused by an assistant Scoutmaster in the early 1980s, following a three-week trial in which secret Scout ``perversion files'' were used as evidence.

Portland Police Officer, Victoria Burton (formerly Victoria Wade), has seen hundreds of families struggle to deal with trauma and loss. As the founder and leader of the police Crisis Response Team, Burton helped families through some of the worst moments of their lives – a sudden death, a murder, a suicide or violent assault.
This month she is asking some of those families to come to her retirement reception so that she can thank them personally for their courage. The reception will be held Friday, April 23 from 2 – 4 pm at Emmanuel Temple, 1033 N. Sumner.

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Torry Hansen was so eager to become a mother that she adopted an older child from a foreign country, two factors that scare off many prospective parents. Her bigger fears came later.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- The state House has approved a multimillion-dollar tax package that increases the cost of candy, soda, and beer and also eliminates some tax exemptions.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Running as "the outsider," former NBA player Chris Dudley has drawn on insider connections to take a big lead in raising money in the Oregon governor race.