OAKLAND (NNPA) - The arrest and filing of murder charges against the former transit officer, whose New Year's Day shooting of an unarmed Black man was captured on cell phone videos and spread around the world, brought a small measure of relief to a diverse, national group demanding his full prosecution....

DETROIT (AP -- Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick emerged from jail after serving a 99-day sentence. He was greeted in the cold by about two dozen reporters and a handful of onlookers.
Kilpatrick and his ex-chief of staff admitted to lying during a 2007 whistle-blowers' trial about a romantic relationship and their role in a police official's firing. Sexually explicit text messages contradicted their testimony .... He stood for a minute or two outside the jail amid swirling snowflakes, smiling occasionally to those in the crowd who called his name and shouted: "We love you, Kwame. Detroit loves you baby!".....

WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Despite earlier efforts by Republicans to hold up his confirmation, Eric Holder met Senate committee approval, approval of the full Senate and was sworn in yesterday.
He becomes the nation's chief law enforcement official and America's first Black attorney general ...

BALTIMORE (NNPA) - Defeating the incumbent party chief and three other challengers after six rounds of balloting, former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele was elected Friday to chair the Republican National Committee (RNC), becoming the first African-American to lead the GOP....

Professor Cornel West of Princeton University, center, speaks Friday to President Preston Pulliams of Portland Community College and Sylvia Welch, director of Affirmative Action and equity for PCC, at the Heathman Hotel. West was in Portland to discuss politics and race in the era of President Obama.

This week, a consortium of Portland-area agencies announced grants totaling $5.4 million dollars, and 16 Section 8 project-based vouchers, had been awarded to six housing projects. 
They were selected in part because the majority of these projects will be able to provide leased units for the area's most vulnerable homeless population by July 1.  
Together, the projects provide 37 new units of permanent housing while creating or preserving an additional 160 units of housing affordable to low-income households.    
"Until every person in our community has a safe, stable home, we need to make sure that our limited resources are serving the people who need our help the most ...

An audit report released by Portland City Auditor Gary Blackmer yesterday says the five-year parks levy achieved improvements in facilities and services. 
Auditors found the levy funding was generally spent consistently with the Parks Bureau's original plans. 
However, auditors also found that wording of the ballot title included in the voter's pamphlet may have prevented voters from making an informed decision about  whether to approve the levy....

Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church in Portland presented the  2009 Drum Major Awards at its Third Living The Dream Drum Major Ecumenical Service, Jan. 18, honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta Scott King, and Rosa Parks. Honorees, from left, are  Pastor J.W. Matt Hennessee; Gale Castillo, president and co-founder of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber; Derrick Foxworth, former chief of the Portland Police department; and Dr. O. Virginia Phillips, child and family advocate, author and founder of Women of Purpose International.

Come celebrate and discuss the selected works of Martin Luther King Jr. on Wednesday, February 4th from 6-7:30pm at the Central Public Library, 801 SW 10th Ave. The focus of the discussion will be on non-violent civil disobedience, and we will read: Dr. King's "The Birth of a New Nation", "A Letter From a Birmingham Jail" and Henry Thoreau's "On Civil Disobedience." The works are available online and can be accessed through ...

With the start of a new budget year, two city-sponsored grant programs are collecting proposals from nonprofits that work with children and from grassroots groups with innovative ideas.
The Vision into Action grants program, is looking for proposals that advance the vision for Portland laid out in last year's visionPDX planning document. About 17,000 Portlanders took part in the project, laying out their ideas about what the city should look like in 2030. Projects can receive grants of up to $20,000 from a total pool of $102,500 ...