Portland State University Professor Maude Hines, right, leads a July 17 discussion of poetry and music during the Lyricists' Lounge, a spoken word/poetry workshop for teens at the North Portland Library. Looking on are Jamilah Bourdon, left, Dylan Muldrew, Alicia Jackson and Heather Cornelius.

Drivers beware: If you park too long in Portland, be ready to pay a hefty fine. An $8 increase…

Transition Projects Inc. broke ground this week for the Clark Center Annex, which will provide 22…

Joyce Brown, Xavier Lazemby, Nia Grant and baby her cousin Kayanna, enjoy the food and festive atmosphere at the Emmanuel Temple Church Family and Friends Community Outreach Day. The day is a chance for the church members to talk to local neighbors and enjoy each other's company.

The Portland Housing Center is celebrating its 15th anniversary of helping low- and moderate-income…

A five-week run of outdoor movies will kick off Friday, July 12, with the premier of Flicks on the…

Aliya Campbell, 9, left, Adrionna Taylor, 8, second from left, and Maya Brown, 8, right, follow master drummer Chata Addy, second from right, as he leads his drum campers in a complex rhythm July 14 at the Northstar Ballroom. The performance capped Addy's weeklong youth camp, which included instruction in African drumming, dance and culture.

The blue team celebrates as Michael Bell, 6, center, scores a run during a game of Triple Threat at the Run to Win Sports Camp, held at Garfield Community Center from July 17 through 19. The free camp gives children age 6 to 14 an opportunity to learn new games, make friends and have lots of fun.

A group from Oklahoma City has agreed to buy the Seattle SuperSonics and the Seattle Storm, an official with the Sonics said Tuesday.
The team scheduled an afternoon news conference to officially announce the sale. The team official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the sale had not been announced.
The Basketball Club of Seattle — owners of the NBA Sonics and WNBA Storm — would not officially comment until the news conference.
A local paper reported Tuesday that Oklahoma City businessman Clay Bennett was involved in the purchase of the Sonics.
Bennett was instrumental in the temporary relocation of the New Orleans Hornets to Oklahoma City following Hurricane Katrina and emerged as a potential investor in the Hornets. He did not immediately return telephone calls for comment Tuesday afternoon.

About 30 percent of incoming Washington high school juniors who didn't pass one or more sections of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning test last spring have signed up for August retakes.
That number is neither encouraging or discouraging, said Joe Willhoft, assistant superintendent for assessment and research at the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.
"This is the first time we did it. It's a little bit hard to have anticipated what we might have expected," Willhoft said.
All of those who failed one or more sections of the test were eligible to sign up for the retake exams, scheduled for Aug. 7 through 10.
A total of 9,986 students registered by last Sunday's deadline for the math retake; 2,974 signed up for the reading test, and 3,344 for the writing retake, according to Kim Schmanke, a spokesperson for the state education office. A small number of these students are incoming juniors who did not take the WASL last spring, but as members of the class of 2008 they are obligated to pass the WASL or an approved alternative in order to graduate from high school. Students have as many as five chances to pass the test.