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 ...

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) _ Witnesses reported that Ethiopian troops have returned to neighboring Somalia just over a week after they ended their unpopular two-year presence there. The Ethiopian government on Tuesday denied the claim.
The Islamists who control most of Somalia and have used the foreign presence to rally recruits vowed to fight any Ethiopian troops who did not leave....

MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) -- Swarms of crop-eating pests are laying more larvae in the West African country, experts said Tuesday, warning that the caterpillars also have been identified as a species capable of more damage than previously believed.
While officials initially believed the caterpillars were army worms, Liberian Agriculture Minister Chris Toe said they now believe they are actually a pest capable of destroying even more crops, known as Achaea Catocaloides....

on Jan. 18 after battling a long illness. He was 55. A service will be held at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 29 at Rose City Funeral Home.
Born on Dec. 3, 1953 in Van, Ark., Alfred was the second son and 11^th child of the late Leslie and Fannie Minor. He came to Portland as a child. He attended Washington High School....

Washington's economic recovery will depend on small business. 
That message is driven home in the newly updated Washington Small Business Profile released this week by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. 
The most recent data show that the state has 147,948 small employers, and they employ 98.2 percent of the state's workforce.
"Washington depends on small business for jobs and economic growth....

Victims of recent severe winter storms, landslides, mudslides, and flooding in Washington may qualify for tax relief from the Internal Revenue Service.
Following severe winter storms, landslides, mudslides, and flooding on Jan. 6, 2009, the President declared King, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, Snohomish, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties a federal disaster area qualifying for individual assistance.
As a result, the IRS is ...

Despite voting down this same bill a week ago, Congress has now voted to approve a bill that will move the digital television transition deadline from Feb. 17 to June 12. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation.
Procrastinators beware: national deadlines don't matter -- many television stations may be switching over within the next few weeks no matter what Congress says, because delaying the switch to all-digital will cost stations money.
Under the law, television stations will still be allowed to make the switch early, requiring televisions without digital receivers, cable or satellite service to attach a digital converter box to the analogue antennae....