HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Sunday he is pulling out of this week's presidential runoff because of mounting violence and intimidation against his supporters.
Tsvangirai announced his decision during a news conference in Zimbabwe's capital after thousands of militants loyal to President Robert Mugabe blockaded the site of the opposition's main campaign rally.
"We can't ask the people to cast their vote ... when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election"' he said. "Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war."...

The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. hosted an Atlanta 'Dream Dinner' Thursday night at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta in support of the four-acre memorial soon to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.   The Memorial Foundation presented Dr. Christine King Farris, author and Dr. King's sister, and Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., Dr. King's nephew and President and CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, with a miniature replica of the Stone of Hope, the centerpiece of the Memorial.  
"The King Family wholeheartedly supports the National Memorial and the artist who is sculpting a portion of it," said Isaac Newton Farris, Jr.  "It is the first national memorial to a peaceful and non violent warrior on the National Mall. Generations to come need examples of confrontation and boldness. Dr. King was confrontational and it is appropriate that he be portrayed in that way."

The Skanner photographer Julie Keefe, in collaboration with the arts nonprofit training organization Caldera, has just completed the largest public art project in Oregon history.
"Hello Neighbor" put cameras in the hands of teenagers over half the state – and the resulting artwork is currently hung on gigantic prints hung outdoors in neighborhoods from Madras to Northeast Killingsworth Avenue.
"I have lived in this neighborhood for decades, and have only in the last six or seven years faced the gentrification issues," Keefe said. ...

The case of an Oregon Youth Authority official who allegedly stole state property and used incarcerated youth to remodel his kitchen has drawn the scrutiny of state lawmakers down on the entire youth incarceration system.
A review of the incident is underway, and legislators are calling on the youth authority to report its findings to a legislative committee in July.
However The Oregonian obtained documents and police reports earlier this month detailing the "sociopathic" activities of Darrin Humphreys, former warden at RiverBend and MacLaren youth detention centers.
"There have been complaints about management at OYA," Rep. Chip Shields, D-Portland, told The Skanner. "There have been very significant scandals within the last four years. ...

Dr. Alvin Poussaint remains positive that African Americans will improve their health. Through a combination of cultural ignorance, prejudice and misunderstanding, doctors continue to treat African Americans differently than their White counterparts.
Nevertheless, Poussaint says African Americans need to take some responsibility for their own health problems.
The renowned psychiatrist, author and television consultant, speaks in Portland for the 18th annual Saward Lecture. . ...

For several years after he finished college, Antjuan Tolbert worked without getting a paycheck. He provided local businesses and organizations marketing and design work, and they helped him in different ways – by spreading his name and work throughout the community.
"It's the natural law of compensation," he said.
On Saturday, along with business partners Mackenzie Doyle and Roy Shryne, Tolbert celebrated the grand opening of Empyrean Perspectives, a business specializing in web and graphic design.  ...

What's happening for me in my City this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your week. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below.

City Commissioner Nick Fish was sworn into office June 13 in ceremonies held at Rosa Parks Elementary School. Fish was sworn in by John Kroger, who is running unopposed for the office of Oregon Attorney General. The Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue Pipe and Drum Corps provided music. Speakers included former Gov. Barbara Roberts and Rosa Parks Principal Tamala Newsome.

A group of buffalo soldiers lead the annual Central Area Juneteenth Parade on June 14. The three-day event was held over the weekend of June 13 through 15 and included a parade, music and a variety of vendors.

Housing, treatment and support services have increased for veterans and their families, as well as other vulnerable households in King County.
That's the news from the 2007 Veterans and Human Services Levy Annual report released last week.
"The most important thing to know is how wonderful the voters are in King County," said Community Services Division Director Linda Peterson. "They passed this levy with a 58 percent approval rating."
At a time when the federal government has cut services to war veterans, including housing and mental health assistance, the new levy is providing more than $13 million to local vets as well as low-income families with children.
The levy focuses on several priority areas, including enhancing services for veterans and their families; ending homelessness through outreach, prevention, permanent supportive housing and employment; increasing access to behavioral health; and strengthening families at risk.  ...