Former state legislator and police accountability advocate Jo Ann Hardesty spoke to The Skanner News about the US Department of Justice report on Portland police and excessive force.

Roughly one in five Oregonians receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, (formerly known as food stamps), according to Oregon Department of Human Services. Putting healthy food on the table is a struggle for many of these families.

The Oregon Department of Transportation has been stung by a landmark ruling by the Federal Highway Administration Office of Civil Rights that found cheating on minority contracting numbers at a Highway 217 construction project.

Excerpts from the Department Justice report on Portland Police Bureau and Excessive use of Force

A Department of Justice report has concluded that Portland Police Department violated the civil rights of people with mental illness by engaging in patterns or practices of using excessive force.

The Oregon Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission will be holding a series of free events this weekend to observe the 150^th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Portland City Council has voted to add fluoride to the city's water supply. Sponsored by Commissioners Randy Leonard and Nick Fish, the measure was passed in a unanimous 5-0 vote

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum signaled she is prepared to back major revisions to sentencing guidelines, including those mandated by voters through Measure 11 in 1994 and Measure 57 in 2008.

Oregon, has sidestepped the Voter ID controversy –so far. But a group of activists, connected to the right-wing Cascade Policy Institute and the Oregon Tea Party, is trying to change that.

The Sellwood Bridge Project is exceeding its minority hiring goal, project managers told Multnomah County Commissioners Thursday.