Verizon Wireless is teaming up with the Portland Trail Blazers for the sixth consecutive year to help curb domestic violence.
Fans attending the Trail Blazers game against the New Jersey Nets Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m., are being encouraged to donate used wireless phones and accessories to benefit victims of domestic violence through the Verizon Wireless HopeLine program. . . .

Attorney General John Kroger is warning consumers to avoid misleading and possibly illegal promotions for "free gas" and "free groceries."
The promotions are designed to get consumers to buy products they might not otherwise purchase. They typically offer hundreds of dollars of free groceries or gas if you buy certain products and mail in your receipts. There's often a $5 registration fee. . . .

The decision to bring Major League Soccer to Portland won the City Council's approval by a 3-2 vote Wednesday afternoon. The council voted on initial business plans to renovate PGE Park in order to accommodate professional soccer and build a new, smaller ballpark for the Beavers. The proposal was backed by Mayor Sam Adams and Councilmembers Dan Saltzman and Randy Leonard. Councilmembers Nick Fish and Amanda Fritz opposed the deal our of concerns that it could affect city services. . . .

Veteran producer and keyboardist George Duke will be performing for four nights at The Pacific Jazz Institute at Dimitriou's Jazz Alley. Duke is touring in support of his latest album "Dukey Treats." The album includes a number of diverse tracks, from the up tempo "Everyday Hero" – praising everyday people that make differences in everyone's lives – to the heartbreaking "Sudan (It's a Cryin' Shame)." . . .

BOSTON (AP) _ The street artist who created the famous "Hope'' poster of President Barack Obama expects to face new vandalism charges relating to the red, white and blue image, but his lawyer said Tuesday that the accusations would cover a period of time when the artist wasn't even in Boston.

NEW ORLEANS (AP) _ Accusing officials in a suburban New Orleans parish of trying to keep blacks from moving there after Hurricane Katrina, a housing advocacy group is asking a federal judge to strike down a parish limit on the construction of new multifamily homes.
The Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center claims the St. Bernard Parish's September 2008 moratorium on building structures with more than five units is an end run around an earlier court settlement over a different housing regulation.
Last year, the predominantly white parish agreed to repeal an ordinance that barred residents from renting single-family homes to anyone other than a blood relative. ...

The head of the federal agency responsible for warning people about health effects of toxic pollution in their neighborhoods responded to complaints Thursday at a hearing in Washington by saying he's improving the agency's approach to investigating hazards and how the risks are explained.
Frumkin says the agency has found better ways to explain health risks to people wanting information about their neighborhoods' hazards. ...

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (AP) _ A prominent member of the prime minister's party, arrested last month on weapons charges, was released on bail Thursday.
"I am happy to be out. I will do anything to move this country forward,'' Roy Bennett told reporters after being released from prison in the eastern city of Mutare.
Bennett was unshaven and thinner. But he sounded determined as he spoke about harsh jail conditions in which prisoners survive on one meal a day and are given salty water. ...

The Department of Social and Health Services is holding a summit to teach minority businesses how to earn the agencies contracts.
Minority and women business owners can meet with Department's purchasing staff to learn about contracting with the agency at "Bridging the Gap," the 2009 Supplier Diversity Summit on March 30 in Pasco. ...

To honor the 30th anniversary of its founding, Sisters Of The Road has kicked off a campaign to collect one thousand $30 contributions by Sisters' birthday in November 2009.
Sisters was founded on Nov. 7, 1979. Their three original goals remain unchanged: to be a safe and welcoming environment to everyone, especially women and children; to offer nourishing meals at little cost or in exchange for work; and to provide job training and employment experience to local residents. ...