It could have been just another shopping center. Just another collection of chain stores like those you can visit in any other part of the country. But Vanport Square is different.
Nearly six years in the making, the first phase of the Vanport Square project is now officially open for business, although it will be several more months before all 16 businesses move into their new storefronts.
Developer Jeana Woolley said, unlike many developments, Vanport Square, 5257 N.E. Killingsworth St., offers local, small businesses an opportunity to purchase and own their shops, rather than lease the space at the whim of landlords....

Seattle Pacific University leading scorer and Garfield High School graduate Marques Echols receives a pass during the homecoming game on Jan. 26 at Royal Brougham Pavillion against Saint Martin's College.
The 13 - 3 SPU Redhawks who are tied for second in the NCAA Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference beat the St. Martin Saints 89-79.

ATLANTA (NNPA) – The eyes of the people at Gate A15 at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta were focused in one direction – and that was not on the flight monitor.
Heads were turned upward, ears straining to hear the TV set hanging from the ceiling. On the screen the figures showed that Barack Obama had just defeated Hillary Clinton 55 percent to 27 percent in South Carolina's Democratic Primary with John Edwards hanging in with 18 percent.
"In the South where we were lynched?… My God," marveled Tracie Powell, a middle-aged Black accountant on her way home to Maryland. "If the slave masters could only wake up and see this."
Another woman, 27-year-old Stacy Stewart, a copyright lawyer from from the South American nation of Trinidad & Tobago, quickly switched seats in order to get closer to the TV.
"The way the U.S. is viewed today around the world will change," she predicted in an interview. "Also, he will not only bring hope to the U. S., but around the world."....

After seven months of work, the 2007 Police Accountability Review Panel, chaired by retired Judge Terrence Carroll, released its final report.
The panel concluded the general structure of Seattle's police oversight system – with its civilian director, auditor and review board – should continue. The panel found all three components play roles in the oversight process. The panel also found many aspects of the current police accountability system are valuable and encourage an effective citizen-complaint process.
The panel did, however, find room for improvement and provided Mayor Greg Nickels with 29 specific recommendations for enhancing and strengthening the police accountability system in the following four areas:...

Arts producer and communications consultant Vivian Phillips has been named as temporary manager for the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center.
Phillips replaces former manager Jacqueline Moscou, who was placed on three months of forced administrative leave and then asked to leave in October while the city investigates a complaint she only wanted to hire African American actors and staff....

Earned Income Tax Awareness Day For Low Wage Workers.....Valentango 21 Artists …History Image Gallery...Mean Vs. Mad Conflict & Problem Solving Workshop For Girls….Super Refund Saturday: Free Tax Prep For Low To Moderate Income Taxpayers  ....12^th Annual African American Read-In ...."A Killer Bargain" ....Portland Punk Parents Playdate... Blood Drive .... Swordless Samurai: ... "Explore How Fascism Arises And How People Have Successfully Fought Against It."....Workspace Exercises..... Employment Marketplace…. African American Alliance For Homeownership... A Sampling Of Portland Theatre. 

Admissions AttendantIf you enjoy meeting, greeting and assisting guests in a customer-service…

Are you a registered nurse in the State of Oregon looking for a position that affords you the…

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer is reportedly planning to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, in a conference call for reporters Friday morning. The congressman will be the first big name Oregon politician to endorse Obama. State Rep. Chip Shields also has decided to back Obama.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama filled Boise State University's basketball arena with about 14,000 people Saturday morning during the Illinois senator's swing through a state long considered one of America's most Republican strongholds.
"They told me there weren't any Democrats in Idaho," Obama said, after arriving to wild cheering and the rock music of the band U2. "I did not believe them."
Obama's Idaho excursion comes just four days before "Super Tuesday," when the state is among 23 others to hold primaries or caucuses.
Idaho is on the frontier of America, and Idaho Democrats often feel they are on the frontier of politics in a place that overwhelmingly backed President Bush in 2004 and where everybody in statewide elected office is a Republican. Those who attended the rally were hungry for a share of the national election spotlight, after years of being written off as insignificant players in deciding who will be the next president....