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....

On 1/29/2009 President Obama signed into law the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act which expands the time period in which employees can pursue discrimination claims related to employment compensation. This will result in a substantial increase in the number of pay-related lawsuits. Support for the law began after the bill's namesake, Lilly Ledbetter, filed suit against her former employer claiming that she was paid less money than equally qualified, and in some cases lesser qualified, men over a span of almost 20 years....

Portland Trailblazer and University of Washington Basketball star Brandon Roy saw his #3 jersey officially retired Thursday, Jan. 22 at the Washington vs. USC game. He met with some 200 fans at Niketown in downtown Seattle beforehand, including current players from his high school alma mater, Garfield, above. Roy is only the second player in UW basketball history to have his number retired. The Huskies beat USC 78 to 73.
Photo by Susan Fried

Although Congress attempted to delay the digital television transition from  Feb. 17 to June 12, television stations told The Skanner they never planned to wait. That's because delaying the switch to all-digital would have cost stations a lot of money... it would cost the Public Broadcasting Service $22 million to put off the transition until June. Officials had already stepped in to help unprepared consumers ....