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Nathaniel C. Hartley, owner, Professional Lath and Plaster, LLC shows off his company's finished plaster work on the 21st floor of the 3720 condos under construction in the South Waterfront district to State Rep. Chip Shields. Hartley, who recently returned to Portland after 20 years spent in the Bay area, received a loan from Albina Community Bank to finance his business venture. Shields was instrumental in arranging Hartley's loan, a requirement of Hoffman Construction, the project's contractor, to get the job....

An NFC wild-card playoff game and a wild game — both came together at Qwest Field as the Seattle Seahawks faced the Washington Redskins Saturday afternoon and won 35-14, securing their trip to Green Bay to face the Packers on Saturday.
Within 28 seconds, the game went from the Redskins looking for a win with a 14-13 lead, to the Seahawks scoring two touchdowns and taking a 28-14 lead in the fourth quarter.
"I was proud of the way they bounced back after losing the momentum in this game," Coach Mike Holmgren said. "That's what the playoffs and the NFL is all about. You persevere, hang in there, overcome injuries, keep believing and keep fighting and this team has done that."...

Quinton Morris, violinist and founder of The Young Eight String Octet, America's only all African American string octet, will join Associate Conductor Carolyn Kaun as she leads Seattle Symphony in several free community concerts.
"We wanted Quinton to be part of our ACCESS community concerts this season due to his ongoing commitment to bringing classical music to underserved populations,"...

A man whose conviction for carrying an illegal gun was overturned by a federal appeals court has filed a lawsuit against the Portland Police Bureau.
Bennie Washington, 40, of Portland was arrested in 2004 after officers asked if they could search him. Washington, who wasn't doing anything illegal, consented to the search and officers found the gun under a seat of his car.
Washington was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and sentenced to six years in prison.

BOSTON (AP) -- One juror, a White woman, was trying to convince the others that the murder victim had been bruised during a struggle, not during consensual sex with the defendant. Bruises like those, the juror supposedly said, can happen "when a big black guy beats up on a small woman."
Another juror, a Black woman, took offense and accused her of racism. Things got so heated that the two women had to be separated ...

Federal Communications Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein (top left) toured the North Portland Multimedia Training Center in October while attending the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) conference in Portland. Also on the tour at The Skanner were representatives from Portland Community Media, Mt Hood Cable Regulatory Commission, NE Business Association and former training center students.

By fall 2005 the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center was in a life and death struggle for survival. Mayor Potter had turned down a request for a one-time grant to haul the center out of debt. A possible merger with the up-and-coming music nonprofit Ethos had fallen apart. Staff left. Finally, with the prospect of insolvency looming, the board resigned.
Fast forward two years and IFCC looks better than ever. Filled with energy and life, the center is once again a key player at the hub of North and Northeast Portland's theater and arts community. Drop by and you'll find something going on any night of the week.  And from next month the center will be booked through July 2009 – at least for Thursday through Sunday nights. 
"Portland is beginning to be known on a national level as a place to produce new original work and IFCC is definitely a part of that ...

Climbing all the stairs on a half-built building is the most difficult part of Dashia Fontleroy's job. The carpenter's apprentice isn't bothered by the math, or cutting wood with high-powered saws, or working in a male-dominated field. She does hate lugging a 60-pound tool belt to the job site. Working outside has even become somewhat welcoming.
"The first winter was difficult," she said. "But now I'm used to it."
Fontleroy is a fairly recent graduate of the Portland Housing Authority's ETAP program or Evening Trade Apprenticeship Preparation. The program celebrated the graduation of 32 students on Thursday night – students who spent the last 10 weeks preparing for a number of careers in the construction trades.
ETAP, like many other pre-apprenticeship programs provided to ...

Earlier this week, President Bush signed into law a reauthorization of Head Start, the education program that gives low-income children a boost before beginning Kindergarten.
The bill, sponsored by Michigan Democrat Dale Kildee and 26 other members of congress, passed both the House and Senate by wide margins, and expands the program to cover more kids, provide higher salaries to teachers, and does away with a standardized testing system that Head Start officials said was cumbersome and ineffective. ...