OAKLAND, Calif.--They weren't your average thugs. Dressed in bow ties and dark suits, the group of nearly a dozen men entered a corner store and smashed bottles of liquor, wine and beer with metal pipes, shattering refrigerator cases and leaving behind a terrified clerk along with piles of broken glass.

No one was held up. Nothing was stolen. The vandals just wanted to leave a message: Stop selling alcohol to fellow Muslims. Followed by an identical attack at another West Oakland store the same evening, the episode highlighted tensions -- and different interpretations of doctrine -- between Black Muslims hoping to reclaim troubled parts of the city and Middle Eastern shop owners, many of them also of Muslim faith.

Members of the singing group African Gospel A Cappella — originally from Liberia — perform at Africa AIDS Response, an annual benefit concert for Portland's sister city of Mutare, Zimbabwe. The concert, sponsored by AIDS Action Project Northwest, was held Dec. 1 at the Tiffany Center.

When the Rev. Mary Overstreet-Smith heard the news that Hurricane Katrina had struck the Gulf Coast, no doubt clouded her mind.

If an earthquake or other devastating, citywide emergency occurred today, would Portland be prepared?

At least 2 percent of Oregon's students are homeless: They are never sure where they are going to spend the night — in a shelter or motel, at a park or in a car.

Several unions, environmental groups and justice organizations will gather at the World Trade Center at noon Saturday and parade through downtown Portland to commemorate National Human Rights Day.

Oregon State School Superintendent Susan Castillo headlines the Portland City Club's Friday Forum this week, when she will discuss the state of public education in Oregon.
The event takes place from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Governor Hotel, 614 S.W. 11th Ave. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. Luncheon tickets are $20 for the general public, $16 for City Club members;

The hustle and bustle of city life paused for a moment Thursday to honor an act of courage and defiance that helped to make America a better place for everyone. Dec. 1 marked the 50th anniversary of the day that Rosa Parks refused to yield her seat on a Montgomery, Ala. bus to a White man.

U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.,  has laid out a plan for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq. What do you think? Do you support Rep. Blumenauer's plan?

NEW ORLEANS—The proposal was controversial from the beginning: Focus resources on rebuilding New Orleans' less-damaged neighborhoods first and carefully study whether it makes sense to repopulate areas that were flooded the worst.