News Don’t call it a dynasty just yet, but for the second year in a row a Portland high school has the best Constitution team in the country. Grant High’s team took top honors at the “We the People” event in Washington D.C. on Monday night, besting 57 teams from across the country. Lincoln High School won the 2012 contest. The competition takes the form of a congressional hearing. Students ...   More

News U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has put forth a resolution in the newly convened Congress seeking to help reform one of the most stagnant and counterproductive institutions in U.S. politics—Wyden's very own U.S. Senate. Wyden is targeting secret holds—a rule whereby a single senator, acting in secret, can hold up virtually any bill, resolution or nomination. Critics maintain that secret ...   More

Music Last week, local retro-pop band Monarques received a surprise phone call from a woman who works for the NPR live radio variety show A Prairie Home Companion. Over 700 people submitted tracks for the show's 2010 "Battle of the Bands" but only five—including Monarques—were chosen to fly out to Washington, DC on April 17 for the taping and a chance to perform three songs for over 3,000 people. ...   More