Multnomah County Commissioner Lisa Naito is on a mission. It's not to win re-election or to award a fat contract.
It's to do something she believes will truly make a difference in the county and across the nation: Naito wants to remove mentally ill offenders from the criminal justice system and place them where they can be cared for as people — not punished as criminals.

"Our jails and prisons aren't mental health facilities," Naito said. "Obviously, there are people engaging in criminal activities who also have mental illnesses, but for nonviolent mentally ill people, jail is not the appropriate place to be."

Howard Dean

Former presidential candidate and Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean will kick-off a weekend conference sponsored by the Democratic Party of Oregon when he speaks at 6:30 p.m. Friday, June 2, in the Eugene Hilton Hotel and Conference Center.

WASHINGTON—Black and Hispanic students see school as a more rowdy, disrespectful and dangerous place than their White classmates do, a poll says.

The findings suggest that many minority kids are struggling in the equivalent of a hostile work environment, according to Public Agenda, a nonpartisan opinion research group that tracks education trends.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski

An after-school network between leaders of schools, communities, businesses and families is being developed to enhance activities for children.

Called "Oregon After School for Kids" — or "OregonASK" — the statewide network will help provide after-school opportunities for thousands of kids.

Dolores Huerta

When it comes to hate, many feel powerless to stop it. Now, however, there is a way for anybody to learn how to effectively combat hate crimes at work or in their community.

Portland Community College is hosting the 2006 Oregon Hate Crimes Conference Wednesday through Friday, June 21 through 23, at the Cascade Campus, 705 N. Killingsworth St.

CAMANO ISLAND—Jacob Lienau was 13 years old when the chains were first looped around his wrists.
A wooden yoke, the kind usually reserved for oxen, was fitted around his neck, and he was locked in next to another person.

Jacob, his family, and a small group of people were in Annapolis, Md., wearing black T-shirts that read "So Sorry" in white block letters.

Sen. Ron Wyden

WASHINGTON—Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden defended his state's first-in-the-nation assisted suicide law last week at a Senate hearing — the first since the Supreme Court upheld Oregon's law in January.

Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican who is considering a run for president, called the hearing to explore what he called the "unintended consequences and slippery slope of doctor-assisted suicide."

Oregon has experienced a significant drop in its hunger rate since the state's No. 1 national ranking earlier this decade — at the same time that national rates for hunger and food insecurity have risen, according to an Oregon State University study.

However, the state's hunger rates are still higher than the national rate.

Oregon shows a major drop in hunger rates in non-metropolitan areas, among employed and unemployed households, two-parent families and both renters and homeowners.

Concerns about diversity awareness at the Portland State University campus and a desire to celebrate multicultural roots are bringing together student organizations for the university'sfirst-ever ROOTS Festival.

The festival is a daylong celebration of diversity at PSU that will commemorate people's origins, cultures and commonalities, as well as respective differences. PSU students and members of the greater community are encouraged to attend.

Lois Jackson, left, and Mrs. Isaac Wasson show off the 2006 Jefferson High School Senior Community Quilt after a school assembly on May 25.