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The Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center recognized renowned Portland musician Thara Memory (pictured) and artist Isaka Shamsud-Din with lifetime achievement awards at the IFCC Do North Awards Gala on Sunday. Memory, a master musician, teacher and composer, was given the award for Cultural Contribution.

Clarence Harper (right), a volunteer with the Neighborhood Emergency Team since 1995, was awarded a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from Americorps. He is pictured with Carmen Murlow, the director of the Portland Office of Emergency Management and John Klum, Portland's new fire chief.
Harper said he began volunteering with the NET team out of selfish reasons – he wanted to know how to make sure his family and friends were safe in the event of a disaster. But after getting involved with emergency preparedness, he said he realized the altruism of his actions....

The newly renovated Madrona-Sally Goldmark Branch of the Seattle Public Library will reopen to the public will a festive community celebration Saturday, May 10.
The dedication ceremony begins at noon with City Librarian Deborah L. Jacobs, Mayor Greg Nickels, Library Board Vice President Michael Parham, City Councilman Nick Licata, the library book fairy "Lulu" and the Cajun band La Band Pastiche.... For more information, call 206-386-4636 or visit www.spl.org.

For several weeks now, homeless persons in Portland have gathered on the lawn of City Hall for a protest against city policies against them – namely the sit-lie ordinance, which some homeless advocates say has been used disproportionately against many homeless by the Portland Business Alliance's private security forces; the prohibition against camping in the city, which makes sleeping out of doors -- being homeless – illegal; and demanding more access to shelters and affordable housing. Despite spending most days and nights camped out in front of the city's governmental center, protestors clarify, "This is not a camp, this is a protest."

NEW YORK (AP) _ A White police officer was disciplined for acting "in a discourteous manner" when he confronted a Black motorist who turned out to be one of the highest-ranking commanders in the New York City Police Department, an agency spokesman said Saturday.
Chief Douglas Zeigler, the head of the NYPD's Community Affairs Bureau and the highest uniformed Black officer on the force, was off duty and sitting in his department-issued sport utility vehicle on a street in the borough of Queens on May 2 when two White police officers approached.
The encounter turned testy, and one of the officers tried to wrest open Zeigler's door, even after the three-star chief had identified himself, police spokesman Paul Browne said....

BEND, Oregon (AP) _ Barack Obama began sketching the outlines of his expected presidential contest against Republican John McCain, saying the fall election will be more about specific plans and priorities than about questions of political ideology or patriotism ...

This May's primary election puts some difficult choices before voters. Some races – such as City Commissioner positions 1 and 2 – present a whole field of talented candidates. Others present a choice between two nearly equal talents.  The Skanner took a hard look at all the contested races and made endorsements in contested races. We did not make endorsements on uncontested or geographically distant races. 
The Skanner Recommends.... click below and read

Well, that sounded good last year, but over the past two months, the actions and words of Hillary Clinton have gone from being merely disappointing to downright disgusting.   I guess the debate last week was the final straw.  
I've watched Senator Clinton and her husband play this game of appealing to the worst side of white people, but last Wednesday, when she hurled the name "Farrakhan" out of nowhere, well that's when the silly season came to an early end for me. She said the "F" word to scare white people, pure and simple.
Finally, I want to say a word about the basic decency I have seen in Mr. Obama.  Mrs. Clinton continues to throw the Rev. Wright up in his face as part of her mission to keep stoking the fears of White America.      Every time she does this I shout at the TV, "Say it, Obama!       Say that when she and her husband were having marital difficulties regarding Monica Lewinsky, who did she and Bill bring to the White House for 'spiritual counseling?' ............ THE REVEREND JEREMIAH WRIGHT!"

When Melissa Favara and her family moved into an older home in the Mississippi neighborhood, she didn't consider that it could be tainted with lead.
"I always thought lead poisoning was something that happened on the East Coast, that it was a problem in places like Philadelphia," Favara told The Skanner. "I didn't realize it happened in Portland."
It wasn't until Favara's daughter Ramona was 8 months old, that she called the Josiah Hill Clinic, which offers free lead testing for pregnant women, children and nursing mothers. Favara's test showed both she and her daughter had been exposed to lead. Worse, baby Ramona's level was worryingly high....