If it passes, an Oregon House bill would be the first of its kind to require lawmakers to think about how a law might contribute to Oregon's disproportionate minority prison population.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Chip Shields, D-Northeast Portland, said the bill would keep imprisoned minorities in the spotlight.
"There's no doubt minorities are disproportionately impacted by sentencing and criminal justice policies," Shields said.

The Portland Schools Foundation has awarded Faubion Elementary School its prestigious "Sustaining Excellence in Education" award for having closed the achievement gap and for having maintained that level of excellence for the past six years.
The awards are given to Portland schools with large minority or low-income populations that have greatly improved their reading and math scores.

Toinette Foster wasn't happy when she learned her son had been picked up for a curfew violation, but she wasn't pleased with the way police treated her either.
During the first Saturday of spring break, Foster's son, 13-year-old Jyel, was picked up by a Portland police officer about 15 minutes after the 10:15 p.m. weekend curfew on his way back from a Gresham skate park. It was the teen's birthday celebration and Foster said it was one of the only times she's let him go out on his own.
"I understand what they're trying to do," she said. "It also upsets me. I feel our kids were targeted unfairly."

Brian Rohter, CEO of New Seasons Markets, talks with members of the news media alongside Rev. Matt Hennessee, of Vancouver Avenue Baptist Church, T. Allen Bethel, president of the Albina Ministerial Alliance, and Mayor Tom Potter before presenting a check for $10,000 to the Morning Star Baptist Church rebuilding fund. Johnasen Pack, of New Generation Revival, accepted the check for members of Morning Star's leadership, who were out of town at the time. Over 1,000 people attended the benefit barbecue on Saturday, March 3 to raise money for the church that burned to the ground in February.

Seattle Firefighter Matt Hartl helps (from left) Jacob Samol, 5, Karen Valencia, 3, and Fernado Valencia, 1, sit in the driver's seat of a fire truck at an open house at Fire Station 28, 5968 Rainier Ave. S., on April 21. Firefighters at Station 28, which is scheduled to be reconstructed in 2008, held the open house as a way to get input from the community during the design process.

OLYMPIA — The state Legislature passed a measure this week that would give all employees in Washington five weeks of paid leave for a new child.
The Senate passed the bill on a 26-22 vote to agree with changes made in the House that scaled down the measure significantly from what the Senate initially passed. It now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire, who is expected to sign it.
Six Democrats crossed the aisle to vote against the measure: Sens. Mary Margaret Haugen of Camano Island, Chris Marr of Spokane, Erik Poulsen of Seattle, Marilyn Rasmussen of Eatonville, Phil Rockefeller of Bainbridge Island and Tim Sheldon of Potlatch.
Under the bill, starting in 2009, workers would get $250 a week for up to five weeks to care for a newborn or a newly adopted child.
Originally, the measure would have allowed workers also to take leave to care for a seriously ill relative. It also would have imposed a 2-cent-an-hour tax on employees' pay to cover the program, but under an agreement between House and Senate lawmakers, that language was removed.

Veteran civil rights leader and Pastor Emeritus of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, Rev. Samuel B. McKinney, U.S. Congressman Adam Smith and one of the emerging leaders in the Pacific Northwest, Marcia Tate Arunga will be the keynote speakers at a gathering of supporters for presidential candidate Barack Obama, at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 28, at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Ave.

Washington, D.C. – More than 2,000 events will be held across the county as part of Cover the Uninsured Week (April 23-29), the largest, nonpartisan mobilization in history seeking solutions for the millions of African Americans who are uninsured.

Walter Mosley, author of more than 25 books, read sections of his latest book "This Year You Write Your Novel" to a packed house at the Elliott Bay Bookstore in downtown Seattle last weekend, on April 22. Mosley, who is very popular in Seattle, visited the city for the first time in 1990 and has been back numerous times to promote his books. Mosley is the author of the Easy Rawlins mysteries, "Devil in the Blue Dress," which was turned into a Hollywood movie starring Denzel Washington, and others. He is the recipient of numerous awards, including the O. Henry Award, the Sundance Institute's Risktaker Award and Carl Brandon Society's Parallax Award.

Nation Son Holmes, local Seattle filmmaker, will show her first independent feature length film about domestic violence, entitled "W.O.E." (Walking on Eggshells) at the fourth annual African American Film Festival that runs through April 29 at the Langston Hughes Cultural Arts Center, 104 17th Ave. S.
"W.O.E.," was written, directed and produced by Holmes. A narrative, poignant film about domestic abuse and relationships and decisions people make in their lives, "W.O.E." transcends the social boundaries that separate people.