Dr. John

Blues lovers from throughout the world will head for Portland from Friday, June 30, through Tuesday, July 4, to relax on the grassy banks of the Willamette River and celebrate the blues at the 2006 Safeway Waterfront Blues Festival, presented by First Tech Credit Union.

The festival is the major annual fund-raiser for Oregon Food Bank, a charitable nonprofit agency. All festival proceeds benefit Oregon Food Bank's work to eliminate hunger through its network of 20 regional food banks and 894 hunger-relief agencies in Oregon and Clark County, Wash.

Gov. Chris Gregoire

OLYMPIA—Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire said she will not compel any of the state's National Guard troops to serve on the Mexican border if they're asked.

"I'm not going to force any National Guard member to go there," Gregoire said. "If I have volunteers who want to, we will support their request."

Part of the charm of living in many inner North and Northeast Portland neighborhoods is their age. The stately old homes, the big front porches, the stout trees overhanging the streets.

But many of those same old homes that charm us with their craftsmanship and character hold an old danger left over from a time when we didn't know as much as we do today: lead-based paint.

Emilie Boyles

Former Portland City Council candidate Emilie Boyles, who was accused of misspending taxpayer money during her thwarted run for Portland City Council, must repay the $145,000 she was given plus $14,000 in penalties and interest, an appeals judge said.

Portland's Rose Court Ambassadors smile at the crowd from under their umbrellas at the recent…

A daylong celebration to honor the African Child — past, present and future — will include drumming and marimba playing, an African market and storytelling.

The celebration will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 17, in the World Forestry Center. The Rose Festival sanctioned event is sponsored by the Harambee Centre and the World Forestry Center.

State officials and an advocacy group are debating where to place the blame for a rise in child abuse cases in Oregon: methamphetamine use by parents or budget cuts by the state.

The Department of Human Services said in a new report that 18 Oregon children died of abuse or neglect in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, and it said reports of abuse or neglect continue to rise, driven by alcohol and drug abuse, particularly methamphetamine.

WASHINGTON—In a case arising from Seattle, the Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide whether skin color can be considered in assigning children to public schools, reopening the issue of affirmative action.

The announcement puts a contentious social topic on the national landscape in an election year and tests the conservatism of President George Bush's two new justices.

VANCOUVER, Wash.—With their signatures on a landmark agreement to cut red tape and reduce Interstate 5 congestion, managers from 17 federal and state agencies created a new national model for environmental reviews.

Agencies from Washin-gton, Oregon and the federal government agreed to coordinate the review process and expedite decisions without giving up necessary environmental protections when improving or replacing the I-5 bridge across the Columbia River.

Muhammed Hussein is blind, 3 years old and speaks no English, but the moment he sat in his foster mother's lap in an examination chair at a Seattle clinic, he seemed to know the bullet wound on his face was going to be probed.

After months in hospitals in his native Iraq and later Iran, Muhammed has come to dread visits to the doctor.

The touch of rubber gloves, cold metal on his skin or the pressure of fingers on his face triggers a reminder of the day 13 months ago when he was shot from close range with an AK-47 assault rifle.