Did the lives and work of legendary singer and actor Isaac Hayes and/or comedian Bernie Mac make an impact on your own life? While their deaths have served to remind us all of their tremendous impact on our culture, the impact of their art left a much more personal imprint on their fans. Leave your parting words to either Mr. Hayes' or Mr. Mac's guest book online. You may find the Guest Books at ...

King County officials are urging voters to double-check their polling place before voting day, Tuesday, Aug. 19. Since 2004, 141 poll sites have been consolidated or closed either because the location was not accessible to people with disabilities or the site was underutilized, according to elections officials. "We're close to one week away from the primary and we want to make sure poll voters know where to vote on Aug. 19," said Sherril Huff, Elections director. Since the presidential primary held in February of this year, 20 sites were moved or in some cases demolished or impacted by construction, affecting 17,221 poll voters. ...

A top-ranking U.S. Army official formally delivered the government's apology on Saturday for wrongdoing in the conviction of 28 Black soldiers accused of rioting and lynching an Italian prisoner of war in Seattle during World War II. ...  Photo by Susan Fried

Forrest Pellum, Clay "Doc Q" Clayton, and Scott "Duck" Spaan stand in front of the barbecue of their new outdoor restaurant Out West BBQ on Northeast Alberta Street and 19th Avenue. The trio have been stocking the stomachs of Oregon Ducks fans for years and finally decided to bring their home crafted meats to Northeast Portland. ...

Urgent Care services for patients at Kaiser Permanente at Interstate will be sharply curtailed starting Aug. 1, Kaiser announced last week. The service – designed for patients who need prompt medical care rather than emergency services — was originally offered 24 hours a day for a $30 co-pay; now it will be available weeknights from 5 p.m. until midnight and on weekends. Switchboard operators, and a brief postcard mailed out last week to Kaiser members, advise patients to either call the advice nurse for an appointment or go to Kaiser Sunnyside Emergency Room in Clackamas – which charges a co-pay of $100 per visit. ...

A new report on North and Northeast families' eating habits shows that, although more good-quality food is available than ever, many – if not most – are having trouble bringing it home. Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon's Interfaith Food and Farms Partnership has released the report, "Everyone Eats! A Community Food Assessment for Areas of North and Northeast Portland," to identify local policy and community-based solutions to food insecurity and convince lawmakers to include the issue in city planning decisions. ...

After more than 33 years of service to the county, Wilma Smith, Oregon's first African American Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, will be retiring.
Her retirement comes at a time when there aren't many nurse practitioners of color to take her place.
Smith says she entered the profession in Mississippi, at a time when few Blacks were being admitted to historically White colleges.
"I couldn't get into the University of Mississippi in 1965 because at the time they only let in the token Black," Smith says, who didn't let it get her down. Like most things in life, Smith says every time she saw one door close, another would open. ...

What's happening for you in Portland this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of free community events to fill your spare time. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below.

The United States military has relied heavily on National Guard and Army Reserve units in the on-going wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
These soldiers are expected to fight equally on the battlefield, but a recent government audit by the Department of Veteran's Affairs concluded that when these veterans return home, their medical and other veteran's benefits are not handled the same as active duty personnel.
"Of the more than 800,000 Iraq and Afghan veterans that are eligible for Veteran's Administration care since 2002, fully half of them are members of the National Guard and Army Reserves," said Senator Patty Murray during a recent Senate hearing.
The hearing, held July 23 by the Senate Committee on Veteran's Affairs, discussed an audit report which found a lack in education, outreach and implementation of benefits to veterans, especially to those in the Army Reserves and National Guard.
Among its findings were that more than 65,000 veterans did not receive initial outreach letters regarding their veteran benefits because of "incorrect ineligibility determinations." Over half of these veterans were from the National Guard and Army Reserve.  ...

Each paper or plastic bag the local store uses to pack your groceries will cost you 20 cents, starting on New Year's Day.
The Seattle City Council this week became the first city in the nation to exact a financial penalty on shoppers by charging a fee on disposable bags.
Another new law bans some polystyrene food containers.
"These new laws are an integral part of the City's Zero Waste strategy — and translating Seattle's environmental values into concrete actions," said Council President Conlin in a statement. "They will help marine life, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and move our city toward a sustainable future." ...