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Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer is reportedly planning to endorse Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination, in a conference call for reporters Friday morning. The congressman will be the first big name Oregon politician to endorse Obama. State Rep. Chip Shields also has decided to back Obama.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama filled Boise State University's basketball arena with about 14,000 people Saturday morning during the Illinois senator's swing through a state long considered one of America's most Republican strongholds.
"They told me there weren't any Democrats in Idaho," Obama said, after arriving to wild cheering and the rock music of the band U2. "I did not believe them."
Obama's Idaho excursion comes just four days before "Super Tuesday," when the state is among 23 others to hold primaries or caucuses.
Idaho is on the frontier of America, and Idaho Democrats often feel they are on the frontier of politics in a place that overwhelmingly backed President Bush in 2004 and where everybody in statewide elected office is a Republican. Those who attended the rally were hungry for a share of the national election spotlight, after years of being written off as insignificant players in deciding who will be the next president....

CHICAGO (NNPA) -- The Chicago City Council recently unanimously voted to approve a nearly $20 million legal settlement in the cases of four Black men who accused members of the Chicago Police Department of racist actions, torture and brutality under former Commander Jon Burge.
Attorney Joey L. Mogul of the People's Law Office, which helped win the settlement, said many "progressive righteous aldermen" are outraged and continue to speak out against police department abuses....

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday she might be willing to have automatic payroll deduction for workers who refuse to buy health insurance to achieve coverage for all Americans.
The New York senator has criticized presidential rival Barack Obama for pushing a health plan that would not require universal coverage. Clinton has not always specified the enforcement measures she would embrace, but when pressed during a television interview, she said: "I think there are a number of mechanisms" that are possible, including "going after people's wages, automatic enrollment." ...

The Skanner Foundation held its 22nd annual Martin Luther King Breakfast last Monday.  Every year, the breakfast looks at an issue related to Dr. King's struggle for civil rights, equality and justice in America. This year the theme of the breakfast was: In Green Pastures: An Environment Where King's Dream Will Grow.
By looking at struggles for environmental justice, The Skanner's publisher Bernie Foster said he hoped to highlight opportunities for African Americans to improve our urban environment for future generations and generate "clean, green jobs" for urban youth. . . .

This week, Portland Mayor Tom Potter is in Washington DC, for the Mayors Innovation  Project. High on the agenda will be climate change, energy conservation and how to build an economy that creates green jobs, including living wage jobs for people of color and low-income people.
Here in Portland,  job opportunities already are growing. That's because key city leaders and minority advocates are taking crucial steps to make sure that Portland is on the cutting edge of the green economy.
"It's a new phenomenon, and we need to take advantage of it," said Fay Burch, consultant, entrepreneur and board member of the Oregon branch of the National Association of Minority Contractors....

The Oregonian called it a symbol, but Sen. Avel Gordly said it was much more than that: "This is how beloved community behaves," she told the audience at The Skanner's Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, last Monday. What were they talking about: Mayor Tom Potter's decision to move his office to Jefferson High School for a week. It was a week he called the best week in his administration.
As Portland's bigwigs descended on the school before the mayor's State of the City Address Friday, students between classes were laughing, socializing and trying to figure out if their teachers were allowing them to attend the City Club meeting....

CLARK COLLEGE JAZZ FESTIVAL. Held through Jan. 26.... "CHALLENGES FACING RELIGION TODAY" Imam Mamadou Toure of the Institute of Islamic & Interfaith Studies will speak at the Quaker Meeting House.... KBOO AT A CROSSROADS and needs to hear from the community to set its direction and goals for positive change.....