Last month, Legacy Emanuel hospital treated more children than in any February since the hospital opened.  Hospital staff expect to see children with respiratory infections in the winter and spring, just as they look for sports related injuries in the summer. Yet the sheer number of children seeking help was alarming, says Carla Harris, chief administrative officer of the Legacy Emanuel Children's Hospital.
"The volume of (patients) has increased steadily … all year long," she said. There has been a general uptick in disease groups in children …"
The increase is partly due to a rise in rates of illness such as asthma, and partly because the hospital is aiming to reach more children who need specialist care. But because the hospital has been operating at about 90 percent capacity for some time, some services are stretched,  said April Whitworth, chief administrative officer for Legacy Emanuel.
"It means longer waits in the emergency room, and it makes it difficult to place patients," she said....

Officer Denise "Cookie" Bouldin takes her job in the community very seriously. She's a community liaison officer for the Seattle Police Department, the Seattle School District and the parks department.
Bouldin, a 28-year veteran of the Seattle Police Department, started Officer Cookie's Urban Youth Chess Club last February. The club meets every Saturday from noon-2 p.m. at the Rainier Beach Library, 9125 Rainier Ave. S. ...

After several decades, the dream for an African American museum has finally been realized.
Hundreds of people showed up for the grand opening of the Northwest African American Museum on March 8 in the former Coleman School, 2300 S. Massachusetts St., in Seattle's Central District.
The grand opening celebration kicked off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony, live music, children's art activities and concluded with free public tours. Some of the dignitaries included

One out of every 30 men between the ages of 20 and 34 is behind bars, but when it comes to Black men that figure rises to one in nine. This fact, from the U.S. Department of Justice's most recent statistics (2006) is just one reason why the NAACP last fall declared a State of Emergency.
In a report that cited "overly aggressive handling" of Black youth and unequal treatment throughout the criminal justice system, Interim NAACP President Dennis Courtland Hayes called for the justice system to  "live up to its Constitutional obligations to serve and protect all Americans with dignity and fairness irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, religious faith and other differences....

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

Nine pastors with the Albina Ministerial Alliance gathered Tuesday to publicly get tested for the HIV virus. The public test was a show of support for members of the community who do not know their HIV status and are afraid of getting tested.The tests were self administered and overseen by Multnomah County Health Department staff. Each pastor was given a swab, which they brushed against the inside of their mouths. The testing technique is far less invasive than a blood test.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush declared March 10 to be Harriet Tubman Day. Tubman died March 10, 1913. Harriet Tubman Day is dedicated to those who are willing to be of service to humanity and recognize all individuals who struggled to end tyranny and oppression.
"A Visit with Harriet Tubman, Her Stories about Family, Faith and Freedom," will be performed by Karol and James Brown. It promises to be an unforgettable experience for school age children to adults... in Tacoma...

"Everyone can relate to Gospel music because everyone has had some tragedy in their life at one time or another," said Allen Bailey founder of the Harlem Gospel Choir. "Our music is really inspirational music. You come there you can't help but be inspired."
Portlanders will have an opportunity to experience some of the best gospel music anywhere next Tuesday, March 18, when the internationally acclaimed choir visits the Chiles Center on the University of Portland campus.

 The Story so far...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) -- The infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Study, a government experiment that charted the effects of the untreated disease on mostly poor and uneducated black men, was conducted for 40 years before it was exposed and ended in 1972 amid widespread condemnation.
A number of participants in the study died of the disease, which the men spread to women and to children at birth.
But does it still take a toll on the health of new generations of blacks?
Even the experts, apparently, can't agree.