Traveling all the way from Bangladesh, television and newspaper reporters from the small country visited The Skanner's Portland office as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program ... The group is learning about American journalism practices, which they say are very similar to their own – with little government interference. But there is one difference in Bangladesh – fluff and celebrity coverage rarely takes precedent over political reporting ...

Charges have been dropped against two Black teenagers accused of killing a White mother of six.
Police say ballistics tests show neither had a hand in shooting Wendy Meinke, who was killed July 30 during a dispute involving her son and others at an apartment complex in the Detroit suburb of Taylor. She tried to intervene, and two people shot in her direction....

A University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate student is suing a professor that she said addressed her in a classroom using a racial slur and other expletives.
The discrimination lawsuit filed by student DeLana Sattarin names sociology and criminal justice professor Peter Singelmann and the University of Missouri System curators as defendants.
Satttarin claims that the January incident led her to drop out of Singelmann's Globalization and Developing Nations class, which resulted in her not having enough credit hours to graduate in May.
In a report compiled by UMKC Affirmative Action Director Grace Hernandez, Singelmann admitted using the racial slur several times during the Jan. 18 class. However, according to the report, he claimed he used the term only to make a point during a discussion....

San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds hits his record-breaking 756th career home run in the fifth inning of their baseball game against the Washington Nationals in San Francisco, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. The Giants lost the game 8-6. Photo by Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Beginning later this month, people will have an opportunity to make a difference in the health of today's youth, as well as the health of future populations.
Starting Aug. 20, for four half-days, the MIKE program will train future mentors to work with students at several Portland high schools. MIKE stands for Multicultural Integrated Kidney Education Program, but is named for Dr. Michael Hartnett, a kidney specialist and late husband of Dr. Cheryl Neal.
The training will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC), 717 North Killingsworth Ct. and runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Organizers for The MIKE program believe disease and conditions leading to chronic kidney failure start early in life, are passed from generation to generation and are growing at epidemic rates. They also believe teens are one of the most underserved and vulnerable populations in the city.
"These youth are our next generation of parents, productive citizens and compassionate care providers," said MIKE founder and president, Dr. Cheryl Neal. "Given the opportunity and support, they do want to make a real difference and are more likely to be open to messages from ....

In 1954, Benjamin and Mary Rose Dean opened a hair salon in the heart of Northeast Portland. Now, 53 years later, Dean's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop is not only still in business and owned by the family, but it has received a tribute from the late couple's granddaughter, Kelly Johnson.
Johnson, a professional photographer, has been either hanging out or working for her grandparents' business since she was a child. She knows how important a hairstyle is to ....

Clarence Larkins and David Greenidge say they have a goal. It might be a little tough – maybe impossible — to accomplish, but they might have a fighting chance. They say they want to bankrupt the prison industry.
For three years now, members of the Irvington Covenant Community Development Corporation have been trying to attain that goal, a handful of ex-offenders at a .....

9. SAY HEY! Help welcome a special group of new professionals of color joining the Oregon and Southwest Washington communities. 5:30-8 p.m. Two World Trade Center - Plaza Level, 121 S.W. Salmon St.
10. MOVIE NIGHT. Come watch "Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory" at the transformed outdoor movie theater. Pioneer Courthouse Square. Begins at Dusk.....

Kids participating in the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center's "Cinderella A Love Story With the Sounds of Motown" walk and dance in the Umoja Fest African Heritage Parade on Saturday. The play will run Aug. 21-26 at the Seattle Repertory Theatre.

Washington's unemployment rate is hovering near a 30-year-low, and the state's average wage rose 5.3 percent last year. But a closer look at the numbers shows that most jobs created amid the economic expansion in recent years don't pay very well.
Almost 70 percent of the 240,000 jobs created in Washington between 2002 and 2006 paid less than $832 a week, or just over $43,000 a year — what Penn State's Poverty in America project calculates as a "living wage" for a family of two adults and two children here, The Seattle Times reported Sunday.
Several of the fastest-growing job categories — retail, hospitality, agriculture and social services — have been at the lower end of the wage scale.
More than 26,000 new administrative and support jobs, for example, pay an average weekly wage of $605 or $31,500 a year. General retailers added nearly 9,900 jobs that paid $460.53 a week on average, or less than ....