Portland Community College President Preston Pulliams, left, and Marylhurst University President Nancy Wilgenbusch celebrate the recent agreement between their schools.

Officials from Portland Community College, Marylhurst University and Columbia Gorge and Tillamook Bay community colleges this week formalized a partnership to improve student access to undergraduate education.

The agreement helps students receive credit for classes they take at one college when they enter another college to further their education.

A group pushing a ballot initiative to rein in payday loan practices is urging the coming special legislative session to avoid the issue if proposals are weaker than what their initiative outlines.

The ballot proposal sponsored by Oregon for Payday Loan Fairne$$ would limit payday loan interest to 36 percent a year, restrict loan initiation fees to 10 percent of the loan amount, allow only two rollovers and give borrowers 31 days instead of 15 to use the money before the loan comes due.

Paint companies, shipyards and other industrial companies released 126,000 pounds of pollution in the Seattle area during 2004, an improvement over the previous year and a reason supporters of the tracking program are arguing against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent proposal to scale it back.

NEW ORLEANS—Mayor Ray Nagin and Louisiana Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu both suggested during a nationally televised mayoral debate that race played a part in the response to Hurricane Katrina.

Race, said Landrieu, "is the most difficult issue we're facing in the city."

He and Nagin appeared with five other prominent candidates in a debate Monday hosted by cable network MSNBC and New Orleans NBC affiliate WDSU-TV. The primary election is Saturday.

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A former Aryan Brotherhood prison gang member said an alleged gang kingpin ordered him to hide two bullets until they could be used to kill a Black inmate who had assaulted a mob leader.

Kevin Roach, his head shaved and arms covered with tattoos, testified Friday for a second day in one of the largest capital cases in U.S. history, a sweeping prosecution aimed at the Aryan Brotherhood's leadership.

Former Trail Blazers guard Terry Porter talks with reporters April 19 at Portland City Hall. Porter is attempting to assemble a group of investors to buy the Blazers from current owner Paul Allen. What do you think — is it just for kicks?

BELLEVUE—A question given to students during a practice test for a math final at Bellevue Community College has students — and others — shaking their heads because of what they say is a lack of racial sensitivity.

It refers to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, although it doesn't mention her by name, a civil rights activist said.
The question read: "Condoleezza holds a watermelon just over the edge of the roof of the 300-foot Federal Building and tosses it up with a velocity of 20 feet per second."

An Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute is being organized to address the shortage of healthcare workers in Oregon — a shortage that affects accessibility to health care, as well as affordability, for families and employers.

"Health care is a major concern of Oregonians," said Gov. Ted Kulongoski who announced the institute on Tuesday. "I hear this all the time when I travel the state, but it is not just about access and affordability — it's also about quality.

For hundreds of churchgoers, health care comes in the form of a parish health promoter. Providence Portland Medical Center's program reached a significant milestone this spring, with nearly 100 volunteers serving the community's low-income and often Spanish-speaking residents.

The health promoters are volunteers who serve in five north and southeast Multnomah County parishes, including St. Anne's, St. Peter's, Ascension, Holy Cross and Holy Redeemer.

To help people make more informed decisions at the polls on May 16, the League of Women Voters of Portland will release its Voters' Guide next week.

The Voters' Guide is free and will be available at the Multnomah County Elections Office, 1040 S.E. Morrison St., on the Internet and at all branches of the Multnomah County Library. The guide also will be included as an insert in the Portland Tribune on Tuesday, April 25.