During one of the region's hardest winters in 40 years, Portland General Electric and Oregon HEAT are working together to help thousands of low-income Oregon families pay their electricity bills.
In February, PGE will include Oregon HEAT donation envelopes in customers' electricity bills, which go directly to Oregon HEAT.  The donated funds will assist families who cannot afford to heat and light their homes. ...

About 1,800 people rode WES Commuter Rail Friday for free. From left, Washington County Commission Chair Tom Brian, U.S. Rep. David Wu and Tigard Mayor Craig Dirksen take a ride of TriMet WES Commuter Rail, Oregon's first commuter rail line.  

For more than 30 years, Mt. Hood Community College students have benefited from the efforts of a group of generous volunteers known as the Neighborhood Saints.
Since its creation in 1976, the Neighborhood Saints have helped thousands of students secure emergency loans with funds raised through sales at the Saints Thrift Store. ...

Two children, one boy and one girl, will win bikes at a drawing on Wednesday ...
For the "Bikes to Books" program, second- and third-grade students have been reading books for the past three months and putting slips with their names into a box for the drawing for every 10 books they read. Winners are chosen at the drawing and must be present to win. ...

Reverend Dr. T. Allen Bethel, senior pastor at Maranatha Church, waited for two years on a transplant list to get his life-altering phone call.
While being on-call for the ministry, Dr. Bethel was also on-call for a kidney, and ironically it was a member of his congregation, a White woman, who provided his lifesaving organ.
Bethel says many people of color need to increase their awareness of what American Red Cross and Donate Life Northwest programs are all about....

Portland State University will host a full week of events celebrating and commemorating the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. In addition to library exhibits, films, a musical performance and a panel discussion on poverty, PSU will once again participate in "A Day On, Not a Day Off," an annual day of service organized as a tribute to Dr. King by the University's Student Leaders for Service. PSU also welcomes Ambassador Andrew Young ...

United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and Hands On Greater Portland are inviting community members to volunteer for service projects on MLK Weekend 2009, Jan. 17-19.
To celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's legacy of purposeful community engagement, volunteers will work on projects at area nonprofits throughout the four-county Portland/Vancouver metro area....

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….

What's happening for you in Seattle 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….

At the risk of raining on the parade, I suggest that the inaugural festivities were not what they…