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.

Portland's African community has mounted a response to the concerns of immigrants and refugees in Portland and Southwest Washington.

"It's time African communities came together and address the growing needs of the African refugee and immigrant in the Portland area," said Basko Kante, president of the African Community Coalition's board of directors, "because it is high time we began to 'do for self' and pool our resources together, creating better life chances and choices to African people in the Portland community."

Local author and genealogist Stephen Hanks will highlight "Jump-Start Your African American History," a genealogy workshop scheduled for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 20, at the North Portland Library, 512 N. Killingsworth St.

Members of the PHAME Academy, Portland's fine arts academy for the developmentally disabled, will perform at 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 24, in the Community of Christ Church, 4837 N.E. Couch St. Admission is a free-will offering.

The drama class will stage Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. The art, dance, creative writing and voice students also will perform, and the choir will close the show.

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