Ray Ballentine was waiting for a sign to throw his support to Barack Obama. And when Obama coasted to victory in Iowa's caucuses, there it was -- evidence that the senator had the broad racial appeal to get to the White House.
"I did have some reservations before, but he certainly got my vote now," Ballentine said, eating a brisket and roast turkey salad with hush puppies at The Q Shack, a barbecue joint in Raleigh, N.C. "I was sort of undecided, but I feel like he can win the presidency."
Obama's convincing win in Thursday's caucuses in Iowa -- a state with just a smattering of minority voters -- demonstrated the Illinois senator's support crosses racial lines and bolstered the notion that America is receptive to electing its first black president.

DES MOINES IOWA -- Oregon state Senator Margaret Carter, standing on a snowy doorstep, chatted with a voter inside, doing what she does best: talking politics. But this time it's not for her own race, but for Democratic Presidential candidate John Edwards. And this time the door step is not in Northeast Portland, but in a subdivision in Altoona, Iowa.    
Carter joined her co-chair of the Oregon/John Edwards for President campaign, Portland Attorney Robert Stoll and a half dozen other Oregonians last weekend to help with down-to-the-wire campaign efforts. Fanning out from their hotel in downtown Des Moines, they've phone-banked from the Steelworkers Union Hall and braved 9 degree temperatures and slippery sidewalks in order to tell as many Iowans as possible why John Edwards is the most elect-able candidate among the field of seven Democratic hopefuls. 

Hundreds of children turned up at Legacy Emannuel's Atrium last weekend for the Community Cycling Center's annual bike giveaway, which offers low-income children the opportunity to enjoy the fun and freedom of cycling. Volunteers for the center repair bikes year round for the giveaway. Pictured here, from left, are: Aaliyah ScottMorton, 6;  Aneesha Scott-Morton 8; and Johnathan Scott-Morton, 10,; with their uncle, Thomas Golden. Every kid also gets fitted for and receives a helmet, and then heads outside to pass a mini-safety course before heading off to his own neighborhood to take his wheels for a spin.

Look out mainstream Portland. A new group has come together that aims to boost the political influence of minority voters statewide. So if you believe that issues that matter to people of color oftentimes are sidelined in policy discussions, you might want to take a look at the Oregon League of Minority Voters.
The group has just formed and has plans to launch its first campaign early next year. With an office based on N. Lombard, and two employees, the league hopes to launch its first political initiatives in early 2008.
"A vast majority of people feel disconnected with proposed public policies," said board member Jennifer Harry, a business lending officer with Pacific West bank. "Our goal is — through education and debates — we want Americans to feel ownership of the policies, through understanding, increased votership and participation in the political process."
As well as ensuring people of color have a say in policy formation, the group hopes to offer help to nonprofits, organizations and potential candidates.
"In addition to policy education, our mission is to provide grants research, policy advice to state and local organizations and provide communication counseling for anyone who wishes to be a more viable political candidate, ...

If any of the accounts of police misconduct at a recent meeting are to be believed, the Independent Police Review Committee isn't doing such a hot job.
"I didn't hear anyone in this room say, 'I had a great experience with the Citizens Review Board' tonight,'" said Eileea Luna-Firebaugh, an attorney and University of Arizona professor, who has been hired by the city to conduct an external review of the IPR and Citizen Review Committee. ...

Donn Spight could have said he just doesn't have the time. The unmarried African American laparoscopic surgeon says he sometimes works 80 hours a week. He could have been the poster child for men who claim to have no time to spare.
But Spight admits that he also wastes a lot of the free time he does have. So instead of hiding behind his busy schedule, he made a yearlong commitment to mentor an African American boy who needs a solid male in his life.
"A lot of people feel they don't have enough time," Spight said. "But to see the impact you can have on someone's life (is very rewarding)."
Spight was one of about 50 mentors who gathered for the Big Brothers Big Sisters' kickoff of the new African American Mentoring Program ...

Seattle Storm Forward Shyra Ely and some of the close to 100 kids who participated in a free basketball clinic hosted by the WNBA and the Seattle Storm Saturday, Dec. 8 at Van Asselt Community Center watch to see if the ball goes through the hoop. The clinic was taught by WNBA and Seattle Storm staff and was open to 7- to 14-year-olds. All participants received a free T shirt and certificate of participation.

One of the NBA's greatest players of all time was recently in town. Basketball Hall of Fame legend, Earl "The Pearl" Monroe is hoping to raise awareness about a common urinary condition he suffered from, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or enlargement of the prostate.
Monroe talked to a group of men on Dec. 6, telling them about BPH and how they can recognize and manage the condition. The event, hosted by The Center for Multicultural Health, was held at Garfield Community Center.
Monroe, 61, is part of a national campaign called the "FLOMAX One Week Challenge," to educate men about BPH and encourage men age 50 and older to go online to www.oneweekchallenge.com and take a simple quiz to evaluate the severity of any unwanted urinary symptoms and to determine whether they should consult a doctor about diagnosis and treatment for BPH. Seattle is the final stop on Monroe's tour which began last month at Madison Square Garden in New York. ...

About 30 neo-Nazis and 20 anti-racist opponents remained peaceful during a meeting under swastika flags at a community center in Longview, Wash.
Police watched the three-hour meeting last night at the McClelland Arts Center, organized by the Church of Jesus Christ-Christian, an affiliate of the White supremacist Aryan Nations. The recruiting event included poetry based on Viking mythology, punk music and a speech about national socialism.
The opponents who listened quietly were from a crowd of people who marched and attended a cultural diversity picnic intended to counter the – much smaller — White supremacist recruiters rally. ...

DALLAS (NNPA) — Dr. M. Joycelyn Elders, The first Black surgeon general of the United States under Pres. Bill Clinton, won't keep silent about America's unhealthy relationship with sex. Speaking to a crowd of 500 people last week at a World AIDS Day luncheon held at the Hilton-Anatole Hotel in Dallas, Texas, Elders called for better sex education for children and teenagers and a more honest discussion of sexual matters.
Stating that America has a sexually unhealthy society, Elders emphasized the fact that humans are sexual beings, yet, she said we don't talk about sex enough.
"We walk around and we say, well, ignorance is bliss and we misinterpret ignorance for innocence. We've got to start educating our children," she said, introducing her "ABC" list for sexual education. ...