The State of Oregon last week launched a toll-free Adult Learner Resource Line and website for Oregonians interested in returning to college, or enrolling for the first time. Funded through a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Adult Learner Line is specifically for Oregonians ages 25 and older who are interested in going to college, but need some help and direction on how to enroll, seek financial aid, and generally navigate the process. The Adult Learner Line and website are just one component of the College Access Challenge Grant Program . . .

President Barack Obama's plan to dramatically increase college student aid took its first step Wednesday on what could be a rocky path through Congress. A key lawmaker proposed a bill to boost Pell Grant scholarships for low-income students by linking them to inflation for the first time since the program began. House Education Committee chairman George Miller's legislation would pay for the expansion by eliminating a massive program of subsidies for private college loans. an idea that is opposed by lenders and their many supporters on Capitol Hill. Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan, said the government should spend education dollars on students and not on private lenders. . . .

What's happening for you in your city this week? Read here a day-by-day diary of community events to fill your spare time. For a full calendar please click on "Read the complete article" below . . .

• No Shame Swim Session
• OMSI Hosts NASA Historian
• Karaoke Marathon to Benefit Ethos
• PCC President to Speak on Bond Spending

With the help of Vernon SUN school children Mackenzie Fetsch, Shaheed Muhammad, Tremane Salazar, and Taiylor Yarbrough— artists finished a mural project July 7. The Old Glory created by muralist, painter and children's book writer/illustrator—Addie Boswell—salutes a global village. . . .

Portland's summer concert series is infull swing this week with concerts across the city. The concert series, which will run through the end of August, features bands to please just about every musical taste. Here's a sample of what's on offer this month. The full schedule can be found on the Portland Parks and Recreation Web site in the recreation pages. 

Washington State University-Vancouver will host the Saturday Academy manufacturing summer camp workshop. The week-long manufacturing camp will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, July 27-31, but the camp is already full. Students entering grades eight through 12 will explore manufacturing and mechanical engineering. At the camp, "Mechanical Engineering: Metal Fabrication," students will design, fabricate, and test a Stirling engine while learning metal fabrication techniques working with WSU Vancouver instructor Dave Kim. . . .

More than a dozen minority broadcasters sent a letter today urging U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to provide financial assistance to this hard-hit industry to help weather the current economic and credit crisis. Key House leaders wrote to Secretary Geithner last month to urge him to pay attention to the minority broadcasting industry, which has had difficulties continuing to access the capital markets. . . .

A few days after Michael Jackson died, US Magazine profiled his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray. Since I'm not a regular reader of US, I didn't get "the word" until a friend shared that they described Dr. Murray as a graduate of "little known" Meharry School of Medicine.  The US description says more about them than it does about Meharry.  Scratch a Black physician, or any Black person over age 40, and they know that Meharry is a key producer of African-American physicians, that it is led by a stellar doctor, administrator and academician, Dr. Wayne Riley, and that it is the backbone of African-American medical life. I was shocked and appalled that Meharry could be so easily dismissed, as "little known". . . .

A member of the Sweet Mahogany Drill Team gets a cooling spritz of water during the 60th annual Wallingford Kiddie Parade on July 11. The parade is held every year on Wallingford Avenue between 43rd and 45th streets.