^Jnrtkuih (Dbscruer January 19. 2011 IN S ID E This page Sponsored by: Page 3 FredMeyer „ W e e k ¡n Thc Review What's on your list today?» —f S ports page 4 á ♦/ Working for Equity H ealth Lifetime of work honored on MLK Day pages 6-7 el O bservador C alendar page 8 page 9 L inda B anks, a hum an resources diversity specialist at P ortland G en eral E lectric, M onday received the prestigious Lifetim e A chievem ent A w ard from the W orld A rts F o u n dation. B anks received the aw ard at the f o u n d a tio n ’s 2 6 th c o n s e c u tiv e “ K eep A live the D ream ” event in celeb ratio n o f the life and w ork o f Rev. Dr. M artin L uther King Jr. at the H ighland C hristian C en ter in northeast Portland. B anks w as recognized for her m ore-than 20 years o f service to the co m m u n ity including serving as a W orld English Institute volunteer for 12 years, a board m em b er for U niting to U nderstand R acism for 11 y e a r s , a v o lu n te e r fo r th e M ulticultural R esource C en ter for the W orld A ffairs C ouncil, and c o creato r o f P G E ’s D iversity Sum m it, one o f O re g o n ’s prem ier diversity training conferences that exam ines w orkplace diversity and best p rac tices. B anks is currently leading the planning the upcom ing PG E D iv er sity Summit 2011 : Maximize the Power o f a C hanging W orkforce set for Friday, A pril 15 at the O regon C o n vention C enter. Linda Banks receives a lifetime achievement award from the World Arts Foundation which was recognized Monday at the foundation’s annual “Keep Alive the Dream" Martin Luther King Jr. Day tribute in northeast Portland. “T h e L ife tim e A c h ie v e m e n t A w a rd is a te sta m e n t to L in d a B a n k s ’ u n w a v e rin g c o m m itm e n t to th e c o m m u n ity an d a c k n o w l e d g e s h e r o n g o in g w o rk in the a re a s o f e q u ity an d d iv e rs ity ,” sa id A rle e n B arn ett, P G E ’s vice p re s id e n t o f a d m in is tra tio n . “ L in d a is o n e o f o u r stro n g e st d iv e rs ity a d v o c a te s a n d h e r c o n trib u tio n s h a v e h e lp e d sh ap e o u r d iv e rsity p ro g ram s at PG E . W e are very p ro u d o f h er and th is a c h ie v e m e n t.” B anks also is recognized w ithin PG E for h er com m itm en t to d iv e r sity. She has earned aw ards such as the PG E E xcellence in D iversity A w ard for her w ork in shaping PG E’s diversity program s since the 1980s w hen she had the idea for the cre ation o f P G E ’s first diversity n et w ork, the A frican A m erican N et work. PG E is a longtim e su p p o rter o f the W orld A rts Foundation, a non profit estab lish ed in 1978 to pro m ote and preserve A frican A m eri can co ntributions to A m erican c u l ture. Critical Help for Heating Timely boost as winter cold peaks C lassifieds F o o d page 16-17 O r e g o n ’s S e n a to rs Je ff M erkley and Ron W yden an nounced Friday that that the State o f Oregon will receive approxi mately $44 million to help families who are unable to pay their heat ing bills during the winter. The funding am ount is an esti mate from the U.S. D epartm ent o f Health and Hum an Services. As part o f the federal Low In com e Hom e Energy Assistance Program (LIH EA P), the grant is adm inistered through local C om munity Action Agencies across the state. The program provides low- income fam ilies with assistance paying for energy bills, hom e w eatherization, and en erg y -re lated repairs. “Fam ilies sh o u ld n ’t have to choose between paying their utility bills and paying for the next meal, but all too often they do,” Merkley said. “This energy program pro vides critical assistance to Oregon fam ilies struggling to pay their monthly heating bills. The pro gram stimulates the economy and helps keep families warm.” “With temperatures dropping in Oregon and only a third o f the way through the winter, this announce ment couldn’t come at a better time,” Wyden said. “Low-income families have enough to worry about in this difficult economy without having to choose between heating their homes or putting food on their tables.” Inform ation on eligibility re quirem ents and how to apply for assistance is available through Oregon Housing and C om m unity Services at oregon.gov or call 1- 800-453-5511.