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January 19. 2011
IN S ID E
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FredMeyer
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Thc Review
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S ports
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Working for Equity
H ealth
Lifetime of work
honored on
MLK Day
pages 6-7
el
O bservador
C alendar
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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.