President Obama announced a $75 billion plan to restructure nearly 9 million mortgages on the brink of foreclosure. The plan would create incentives for banks and reform bankruptcy rules to help homeowners stay in their homes. There are currently 13.8 million homeowners in the United States that owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. The plan would: Remove restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac . . . Create incentives for lenders to modify subprime loans . . . Keep mortgage rates low for millions seeking new mortgages . . . Pursue reforms to help families avoid foreclosure . . .

The Bias-based Policing Workgroup released a report Wednesday that revealed how prejudice and racial profiling affects, or is perceived to affect, policing in Portland.
The report analyzed 36 bias complaints of the 104 received by the Independent Police Review between July 2005 and June 2007. Complaints of disparate treatment mostly involve race and ethnicity, although about a quarter involve age, gender and sexual orientation.
On the same day, Portland Police Chief released the bureau's "Plan to Address Racial Profiling. . . .

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

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

The United Way, Oregon Food Bank, and Community Action Programs in all four metro-area counties this week announced the formation of the Community Relief Fund to shore up the strained community safety net.
This appeal for emergency funds will help support families who have been hardest hit in the economic crisis with basic needs like food, rent, and utilities. . . .

The film "Milking the Rhino" plays at the Portland International Film Festival Friday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m. at the Regal MetroPlex Theater, 1000 SW Broadway. The film's originator and co-producer, Jeannie Magill, will be part of a post-screening discussion. 
The film won the Pan-African Film Festival's Best Documentary Feature award this past weekend and received a Silver Lei award from the Honolulu Film Festival. . . .

"As a black woman in Washington County, it's the exception and not the rule when my kids and I aren't the only African Americans in the room at any given moment," says LaRonda Famodu, president of the Portland Metro Chapter of Mocha Moms, Inc. "I barely notice it any more, but it was a big shock when we moved here from the Washington, D.C., area a few years ago. And while I have great neighbors and have made awesome friends, sometimes I need a little more of a cultural connection, and that's where Mocha Moms comes in. . . .

As chief executive of a 25-year-old community media organization, I can empathize with the president, congressional leaders and local lawmakers when it comes to figuring out how to get people back to work—or in my case, how to save jobs. Since 1981, Portland Community Media has had a successful contractual relationship with the City of Portland, which provides a significant amount of PCM's budget. The funding comes out of the City General Fund, which generates franchise revenue from an agreement with Comcast Cable to indirectly fund local public, education and government access channels, and in this case, PCM. . . .

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger is warning Oregon citizens about a jury duty scam that seeks to trick consumers into providing personal, confidential information.
The scam involves emails and telephone calls that claim recipients have missed jury duty and will be arrested or face other legal sanctions if they do not turn over Social Security numbers, bank accounts information or dates of birth. . . .

Some 300 volunteers have signed up on a website to help launch a recall campaign against Mayor Sam Adams.
The group behind www.recallsamadams.com says it believes that "the city needs a new leader after Adams admission that he lied to the public about sexual relations with a teenager and orchestrated an elaborate cover-up to win the 2008 mayoral election. . . .