William James Adams, aka Will.i.Am, was born on March 15, 1975, in the City of Los Angeles where he attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. But by the time he got around to launching his own clothing line ("i.am") in 2005, the talented Renaissance man had already found fame as front man for the Black Eyed Peas, the multiple Grammy-winning hip-hop group with hits like "Let's Get It Started" and "My Humps."  A versatile musician, Will not only plays various keyboards, the bass and drums, but also sings and raps as well. . . .

Great offerings are on tap at this year's Art Beat Festival from May 11-15 at Portland Community College in Northeast and Southwest Portland:

• Arvie Smith - Artist Talk
• Grandma Zula's Legacy - Film and Discussion
• Jujuba - Music Performance

To celebrate the 150^th Anniversary of Oregon's statehood, the Oregon Department of Education wanted educators to share their knowledge of the state's varied history. With the help of the Oregon Virtual School District, a website was set up to compile lesson plans from around the state ... the website serves as a grassroots effort to get teachers to share effective lesson plans with other teachers. . . .

A report by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that Americans' sense of urgency about HIV/AIDS has fallen dramatically, providing some insights into the AIDS epidemic in Black America. "This report, on the heels of last month's report by the D.C. office of AIDS showing a 4 percent HIV prevalence among Black residents in Washington D.C. provides some context for the AIDS epidemic in Black America," says Phill Wilson, CEO of the Black AIDS Institute. . . .

The National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive is Saturday, May 9. Place nonperishable food donations by your mailbox on the morning of Saturday, May 9, for the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive. More than 3,000 letter carriers across America will collect donations of nonperishable food from their postal customers. . . .

A brief intervention program – consisting of one counseling session and two follow-up phone calls – boosted by tenfold the number of women correctly performing breast self- exams. These are the findings of a Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research study in the American Journal of Health Promotion. Funded by the National Cancer Institute, this study is one of the first to show intervention programs can be effective in increasing breast self-exams. . . .

The Portland Alumnae chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority is planning to rehabilitate and expand its June Key Delta House into the Delta Sigma Theta June Key Community Center. The goal is to take what was once an abandoned gas station and turn it into a sustainable, environmentally friendly community center. The Portland Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (DST) is an organization of 250,000 college-educated women committed to public service. . . .

• MDC to Host Evening Forum with Seattle City Council Candidates
• King and Pierce Counties Optometrists Offer Free Exams for Infants
• The CREATION Project Boosts African American Artists
• Mattias Klum to Speak About Borneo's Dwindling Forests
• Umoja Fest Pageant Seeks Candidates

Another seven probable cases of influenza A, also known as swine flu, were identified in King County Thursday, bringing the probable total to 10. None have been confirmed but officials said laboratory samples have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for final confirmation.  As of late Thursday afternoon, Oregon public officials said the number of cases identified as probable Influenza A remained at one, with additional samples still being tested by the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory. . . .

A man convicted of helping the Taliban testified at a terrorism trial Wednesday that it was his idea to create a militant jihad training camp in Oregon to recruit men from England and the United States to fight in Afghanistan, but he no longer supports terrorist causes. James Ujaama, a Muslim convert who lived in Seattle, told a jury in Manhattan federal court that he envisioned the camp, which never came to fruition, in 1999 as a place for Muslims to get military training to fight in Afghanistan . . .