After 16 months of careful construction and equipment installation, the Oregon Zoo's new Veterinary Medical Center will open its doors on Thursday, Jan. 19. The public can peek inside Jan. 20-22, when the zoo will offer behind-the-scenes tours.

The Metro Council has approved spending $70 million in federal transportation money, applauding a two-year effort by the agency to collaborate with cities and counties and give a more thorough consideration of low income and minority communities.

Leftovers, schmeftovers! Throughout the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, Oregon Zoo animals will gobble their way through their very own Beast Feast, a cornucopia of enrichment activities and treats aimed at stimulating their minds and stomachs.

Commuters in Atlanta collectively drive further than a round trip to the sun and back – each day. Professor and author Lawrence Frank points to that example as the reason "why we're having an energy and environmental crisis today" – and why Americans are overweight and experience a number of health problems. It all comes down to how we get around.

The sashings were part of ceremonies across the state commemorating the 1912 law allowing Oregon women the right to vote. After five unsuccessful attempts, Oregon voters finally passed the law and became the seventh state granting women suffrage through a ballot initiative process.

It's been nearly three years since Metro began the program known as "oak release" at Canemah Bluff in Oregon City. Oak release is the removal of competing plants and trees in habitat that has been, and can be again, an area where native oaks thrive. These white oak areas provide critical habitat for many plant and animal species that are disappearing from our region. They are viewed as among the most important habitat types in our state – habitat that is quite rare today.

The Oregon Zoo’s Asian elephant Rose-Tu is pregnant, zoo officials announced today. The 17-year-old pachyderm, who gave birth to Samudra in 2008, is expected to deliver another member of the zoo’s celebrated elephant family in late 2012.

Learn about recent research on the impact of the built environment on health at a free presentation at Metro, 600 NE Grand, Portland, on Friday, Nov. 4, from 7:30 to 9 a.m. Dr. Lawrence Frank, the author of Health and Community Design: The Impact of the Built Environment on Physical Activity, will present information from his book and lead a discussion on public health, land use and transportation.

Today the Metro Council voted 6-0 to add 1985 acres to the region’s urban growth boundary for future housing and jobs. (Councilor Rex Burkholder was excused.) This represents less than a one-percent expansion of the region’s urban footprint to accommodate thousands of additional households and workers over the next 20 years.

Federal Transit Administration Administrator Peter Rogoff presented a top honor to Metro and TriMet last week, pointing to the region as a leader in efficiency and inclusiveness. The Portland-Milwaukie Light Rail Project received the 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes excellence in providing accessible, "truly useful" information to the public and decision-makers.