The AIDS Fight Is Still On

Better drugs, awareness and treatment are doing their work against AIDS, but the fight isn't over until the number of people with the virus drops to zero, activists say.

Saturday is World AIDS Day, and events to mark the date are happening across Portland from now until Dec. 5.

More than 5,000 Oregonians are living with HIV/AIDS, and about 76 percent of them in the Portland metro area, according to Kim Toevs, Multnomah County manager for HIV, STD and adolescent health.

Nearly 275 people are diagnosed with HIV in Oregon each year, and almost 40 percent of them go on to develop AIDS within the first year because they delayed getting tested for the disease.

Events tomorrow, the 24th annual World AIDS Day, include documentary screenings and a healing and remembrance service at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church downtown.

But our money is on the Red Ribbon Party. Get ready for Drag Queen Bingo, a raffle and signature cocktails. It's free at the Hotel Monaco from 7 pm to 10 pm.