As the 2009 Legislative Session starts on Monday, WashingtonVotes.org rolls out its enhanced 2.0 website that increases user accessibility and function ... Free, with concise, plain-English, objective descriptions of every bill, amendment and votes ... Citizens interested in particular bills and issues can also register to receive daily e-mail alerts ...

This is an opportunity to collect work from your favorite local artist. Artwork in the auction can be viewed in the gallery between Jan. 21 and Jan. 31 and on their website, www.ColumbiaCityGallery.com. The Auction Kick-Off is on Saturday, Jan. 24 from 5 to 8 p.m ...

The Rainier Beach Library Book Group holds its monthly meeting Sunday Jan. 4. The club discussed 'The Red Tent,' by Anita Diamant.  The book group meets monthly, and 'The Devil in the White City,' by Erik Larson is February's selection ...

Seattle Pacific University Junior Point Guard Brandon Larrieu looks for a teammate to pass to in their Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball opener Jan. 8 against Saint Martin's College.  Playing at home at Brougham Pavilion, SPU went on to beat the 13th ranked team from Lacey Washington 92 to 84. Larrieu had 13 points and 6 assists.

An exhaustive new study of America's advertising industry released today has found dramatic levels of racial discrimination throughout the industry.  Bias against African-American professionals was found in pay, hiring, promotions, assignments, and other areas. The study was initiated by a coalition of legal, civil rights, and industry leaders who created the Madison Avenue Project.  The Project was created in 2008 to address advertising's deep-rooted racial bias and today, Cyrus Mehri, Project leader and prominent civil rights lawyer, called the findings "absolutely astonishing in this day and age."  Angela Ciccolo, Interim General Counsel of the NAACP, another project partner, commented that "the time has come to stand up to change this industry ...

A coalition of 42 states today announced a settlement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company after the company violated the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement by distributing decorative tin signs to consumers that featured its "Natural American Spirit" cigarettes brand name.  "We will continue to hold accountable any tobacco company that skirts the rules," McKenna said. "The agreement the states reached with the tobacco companies ten years ago is clear: pro-cigarette promotional products aren't allowed ...

The Washington Employment Security Department took in a record number of new unemployment claims in December.
Some 90,331 people applied for regular unemployment benefits in December, an increase of about 75 percent over December 2007. The previous record was set in December 2001, when 72,942 people filed initial claims.
The week of Dec. 21-27, 2008, which included the Christmas holiday, also set a one-week record, taking in 25,687 new unemployment claims, nearly twice as many as the same week in 2007 ...

The American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon want police and prosecutors in Portland to stop using a secret list to determine whether a defendant is prosecuted more harshly. A hearing in Judge Dale Koch's courtroom last week questioned the constitutionality of a program that police say successfully gives repeat offenders treatment while also prosecuting them more harshly.
Law enforcement in Multnomah County use a lot of lists. There are those people who are included on the Project 57 list. There are those on the "Frequently Booked Report" from Multnomah County. There are those on gang members and affiliates lists. Even Ashland, Ore. had a secret list of downtown panhandlers they considered "nuisances" which were used to conduct "sweeps" ...

Imani Muhammad, founder of the Youth Summit, scheduled for Feb. 7 at PSU's Smith Memorial Center. Here Muhammad stands at the corner of North Albina and Killingsworth Streets, near the spot where Davonte Lightfoot was shot to death on Jan. 7, 2007. His death was Muhammad's impetus for founding the youth summit ...

Clinical depression affects Black women at a rate that is 50 percent higher than White women.
But the year-old clinic is experiencing another issue in the very community it was designed to serve: Black people don't often seek medical help to ease their mental health symptoms.
For almost 18 years, people would almost daily invade Sen. Avel Louise Gordly's personal space while she was in the grocery store, at the mall or in a restaurant.
The state's first Black woman to serve in the senate, Gordly is known for her collaborative spirit, compassionate smile and unrelenting patience. So, naturally, people often expected Gordly to listen to their personal problems. And she did, typically ending the conversation with a kind word ...