Washington D.C. (from Radio Havana Cuba) — President George W. Bush has approved a Pentagon plan for a command center for Africa to oversee U.S. military activities on the continent. The White House says that Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been given the order to get the new command, known as Africom, up and running by the end of September 2008.

Khalmille Harris, 19 months, left, and Rosie Sanchez, 9, play the drums at the 27th annual Festival Sundiata on Monday, Feb. 19.  The three-day event featured gospel, jazz, hip-hop and dance performances rooted in African culture.

OLYMPIA — The race for the White House is already heating up nationally, with candidates off and running in the first wide-open contest in 80 years.
But here? Not so much.
Party leaders and political operatives say both the Republicans and Democrats have a strong Top 3 here and some eager-beaver backups, but that the campaigns still have little organization on the ground and that activists are hanging back before committing to a particular candidate.
It's early for the casual voter to pay much attention, but the nominees of both parties could be known by this time next year, possibly before Washington's oddball hybrid of primary and caucuses.
"This is nuts," said pollster Stuart Elway, chuckling over the warp speed of the 2008 cycle. "We've got this rich stew of candidates, but they're going to front-load it and it'll all be over by Christmas."

After 31 years in the airline reservation industry, and one-and-a-half years from retirement, Chris Siapicas' job at United Airlines was outsourced and his pension forfeited. Instead of planning his retirement, Siapicas was left looking for a new career....Siapicas entered the web development program in summer 2005 and will graduate this spring with honors.

A celebration for people of African descent from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 at Seattle Central Community College's Student Activity Center, 1718 Broadway St., Seattle.

If you like Reggae music, you won't want to miss the Northwest World Reggae Festival, sponsored by Conscious Productions and Mutant Audio, March 23 and 24 in Portland and Eugene.
Legendary reggae band The Abyssinians will headline. The March 23 show starts at 8 p.m. in the Wonder Ballroom, 128 N.E. Russell Ave., Portland. This show is all ages with ages 21 and over in the balcony area. The March 24 show will be held at Agate Hall in Eugene and is open to all ages.

JACKSON, Miss. -- A grand jury declined to issue an indictment in the 1955 slaying of Black Chicago teenager Emmett Till, who was kidnapped from his uncle's home in the Mississippi Delta and shot to death after allegedly whistling at a White woman.
The grand jury in Leflore County wrapped up its work this past week and issued a "no bill" against Carolyn Bryant, the widow of one of two White men originally acquitted of Till's death. A "no bill" means the grand jury found insufficient evidence existed for an indictment on a criminal charge.
Documents made public Tuesday show prosecutors sought a manslaughter charge.
Till was kidnapped from the Leflore County town of Money in 1955. Three days later, the 14-year-old's mutilated body was found in the Tallahatchie River.
Roy Bryant, Carolyn Bryant's husband, and his half brother, J.W. Milam, were acquitted of the crime by an all-White jury. The two men later confessed in an interview with Look magazine. Till had been accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant, and some witnesses have said a woman's voice could be heard at the scene of the abduction.
The FBI reopened the case in 2004 but decided in 2006 not to press charges.

Members of the New Generation Revival Church, which also was destroyed in the fire that claimed the Morning Star Mission Baptist Church last week, rise to their feet as their pastor, the Rev. Johnasen Pack, not pictured, gives an impassioned address to the multi-church congregation on Sunday, Feb. 11. Pictured from left are Madison Jackson, 9, Dana Jackson, an unidentified woman, and Mother Robinson.

It was once a beacon of hope for a stretch of road blighted with empty storefronts, but after 10 years in business, the Adidas retail shop at the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Alberta Street is closing.
Local media broke the news last Tuesday, and Adidas sent internal memos to employees this week notifying them of the closure.
"As a neighbor, it's sad that an anchor tenant is leaving, especially since it was such a big deal when they moved in there," said Jennifer Jardee-Borquist, president of the King Neighborhood Association. "We haven't discussed it as a neighborhood association yet … but, personally, most of the neighbors I know don't shop there. In the seven years I've lived here I've only shopped there once."
Adidas representatives wouldn't say why the store is closing, only that it will close in the second half of 2007, but city officials close to the redevelopment on MLK Jr. Boulevard say the closure shouldn't have an adverse affect on the area's burgeoning business community.
"Personally, I don't see it as a huge issue," said Bernie Kerosky, of the Portland Development Commission. "There is so much happening on MLK … these other projects are on the drawing board and the Vanport Square project down the street is selling out well."

We've all done it. You need to run a short errand, and the only available parking spot is in a restricted lot. So you take a gamble; thinking you'll only by five minutes, surely a tow truck driver won't catch you. Four minutes later, you're back, but your car is gone – hauled off by a contracted towing company.
The practice of patrol towing – illegal in some states – is called "predatory towing" by its critics and it is widespread, with the state Department of Justice receiving nearly 200 towing-related complaints in 2006.
Now one local politician has come up with a remedy.