The Seattle area will commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. this weekend with several events. The civil rights leader's birthday is Monday, Jan. 15; he would have been 77 years old. Dr. King was killed in 1968, but he is remembered every year for the example he set in the struggle for equality. The following events are planned:
Friday, Jan. 12
• Seattle Community Colleges MLK celebration with keynote speaker King County Executive Ron Sims. Includes a musical tribute and reading by elementary school students. Noon to 1:30 p.m. Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Ave.
• "Strange Fruit: A Nina Simone Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King," featuring jazz vocalist Mercedes Nicole. 7 to 9 p.m. Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave.

Stan Shields rehearses with a fellow actor Monday at Town Hall before performing in "365Days/365 Plays" with the Josh Beerman theatre group.  The theatre group is part of a project by 52 Seattle artists and theatre groups performing playwright Suzan-Lori Parks' world premiere of the "365 Days/365 Plays" year-long cycle. While the plays themselves are very short, from three lines to three pages, taken as a collection, they explore the wide range of political and cultural themes found in Parks' full-length work.

Amy Qiu and Hadley Wilhoite collaborate on a clay project in the Portland Children's Museum. Children can sculpt a unique creation, then fire and paint the sculpture. The museum is located at 4015 S.W. Canyon Rd. in Portland.

Bishop W.G. Hardy Jr, (center), delivers a message during the New Highland Christian Center rededication celebration recently.  From left to right, State Sen. Avel Gordly, Garfield DeBardelaben,  Joy Leary and Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn.

Ben Ruffin, a top adviser to former Gov. Jim Hunt and a past chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, died of an apparent heart attack.
Ruffin, of Winston-Salem, was reared in Durham and worked his way through N.C. Central University by sewing in a tailor shop. He was a special assistant to Hunt on minority affairs and was the first African-American to lead the UNC Board of Governors, which oversees the 16-campus university system.
He was known as a powerful orator, a snappy dresser and a leader with a quiet, dignified style. He spoke at two of our Martin Luther King Breakfasts.

Massachusetts - A recent survey by the American Psychological Association has shown that more women than men describe the holidays as the most stressful time of the year due to the intensified focus on family, work and money.
Women, however, are less likely to take time to relax or manage that stress in healthy ways. Research shows that stress, and the unhealthy behaviors people use to manage it, contribute to some of America's biggest health problems such as obesity, heart disease and diabetes.

Receiving a national award from the American Association of Blood Banks in Miami Beach, Fla., is…

Gerald R. Ford, who picked up the pieces of Richard Nixon's scandal-shattered White House as the 38th and only unelected president in America's history, has died at 93.

James Brown's music career will come full circle when his body is brought to rest on the stage of the legendary Apollo Theater in Harlem, where he made his explosive debut.

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