Almost exactly one year ago, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law legislation introduced by Rep. Eric Pettigrew to solve the fundamental mystery of the foster care system: Why does race seem to matter more than economics?
Furthermore, what can be done about it?
"This is about doing the right thing for our kids," Pettigrew said at the time. "Far too many children out there get put into the foster care system. We need to find out why."
"Even among more affluent families, African American and Native American children enter the system in greater numbers and stay longer," says Germaine Covington of The Black Child Development Institute. "It's a national issue."
Tonight, experts come together to scrutinize the problems and brainstorm possible solutions....

Children's Hospital has named Dr. Douglass Jackson as the chief of the Center for Diversity and Health Equity. 
Jackson most recently worked at the University of Washington, where he served as associate dean of the Office of Educational Partnerships & Diversity at the School of Dentistry, among other positions.
"Children's Hospital is already doing amazing things to ensure families are getting when they need in a culturally appropriate way," Jackson said. "They're already doing that – for me this is about taking that to the next level."
 Prior to his time at the university, Jackson was a research associate and clinical instructor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, and clinical instructor and consultant at the University of Minnesota....

Residents of one of the most diverse low-income housing developments in Seattle face an uncertain future, and one church is encouraging a dialogue.
The Rainier Valley Unitarian Universalist Congregation hosts "The Future of Yesler Terrace:  A Forum and Panel Discussion" on Saturday, June 28 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Rainier UU Center, 835 Yesler Way, at the corner of Yesler and Broadway. ...

The Washington State Department of Transportation, King County, Port of Seattle, and Sound Transit are seeking comments on their proposed Disadvantaged Business Enterprise goals. ...

Former Georgia Congresswoman and current Power to the People presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney (center) is greeted by Seattle NAACP President James Bible (left) and Community Activist KL Shannon (right) at an NAACP public hearing on police misconduct on June 12 at Rainier Beach Community Center. McKinney made a speech on the subject. Subsequent hearings will be held in West Seattle (June 26, Freedom Missionary Church of Seattle, 9601 35th Ave. SW) and the University District (American Friends Service Committee, 814 NE 40th St.).

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) -- Eighteen-year-old Nick Jensen had a message for Nebraska Democrats in Fremont on Saturday: Don't ignore the young people.
Others complained minorities wouldn't be well-represented in the delegation Nebraska sends to the Democratic National Convention.
"I don't believe the delegates represent my age group or race," said Ashley Adams, 24, of Omaha, who is Black. "I feel like my voice is not being heard and I'm not being represented."
Adams and Jensen were among 450 Nebraskans at the state Party's convention who were vying for 24 spots as delegates to the national convention in Denver in August.
Jensen, of Norfolk, withdrew his name to support other young hopefuls in the 1st District, and was disappointed when they didn't win.
"We have the most to lose and the most to gain from this election," said Jensen, who will be a sophomore at New York University this year....

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) -- Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai said Sunday he is pulling out of this week's presidential runoff because of mounting violence and intimidation against his supporters.
Tsvangirai announced his decision during a news conference in Zimbabwe's capital after thousands of militants loyal to President Robert Mugabe blockaded the site of the opposition's main campaign rally.
"We can't ask the people to cast their vote ... when that vote will cost their lives. We will no longer participate in this violent sham of an election"' he said. "Mugabe has declared war, and we will not be part of that war."...

The Washington, DC Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. hosted an Atlanta 'Dream Dinner' Thursday night at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta in support of the four-acre memorial soon to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.   The Memorial Foundation presented Dr. Christine King Farris, author and Dr. King's sister, and Isaac Newton Farris, Jr., Dr. King's nephew and President and CEO of the King Center in Atlanta, with a miniature replica of the Stone of Hope, the centerpiece of the Memorial.  
"The King Family wholeheartedly supports the National Memorial and the artist who is sculpting a portion of it," said Isaac Newton Farris, Jr.  "It is the first national memorial to a peaceful and non violent warrior on the National Mall. Generations to come need examples of confrontation and boldness. Dr. King was confrontational and it is appropriate that he be portrayed in that way."

The Skanner photographer Julie Keefe, in collaboration with the arts nonprofit training organization Caldera, has just completed the largest public art project in Oregon history.
"Hello Neighbor" put cameras in the hands of teenagers over half the state – and the resulting artwork is currently hung on gigantic prints hung outdoors in neighborhoods from Madras to Northeast Killingsworth Avenue.
"I have lived in this neighborhood for decades, and have only in the last six or seven years faced the gentrification issues," Keefe said. ...

The case of an Oregon Youth Authority official who allegedly stole state property and used incarcerated youth to remodel his kitchen has drawn the scrutiny of state lawmakers down on the entire youth incarceration system.
A review of the incident is underway, and legislators are calling on the youth authority to report its findings to a legislative committee in July.
However The Oregonian obtained documents and police reports earlier this month detailing the "sociopathic" activities of Darrin Humphreys, former warden at RiverBend and MacLaren youth detention centers.
"There have been complaints about management at OYA," Rep. Chip Shields, D-Portland, told The Skanner. "There have been very significant scandals within the last four years. ...