OLYMPIA – Gov. Chris Gregoire has called on Congress to restore the drastic cuts to education and health care programs for children and the elderly included in President Bush's proposed federal budget.
 "President's Bush's priorities are not in line with the priorities of Washington families," Gregoire said. "We cannot leave children and seniors without access to health care, but these federal cuts continue to put more and more pressure on Washington residents to pick up the tab."

Thanks to a transit initiative recently approved by voters, King County Metro Transit has more bus service in the city's Capitol Hill, Beacon Hill, Rainier Valley, Skyway and Tukwila areas.
King County Metro Transit's "Transit Now" program adds service to the following routes:
•Route 8 – Added several trips during the morning and afternoon commute to offer bus service every 15 minutes on the portion of this route between Seattle Center and Capitol Hill;
•Route 101 – Added three trips to relieve overcrowding and provide better connections at the Renton Transit Center and South Renton Park-and-Ride; and
•Route 140 – Doubled mid-day weekday service to every 15 minutes on this route serving Burien, SeaTac, Tukwila and Renton.

Mehkai Parmer, 1, enjoys every last bite of his breakfast Saturday Feb. 10, at the annual Rainier Beach Community Center Pancake Breakfast Fund-raiser, which raises money for the center's youth programs. 

Westview High School Freshman Natasha Kantor, 15, shakes hands with Governor Ted Kulongoski as he arrives at the REAP Challenge 2007 African and African American Student Leadership Conference Thursday, Feb. 1. Also pictured, from left, is Faduma Ali, 16, a junior at Westview and Mark Jackson, REAP program director.

Neighbors in the heart of Northeast Portland watched with horror late Monday night as a four-alarm fire engulfed a beloved icon at the corner of Northeast Ivy Street and Russell Avenue.
By Tuesday morning, all that remained of the Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church were a few brick columns, some historical documents and, remarkably, copies of the Rev. Albert Wayne Johnson's sermons.
Residents who lived near the Baptist church called 9-1-1 just before midnight Monday, Feb. 5, to report an explosion that some callers said, "shook the house."

After years of hearing about accidents, assaults and injuries, cycling activist Jonathan Maus said one recent incident finally spurred him to action. The incident in question involved an attack by three Black teenage girls on two White female bicyclists, which occurred Jan. 10 on North Williams Avenue near Legacy Hospital, when one of the teenagers kicked the back tire of Heather Moles, causing her to crash.

Until a few weeks ago, janitors at the Union Bank of California in downtown Portland say they had decent wages and healthcare they could count on.
Then ServiceMaster Swan Island stepped into the picture.
Janitors at Union Bank say that, after buying the assets of another ServiceMaster franchise, the north Portland company told workers their union days were over.

Microsoft has donated $5 million to the National Urban League, the nation's oldest and largest African-American organization.
The grant money will provide the National Urban League and its 102 affiliates with software to meet the organization's goal of empowering communities and changing lives.

Burnette is the director of community relations and business equity, a position created after a community outcry over the lack of minority-owned business participation on PDC-backed projects. Unofficially, she will champion diversity planning at the PDC.
"I'll work on more non-traditional channels to get to people," Burnette says.
To do that, Burnette will have to increase minority and female participation and change internal PDC policies – policies that have been in place for decades. That may sound like a momentous task, but Burnette said the attitude of the development commission, as well as the City Council, seems to be changing.

Portland Public Schools is opening both the Young Women's Academy academy and the Jefferson High School Young Men's Academy in September, in response to community interest and the proven success of single-gender schools. Both single-gender academies will open with sixth through ninth grades, adding a grade each year until they become grades six through 12 academies. Both are designed to boost student achievement through innovative, career-focused curriculum.
The Young Men's Academy will be located at Jefferson. The Young Women's Academy will be at Harriet Tubman Middle School in North Portland.