OLYMPIA—Washington schools aren't preparing students adequately to compete in a tough global marketplace, and top-to-bottom overhaul is needed, Gov. Chris Gregoire said.

LITTLEROCK, Wash.—A federal age, gender and racial discrimination lawsuit has been filed by 11 workers against the Cedar Creek Corrections Center, a state prison work camp about 23 miles south of the Capitol.

SANTA ANA, Calif.—A former prison gang member toldjurorsheread Machiavelli and killed enemies behind bars to impress gang leaders as testimony began Wednesday in the federal government's racketeering case against four reputed leaders of the Aryan Brotherhood.

Mary StallingsThe elegant Mary Stallings wowed a less-than-capacity crowd at Seattle's Jazz…

Thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets in Portland and around the world this weekend, marking the third anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq with demands that coalition troops leave immediately.

A crowd estimated to be in excess of 10,000 gathered in Tom McCall Waterfront Park Sunday to listen to a slate of speakers and then march along a winding route through downtown Portland. The crowd, a wide cross-section of ages, races and faiths, carried homemade signs, beat on drums and chanted to signify their opposition to the war.

The Rev. LeRoy Haynes of Allen Temple CME Church was among the speakers at the rally.

A delegation of activists, government officials and professionals from French-speaking Africa dropped by The Skanner's offices in North Portland March 20 to discuss the role of investigative journalism in transparent societies. While the group -- whose visit was sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and facilitated by the World Affairs Council of Oregon -- was forced to cut its visit short due to a scheduling conflict, they nonetheless got to take a look around The Skanner's offices and hear about the paper's purpose and readership.

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., listens while his colleague, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., addresses students and community members March 18 at Garfield High School in Seattle.

The Skanner 21st Annual

Martin Luther King Junior

Breakfast

Monday, January 15th, 2007

(Place and Time Published at a later date on this site.)

Portland will be graced by one of the world's foremost women this week, when Nobel Peace Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, a member of the Kenyan Parliament, visits the city.

Circuit Court Judge Adrienne Nelson bends over the stub of a plant with just one hardy leaf. Worried about its welfare, she gives it some water and moves it from the window in her Multnomah County Courthouse office to the coffee table near her desk.