Amidst conflicting news on the state of African American students in Washington's public schools, legislative efforts to address the state's racial achievement gap continue.
Officials have set for June 23 the next hearing on House Bill 2722, after an initial panel met in May and hashed out the structure for future meetings. A location for the meetings has not yet been selected.
The hearings come at the same time that an expose by The Seattle Times reveals some Seattle schools are as segregated as they were at the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. Meanwhile, last week's Washington Assessment of Student Learning showed 90 percent of Black students passing the test for the first time.
"Of course I am elated that the students scores have improved," says Rosalind Jenkins, chair of the Washington Commission on African American Affairs. "However, we will continue to work for those who did not pass."
The Times' investigation, published June 1, showed that racial imbalance is at epidemic levels for Seattle public schools. In 20 of the schools studied, non-White enrollment is 90 percent or more....

On Monday, June 9 the King County Council sent both Initiative 26 and an alternative measure to the August Ballot. Initiative 26 was signed by over 80,000 voters in King County, and would make the offices of King County Executive, Council, and Assessor nonpartisan.....

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Attorney General Rob McKenna is arguing that felons who have not had their civil rights restored should not have the same rights to public records that others have.
McKenna makes the assertion in a friend-of-the-court brief that is to be filed with state Court of Appeals in a case concerning an imprisoned arsonist who's been trying to dig up information on the judges, lawyers and corrections officers who helped put him behind bars. In the filing obtained by The Associated Press, McKenna — an active proponent of public records access — says that ...

The Seattle/King County Branch of the NAACP will hold a public hearing on police accountability next week in Rainier Beach. The hearing is part of an ongoing effort to collect citizen testimony of their experiences with law enforcement.
Former Congresswoman and Green Party presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney will speak on police accountability and her work as a public policy advocate. In March of this year, the NAACP formed the People's Panel on Police Accountability ...

The first-ever 5K Walk for Foster Care, to be held at the Rose Bowl Stadium, is set for July 26. The event is sponsored by rhythm and blues artist Kashif Saleem, above, and his organization, iCare Foundation, which pairs over 200 foster youth with mentors. Over 10,000 people are expected at the event, which features a 5K walk, parenting, adoption and mentorship classes, a vendor area, and a concert featuring top entertainment....

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ It has been a rough 10 days for Michelle Obama.

Internet rumors claimed there was a videotape of her criticizing "whitey" from a church pulpit. A Fox News analyst suggested that her affectionate on-stage knuckle bump with her husband, on the night he locked up the Democratic presidential nomination, might have been a "terrorist's fist jab." Fox also labeled her a "baby mama," a term some use for unwed mothers.

The rumors and innuendo reached the point that Barack Obama's campaign launched a new Web Site this week, fightthesmears.com. The first allegation it denied was the "whitey" claim, stating, "No such tape exists."

On Friday, Michelle Obama made her first public appearance since these hubbubs arose, and the campaign made sure she had a nice, soft landing. ...

(NNPA)- A Chicago jury of 12 (nine men, three women) has acquitted R. Kelly on all 14 counts of videotaping himself having sex with an underage girl. As the first "not guilty" was read June 13, Kelly dipped his head and kept it bowed during the entire reading of the 14-count verdict.

When the reading was completed, he dabbed his face with a baby blue handkerchief from his pocket as tears streamed down his face. ...

On Tuesday night, Sen. Barack Obama exceeded the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination for the presidency. A last minute surge of superdelegates endorsing Obama pushed the candidate past the needed 2,118 votes, effectively making Obama the first African American to be a serious contender for the office of the presidency....

When word came last November that Seattle's Rainier Beach High School was off the "needs improvement" list, Principal Robert Gary Jr. – at the goading of jubilant students – walked right down to the waterfront and jumped into Lake Washington wearing his suit and tie.
In Portland, Jefferson High School is, in many ways, a mirror image of Rainier Beach High: comparable student under-enrollment in a large, expensive facility; predominantly Black and low-income students; a history of low-achievement; coupled with record-setting championship basketball programs. ...

State School Superintendent Terry Bergeson announcing Washington Assessment of Student Learning examination success rates for ethnic groups exceeded 80 percent. 
"I am thrilled at the results," Bergeson said.
The announcement marks the first year that seniors successfully met the states new graduation requirements inherent in the WASL.
Bergeson reported 91.4 percent of this year's high school seniors have successfully passed both the reading and writing segments of WASL.