Seattle Arts & Lectures Pulitzer Prize-winning hosts novelist Junot Diaz Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. at the S. Mark Taper Foundation Auditorium. Diaz' book, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, is the story of a Black teenaged nerd from the Dominican Republic who longs to be a science fiction writer, but is forced to struggle with issues of racism, political violence and adolescent love as an immigrant in New Jersey. The book won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize. . . .

South Seattle Community College is offering a variety of full-year resident tuition scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year to graduating high school seniors. The application deadline is 4 p.m., Monday, March 2, 2009.
Applicants must: . . .

King County Councilmember Larry Phillips' is calling on Olympia for legislation to help stabilize King County services and prevent transit cuts.
"In tough economic times, people rely even more heavily on public transit as a means to save money getting to and from work and other activities, but the latest forecasts show that service cuts will soon be unavoidable unless we find effective solutions," he said in a statement. "We need legislation from Olympia that will provide Metro with stability during economic downturns and the means to keep service growing with demand." . . .

Puget Sound Energy announced today that beginning immediately the utility is offering a $1,200 instant rebate to the first 400 PSE residential customers (and an $800 instant cash discount to all other residential customers) who install energy-efficient ductless heat pumps through the end of the year.
According to PSE, ductless systems can be installed without costly and difficult remodeling and provide major energy-efficiency savings in homes with electric-baseboard and forced-air heating systems. . . .

Bellevue Community College's Black Student Union presents two acclaimed hip-hop artists, an internationally-noted hip-hop scholar and a Washington state legislator with expertise in civic responsibility and social change, in a series of four free, public Black History Month lectures.

• Mohammed Bilal . . .
• Boots Riley . . .
• State Rep. Eric Pettigrew . . .
• Prof. Tricia Rose . . .

·         Free Dental Appointments for Kids
·         New Resume Resource at Public Library
·         State's unemployed workers may qualify for extended benefits
·         Salary Commission Meets in Vancouver on Feb. 17
·         Big Brothers/Sisters Has New Website
·         GenerationBIG Community Information Sessions

·         Scholarship Luncheon Celebrates Education

At the beginning of February, the Vancouver and Evergreen school districts experienced an increase in the number of respiratory infections among students.
After reporting a high of nearly 30 percent absenteeism in some schools, Dr. Alan Melnick, of Clark County Public Health, said the illnesses are now ebbing to normal.
"It was typical respiratory illness," Melnick said. . . .

E.D.Mondainé & Belief host a pre-release CD performance fundraiser Sunday, Feb. 22 at 5 p.m., at 8131 N Denver Ave. Achaia Records hosts the event, with food catered by Cafe De La Soul. Some of Portland's finest musicians will perform new material from their upcoming album entitled Look at Me Now. A single from this recording, "Goodness & Mercy," was nominated for a 2008 Hollywood Music Award. There will be performances by Blue Reign, the 25th Hour, and a few special surprise guests. . . .

The documentary film Darius Goes West shows at the Hollywood Theater Saturday at 1 p.m., at 4122 NE Sandy Blvd. The film is the story of 15 year old Darius Weems of Athens, Ga., who is stricken with Duchenne muscular dystrophy – a disorder destined to keep him in a wheelchair for life. When they find out Darius has never been outside Athens, a group of his friends decide they'll all embark on a road trip to Los Angeles to try to get Darius on MTV's reality television show Pimp My Ride. . . .

WASHINGTON (AP) - Researchers have concluded U.S. crime laboratories need an overhaul because they lack strict and consistent scientific standards.
The authors of the report say the lack of consistent standards raises the possibility that the quality of forensic evidence presented in court can vary unpredictably ...