Hawthorne Elementary School kindergarteners: middle row, Rittina Dy, left, and Truth Carradine, and front row, Ishawna Thompson, left, and Shania Williams, sing at an assembly called "We Are The Dream: A Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. and the Pursuit of Social Justice." Forced to postpone their Jan. 15 celebration because of bad weather, Hawthorne Elementary School held an assembly for parents and students on Jan. 24.

SEATTLE – A toll-free application telephone number and on-line registration for federal emergency aid are operational for residents who suffered property damage or losses from the floods last November.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency's help is targeted for Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pierce, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties.
In response to a request from Gov. Christine Gregoire, President George W. Bush signed a major disaster declaration designating these counties eligible for aid from the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency to help meet the recovery needs of stricken residents and business owners.
State and federal officials encourage those affected by the disaster to apply for assistance immediately by going online to www.fema.gov or calling toll-free, 1-800-621-FEMA (3362), from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (local time) Monday through Saturday until further notice. Those with speech or hearing impairments can call TTY 1-800-462-7585.

SEATTLE — If you're driving on Interstate 5 near Marysville and you see a road worker in a green tractor on the median, you may want to check your speedometer. The "road worker" may be part of a Washington State Patrol undercover speed trap.
In two hours Wednesday, about a dozen speeding drivers were pulled over at the speed trap in this area north of Marysville that has been ranked third by the state Transportation Department for the number of cars driving faster than 90 mph.

Black history is so vast and complex that a lot of research and study continues today. Researchers will present findings from their individual research papers at the fourth annual Black History Conference from 8:30 a.m. to 7:40 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3 at Seattle University, 901 12th Ave.
Hosted by the Association for African American Historical Research and Preservation, the nonprofit organization locates, collects, preserves and disseminates historical and genealogical information related to the African American community.
This year's theme is "The Black Experience: Presenting History's Hidden Pages (Previously Avoided, Dismissed, Forgotten, Submerged or Unknown)."

Cancer is a word that is feared in the African American community. It's affecting mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, and sons and daughters at an alarming rate. In honor of Black History Month, Cierra Sisters is hosting its second annual community conference on cancer.

Powerful Schools reading tutor Kathryn Bryson interviews Allonie Jones, one of her students at John Muir Elementary School, about how she's benefited from the reading program during the Powerful Schools 10th annual Breakfast, Jan. 24 at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel.

An exhibition of sculpture by 20th century African American artist James W. Washington Jr. will run from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout February in the City Hall Gallery, 600 Fourth Ave.
The exhibit features 14 sculptures, a dozen photographs of the artist at work and four large text panels giving context to the work of Washington, who lived from 1911 to 2000.
Washington's work expresses the unity of humankind and nature, with symbols derived from religion, freemasonry and the animal world.

North Portland resident Chakila Scott-Riley leads the organization Sisters Having to Exceed to provide King Elementary School girls with positive role models.

The Rev. Dr. LeRoy Haynes addresses a crowd of over 100 people, including the children's choir from Powerhouse Temple, at a candlelight vigil for peace on Jan. 20 in Old Town near the area where Sir J. Millage, 15, was tasered and struck by Portland police in December. Millage, who is autistic, is the great-grandson of Pastor Mary Overstreet Smith, of Powerhouse Temple.

Willie Brown knows first hand how racial profiling can affect an individual.
"There was a time I myself was laid down on the pavement with a gun to my head," he said.
The incident, he added, ended peacefully after officers realized the robbery suspect they were looking for didn't exactly fit Brown's description.
Brown's experience is not entirely exceptional. A 2006 "Listening Sessions Report" — written by Oregon Action and several other community action groups — chronicled pervasive racial profiling by Portland police. The contents of the report were compiled after Oregon Action held several public sessions with both members of the community and police and examined traffic stop data from the police. The data indicated Blacks and Latinos are being stopped and searched at significantly higher rates than their percentage of the population.
After Oregon Action confronted the city with the report, the Portland Police Bureau admitted that racial profiling did in fact occur in its ranks. In response to the report, the City Council appointed Brown and 18 others to a committee enlisted to defeat racial profiling.