In an agreement approved last month, state regulators are requiring telecommunications giant AT&T to pay thousands of dollars in refunds to families of prison inmates who were overcharged for collect phone calls from two Eastern Washington state prisons.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission also fined AT&T $302,705 for charging higher telephone rates than allowed for thousands of collect calls from the two prisons.
The commission identified 29,971 violations in phone-rate charges during a four-month period in 2005 at Airway Heights Corrections Center in Spokane and the Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla. The prisoners' families and others were overcharged $67,295 for the collect calls.
Prisoners in Washington cannot make direct calls outside the institution, but instead make outgoing-collect calls from pay phones. During the time of the commission's investigation, from March to June 2005, AT&T had a contract with the state to provide telephone service from state prisons. AT&T was required to file a price list with the commission, including charges made for collect calls from pay phones at the two Washington prisons.
Richard Laxton, a Seattle resident, filed a complaint with the commission in August 2005, after he noticed a discrepancy in two collect-phone calls made from ....

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Prompted by growing concern about gang activity and the case of a drunken driver who fled the country after a fatal crash, the House passed several public safety bills Monday.
House Bill 2712 tackled gang activity, approving a sweeping measure that aims to combat gang violence and steer young people away from joining gangs. That measure passed 94-1 and heads to the Senate....

Earlier this month, the U.S. Army announced a new program designed to help new, qualified recruits with a down payment for home ownership or seed money to start their own business after completing their initial term of service.
Anti-war groups expressed skepticism about the motives behind programs they say typically target young, low-income people with few options for higher education or employment.
The Army Advantage Fund offers up to $40,000 for a five-year plus enlistment ...

What's happening for us in Portland this week?

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Last chance to catch the amazing paintings of E.S. Tingatinga and the artists who followed in his footsteps. Facets of Africa, showing at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, 5340 N. Interstate, through Feb. 23 explores the rich texture and diversity within African-based cultures.
Before his tragic murder in 1972, Tingatinga established a new art form using basic supplies available to him as a house painter --  enamel paints and masonite scraps, to expand on traditional Congo painting styles. Thursday and Friday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday noon – 4 p.m. Free.

NEW YORK (AP) _ Hillary Rodham Clinton grasped for new traction in her faltering Democratic presidential bid on Sunday, reaching out to blacks who have been pivotal in rival Barack Obama's success so far and, in a new offensive, accusing the front-runner of misrepresenting her views in campaign pamphlets to voters and of adopting Republican tactics ahead of key primary contests next month.
Meanwhile, consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced Sunday on NBC television's ``Meet the Press'' that he is launching a third-party campaign for president. He said most Americans are disenchanted with the Democratic and Republican parties, and that none of the presidential contenders are addressing ways to stem corporate crime and Pentagon waste and promote labor rights.
Nader also ran as a third-party candidate in the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections.

NEW YORK (AP) _ On the night before his wedding, Sean Bell went to a strip club called Kalua Cabaret for a bachelor party. As he and two friends left early in the morning, they were confronted by undercover officers investigating reports of drugs and prostitution.
The rest of the story varies depending on who's telling it, but every version ends the same way: Bell dying and his friends wounded in a barrage of 50 police bullets outside the club.
Bell, 23, was killed Nov. 25, 2006, hours before he was to marry Nicole Paultre, the mother of his two children....

More than 100 African American youth got together at the second annual youth summit at Mallory Avenue Church last Saturday. The summit entitled "It's Bigger than Hip Hop" included a youth panel which discussed everything from how Black youth are depicted in the media to the future of hip hop. Here Ashleigh Paschal, 17; Myesha Abdulrahman, 18; and Kenny James, 16, take part in the discussion. After the panel, Public Enemy's Professor Griff joined local artists Libretto, Octavia Harris, Madgesdiq, Blacque Butterfly and others to perform that evening. 

Arizona Sen. John McCain and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama both made a clean sweep in the "Potomac Primary" Tuesday. Each won primaries in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. U. S. Sen. Barack Obama now leads the race for the Democratic presidential nomination....
The Clinton campaign appears to be moving forward after its string of defeats, anticipating comebacks in big primaries such as Texas with 193 delegates and Ohio with 141, both on March 4. After that primaries in Pennsylvania, on April 22, and North Carolina, on May 6, also offer the big prizes. However, Sen. Clinton has made changes in her campaign staff over the weekend, replacing chief of staff Patti Solis Doyle with former chief of staff Maggie Williams. Currently Clinton is campaigning in Wisconsin, where she is scheduled to attend a Democratic Dinner in Milwaukee on Saturday.

"Let's talk about sex." Salt-N-Pepa told us this in the late 80s, urging African Americans to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS. Yet 20 years on, African American youth in Multnomah County don't seem to be talking about sex — or its consequences. At least not enough to keep themselves safe.
That's why Multnomah County last week launched a new Web site called www.knowsexpdx.com ...