The City Council today passed the first pieces of its multi-part package of legislation to maintain safe, exciting Seattle nightlife while managing issues of concern to surrounding neighborhoods. Councilmember Sally Clark, chair of the Economic Development and Neighborhoods Committee, said, "This package was informed by months of deliberation and public input. It will genuinely balance neighborhood quality-of-life issues and our need for an exciting, successful Seattle nightlife scene." Councilmember Jan Drago said, "This package will help downtown residents....

Keith Tucker has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. The 43-year-old Federal Way radio personality has several projects in the works, including a new radio show entitled, "The Keith Tucker Show," on the Afragenesis network 1150 AM.
In the 10-week series, titled "Hip-Hop Beyond Rap," Tucker and his guests will discuss and define different elements in the hip-hop culture and explore the nine elements of hip-hop culture. In the first show, titled "What is Hip-Hop ....

Chaffey Baseball Club will expand its current offering by opening a program  in the inner-city communities for youth age 13 and 14.
This program will begin with the formation of two Sandy Koufax travel teams — a 13-year-old team and a 14-year-old team. These teams will compete in the summer of 2008 but will have the opportunity to ....

Traveling all the way from Bangladesh, television and newspaper reporters from the small country visited The Skanner's Portland office as part of the International Visitor Leadership Program ... The group is learning about American journalism practices, which they say are very similar to their own – with little government interference. But there is one difference in Bangladesh – fluff and celebrity coverage rarely takes precedent over political reporting ...

Charges have been dropped against two Black teenagers accused of killing a White mother of six.
Police say ballistics tests show neither had a hand in shooting Wendy Meinke, who was killed July 30 during a dispute involving her son and others at an apartment complex in the Detroit suburb of Taylor. She tried to intervene, and two people shot in her direction....

A University of Missouri-Kansas City graduate student is suing a professor that she said addressed her in a classroom using a racial slur and other expletives.
The discrimination lawsuit filed by student DeLana Sattarin names sociology and criminal justice professor Peter Singelmann and the University of Missouri System curators as defendants.
Satttarin claims that the January incident led her to drop out of Singelmann's Globalization and Developing Nations class, which resulted in her not having enough credit hours to graduate in May.
In a report compiled by UMKC Affirmative Action Director Grace Hernandez, Singelmann admitted using the racial slur several times during the Jan. 18 class. However, according to the report, he claimed he used the term only to make a point during a discussion....

San Francisco Giants Barry Bonds hits his record-breaking 756th career home run in the fifth inning of their baseball game against the Washington Nationals in San Francisco, Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007. The Giants lost the game 8-6. Photo by Jeff Chiu, Associated Press

Beginning later this month, people will have an opportunity to make a difference in the health of today's youth, as well as the health of future populations.
Starting Aug. 20, for four half-days, the MIKE program will train future mentors to work with students at several Portland high schools. MIKE stands for Multicultural Integrated Kidney Education Program, but is named for Dr. Michael Hartnett, a kidney specialist and late husband of Dr. Cheryl Neal.
The training will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC), 717 North Killingsworth Ct. and runs Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
Organizers for The MIKE program believe disease and conditions leading to chronic kidney failure start early in life, are passed from generation to generation and are growing at epidemic rates. They also believe teens are one of the most underserved and vulnerable populations in the city.
"These youth are our next generation of parents, productive citizens and compassionate care providers," said MIKE founder and president, Dr. Cheryl Neal. "Given the opportunity and support, they do want to make a real difference and are more likely to be open to messages from ....

In 1954, Benjamin and Mary Rose Dean opened a hair salon in the heart of Northeast Portland. Now, 53 years later, Dean's Beauty Salon & Barber Shop is not only still in business and owned by the family, but it has received a tribute from the late couple's granddaughter, Kelly Johnson.
Johnson, a professional photographer, has been either hanging out or working for her grandparents' business since she was a child. She knows how important a hairstyle is to ....

Clarence Larkins and David Greenidge say they have a goal. It might be a little tough – maybe impossible — to accomplish, but they might have a fighting chance. They say they want to bankrupt the prison industry.
For three years now, members of the Irvington Covenant Community Development Corporation have been trying to attain that goal, a handful of ex-offenders at a .....