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3:16pm

Fri May 10, 2013
Marijuana legalization

Complete with hearse, march planned to bury pot prohibition

Credit That Hardford Guy / Flickr

An annual march to support legalization of marijuana will take to Seattle streets Saturday. The Cannabis Freedom March will feature a mock funeral procession for cannabis prohibition, complete with a hearse. Organizers say the time has come to lay anti-marijuana laws to rest.

“2013 is the year to really push,” said organizer Sharon Whitson with Hempfest. “We have legalized cannabis in Colorado, and here in Washington state. We have a number of other states seriously looking at it. And a few states, over the course of this year, have legalized medicinal cannabis, as well.”

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12:56pm

Fri May 10, 2013
fictitious license program

U.S. attorney blocks release of info on CIA fictitious licenses

The U.S. attorney in Seattle has stepped in to block the release of information about the once-secret program in which the state of Washington issued fictitious driver’s licenses for CIA agents.

In a letter to the state, Jenny Durkan’s office said the documents are “classified national security information.”

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12:23pm

Fri May 10, 2013
NBA in Seattle

With NBA's final decision looming, Hansen ups bid

Credit sonicsarena.com
Chris Hansen is seen in this photo.

With Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson already celebrating his city’s victory in the bid to keep the Kings in town, Chris Hansen and his Seattle-based investment group upped the ante on Friday.

Hansen said his group has raised the proposed purchase price for the franchise by $75 million, bringing the total to $625 million “in an effort to further demonstrate the extent of our commitment to bring basketball back.” The group also guaranteed to the league that the franchise would be a revenue sharing payer, Hansen said.

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12:00pm

Fri May 10, 2013
Jazz & Blues

Early blues with fife & drum

Fife & Drum players

  • Early Blues with Fife & Drum

In 1942, Alan Lomax discovered a community of musicians in North Mississippi, who played their own hybrid music that was unmistakably African-sounding. Called “Fife & Drum” music because of its military background, it hearkens back to post Civil War days, when this special and local tradition originated.

Although drumming is a central element of African music, drumming was generally banned during the slavery era. With restrictions easing after the War, and the availability of one-time military drums, Fife and Drum music became a key part of North Mississippi culture.

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9:24am

Fri May 10, 2013
Weather with Cliff Mass

Mass: Mother Nature to spoil outdoor Mother's Day plans

Credit Justin Steyer

  • Listen to Cliff Mass' weather discussion

All you need is a quick look out the window to see a gorgeous day in store for Friday, with none of those morning clouds we've been seeing all week.

The day is the last “almost perfectly sunny and warm” day we’ll see this weekend, says Cliff Mass, professor of atmospheric science at the University of Washington.

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6:30am

Fri May 10, 2013
school on saturday

Saturday language schools growing in popularity

Every Saturday, the Northwest Chinese School takes over Newport High School in Bellevue. Sings in Mandarin are posted all over the building directing students where to go.

For most kids, the weekends are prime time to play and catch up on cartoons. But for thousands of children across the country and here in the Northwest, Saturdays mean waking up early to head to another school where they sharpen their academic teeth and learn a language that ties them to their cultural heritage. 

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5:00am

Fri May 10, 2013
Sports with Art Thiel

Sounders, fans hoping they can dig out of big hole

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP Photo
Sounders supporters wave a giant flag before a match in Seattle last month.

  • Sports with Art Thiel weekly commentary

The Seattle Sounders FC stunned Sporting Kansas City Wednesday by scoring late in stoppage time to win 1-0 in dramatic fashion. It was a thrill that fans haven't experienced that often this season.

KPLU sports commentator Art Thiel points to the team's recent roster change as a factor. 

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8:25pm

Thu May 9, 2013
Barefoot bandit

Barefoot Bandit: 'I will have a beautiful life'

Credit Associated Press

The young man known as the "Barefoot Bandit" says he's looking forward to leaving prison and having a "beautiful life."

Colton Harris-Moore became known worldwide after running from the law in stolen cars, boats and airplanes as a teenager for two years. Now the 22-year-old is serving a seven-year prison sentence after a plea deal with federal and local authorities.

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8:04pm

Thu May 9, 2013
northwest fishermen

Pebble Mine opponents put value of Bristol Bay fishery at $1.5 billion

Credit toddraden Photo / Flickr
Sockey salmon in Bristol Bay support about 12,000 jobs annually in fishing and processing industries, according to a new economic impact report from the University of Alaska's Institute for Social and Economic Research

Though it’s thousands of miles away, a proposed mine for gold and copper in Alaska’s Bristol Bay threatens to destroy the livelihood of thousands of people in the Puget Sound area. 

Seattle’s fleet of commercial fishermen and seafood processors have been a big part of the opposition to the so-called Pebble Mine.

A new economic report puts the value of Bristol Bay’s salmon at $1.5 billion per year, and says more than a quarter of the jobs it generates are located in Washington state.

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3:50pm

Thu May 9, 2013
Boeing in Washington

Inslee begins effort to secure Boeing's next jet

Credit Ted S. Warren / Associated Press
FILE - In this June 14, 2012 photo, a worker on the Boeing 737 assembly line works under a wing in Renton, Wash.

  Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wants to streamline government permitting and review aerospace incentives in order to help convince Boeing Co. to build its 777X jetliner in the state.

Inslee said Thursday that other strategies that lawmakers need to implement include improving the state's transportation corridors and investing in education and workforce training programs. He added those efforts can help preserve thousands of jobs.

"Today what we are doing is starting for the competition not just for the 777x but for the replacement of the 737. We’re getting ready for that today. We’re thinking long-term," the governor said.

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2:00pm

Thu May 9, 2013
gun buyback program

Seattle mayor's omission: Buyback guns already destroyed

Credit Josh Trujillo / Associated Press
Officers examine an inert surface to air missile launcher brought to the gun buy back program run by the Seattle Police Department on Saturday.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has apologized for making a deliberate omission this week when he announced a plan to turn guns from a buyback program into plaques carrying messages of peace.

McGinn left the impression during a news conference on Tuesday the 700-plus weapons collected at a highly publicized buyback in January would be used to make the plaques.

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11:13am

Thu May 9, 2013
security breach

Wash. state courts hacked, personal data accessed

The Washington state Administrative Office of the Courts was hacked in February, and up to 160,000 Social Security numbers and 1 million driver license numbers may have been accessed during the data breach of its public website.

Officials with the courts announced Thursday that so far, it has been confirmed that 94 Social Security numbers were obtained. Initially, authorities didn't think confidential information was obtained, but following an investigation by the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, the broader breach was confirmed in April, said courts spokeswoman Wendy Ferrell.

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9:49am

Thu May 9, 2013
American held in North Korea

North Korea: Detained Lynnwood man smuggled in propaganda

Credit Ahn Young-joon / Associated Press
A South Korean man watches a television news program showing Korean American Kenneth Bae at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 2, 2013.

North Korea says a Korean-American man sentenced last week to 15 years' hard labor smuggled in unspecified inflammatory literature and tried to establish a base for anti-Pyongyang activities at a hotel in the border city of Rason.

The statement late Thursday from an unidentified Supreme Court spokesman provides the most in-depth look so far of Pyongyang's allegations against Kenneth Bae. But it is still short on specific details. Bae hasn't made a public statement.

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5:01am

Thu May 9, 2013
sustainability

'Slow Flowers': Seattle author's case for sustainably-grown flowers

Credit Debra Prinzing

Like many other holidays, Mother’s Day has become quite commercialized. Along with a Hallmark card often comes a perfect-looking bouquet of flowers that have traveled thousands of miles to get to your front door.

But for those who long for flowers with a local tie and fewer pesticides, there are other options.

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5:48pm

Wed May 8, 2013
Criminal Justice

U.S. attorney: A 'buggy whip moment' in fighting cyber crime

Credit Associated Press
FILE - U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan speaks at a news conference about the arrest of a Dutch national for a computer hacking conspiracy Monday, June 11, 2012, in Seattle

United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington Jenny Durkan faced tough questions from senators in Washington D.C. on Wednesday when she testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism.

Durkan, who was speaking as chair of the U.S. Justice Department Task Force on Cyber Crime, was asked why more isn't being done to stop thieves who use the Internet to steal everything from credit card numbers to trade secrets.

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