The percent increase in food stamp use from 2008 to 2009 in Washington State is 27.7 percent. Nationally the increase is 19.8 percent.

1. What’s the population of Washington state? 6,664,195

    a. What's the percent change since 2000? 13.1%

    b. Go back to the main page. Now look at 'Washington' under the 'Area Profile with QuickFacts.'

            1. In terms of percent increase, which has grown faster in the past decade -- Washington or the U.S.? Washington

            2. What's the median household income in Washington as of 2008? $58,081

            3. What's the national median income? $52,029

            4. Let's look at ethnicity: Identify one way in which Washington's population differs from the U.S. population. Washington State has a higher percentage of white persons.

2. Now look at Whitman County.

    a. What's the population? 42,689

    b. What was the percent increase from 2000 to 2009? 4.8%

    c. In 2000, what percent of the population had a bachelor’s degree? What was the percent statewide? 44.0% in Whitman County and 27.7% in Washington

    d. Median household income? $39,691

    e. Persons below poverty in 2008? 23.7%

Anecdote and Evidence from J425 Story

Anecdote: '“To have enough money to stay here, I will have to sell my car,” said Amara, an education student who lives here with his wife and two young children.'

Evidence: 'More than 2,500 Libyan students studying in North America and Canada will face an end to their funding next month after the U.N. Security Council froze the assets of the Libyan government, which had helped fund the exchange students in graduate programs.'

Profile in Six Words

A Pullman man inspires new musicians.

Five Interview Tips

1. Get the interviewee to respond to others statements, especially if harsh, rather than your own.
2. Keep calm and controlled; don't respond to emotion.
3. Ask about inconsistencies in responses or stories for a more in-depth look.
4. Build up to the big question.
5. Use sourcing when possible to build trust.

Telling Details Practice

Two pieces of cardboard rest under a man’s feet secured with rubber bands to form a sort of makeshift shoe. The pieces of cardboard read, “KEEP MOVING”.

Amid swampy wreckage two dogs chewed on a pale—save the spots of blood—and limp body lying face-down in the water.

Comma Splice Excercise

1. “We just buy and sell real estate,” she said. “It is what we do but the market doesn’t dictate the price.
2. In 2007, while the average income in Washington was $55,628, the average income for Whitman County was $36,438.
3. Going green took on new meaning this year when WSU Waste Management announced dramatic changes to the recycling program in an effort to save money across the university. The city plans to follow suit.
4. “Take a little out of athletics, take a little from the library, and save the rest of the money,” Jones said.
5. Dan is using an emerging dairy trend. He installed an anaerobic digester two years ago.
6. He entered the three-mile race yesterday morning. However, he does not have any shoes.

Favorite Lede

SAN QUENTIN—In the end, Robert Alton Harris seemed determined to go peacefully, a trait that had eluded him in the 39 violent and abusive years he spent on earth.

“After Life of Violence Harris Goes Peacefully” by Sam Stanton
The Sacramento Bee, April 22, 1992

---

"There was once a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it."

- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, C.S. Lewis

Meeting Story

Moscow’s annual Inclusive Community Week will look a little different this year, the City of Moscow Human Rights Commission decided Tuesday.

In previous years the Inclusive Community Week, held for one week in September, featured a variety of community themed events. This year, however, the Human Rights Commission, which plans the week, will not host any specific events. Instead it is sending out letters to 140 organizations, inviting them to join a discussion on inclusiveness during the entire month of September.

“We’d have a week-long focus in September with multiple events and almost no turnout,” Lynn Ate, a commissioner at the human rights commission said. “This year we’re going to try to take the dialogue to them.”

The change will give the commission an opportunity to reach out to completely new groups, from fraternities and sororities at the University of Idaho, to the Sojourners Alliance, Ate said.

Organizations that accept the invitation will be given a list of inclusivity topics and asked to discuss at least one topic during the organization’s regular meeting in September. The results or highlights of the discussion will then be sent to the commission and posted online.

The commission hopes the online postings will be a launch-pad for even more discussion, said Head Commissioner Ken Faunce. Commission members also plan to tie in their annual social justice forum to the inclusiveness week, Faunce said.

During its meeting Tuesday the City of Moscow Human Rights Commission also announced a $1000 budget cut and discussed ways to cut spending. Moscow Police Chief David Duke suggested they cut out snacks during its presence at the Finding the Center Conference—an almost $1000 annual cost.

Despite city wide budget cuts during the past few years this is the first time the commission has seen any decrease in its budget, Faunce said. The budget cut will bring the commission’s yearly budget to $5000, he said.

Also discussed during the meeting was the possibility of hosting an event focusing on teachers and professors who speak English as a second language and if this changes a learning environment.

The commission came to no formal decision but it is unlikely any such event will be held. Commissioner Tim Gresback said such an event might have an overall negative effect. By putting specific focus and attention on such professors and teachers the event might bring them into perceived place of non-equality, Gresback said.

The commission also announced its upcoming presence at the Moscow Pride Day, its success at the community walk with over 300 people, and it’s involvement with a local poverty forum.

According to its website the City of Moscow Human Rights exists to affirm, encourage and initiate programs that uphold human right.

The commission itself is quite diverse with multiple nationalities and a whole spectrum of ages. One member of the commission, Robin M. Kok, 17, is a student at Moscow High School. Kok said although she doesn’t contribute to discussion often she comes to every meeting and quite enjoys them. Her main goal is to link fellow students with the commission and to provide volunteers for events, she said.

Due mainly to the commission’s hard work Moscow is the only certified inclusive city in Idaho according to the National League of Cities.

On Ledes (Two different ledes about Pearl Habor)

Out of the two ledes I preferred the Times lede because of the power behind the verb 'plunged' and because it lacks some of the bias found in the AP story.

Speech Lede's

1. WSU President Elson S. Floyd criticized the governor's plan to cut $99 million from higher education.
2. The amphibian population is in significant decline, according to a Washington State University biological professor.

Homecoming Excercise

The Student Entertainment board decided last night to end homecoming king and queen—a century old tradition—due to student apathy. “Students just aren’t as interested in the homecoming royalty anymore,” said Susan J. Wells, panhellenic vice president of programming and development.

Governing Bodies Excercise

City Council

1. Francis Benjamin; Keith Bloom
2. Code Enforcement Act; Pullman Ward Realignment Update
3. The consent agenda is items that are not discussed, already agreed upon items that usually simply have to be stamped. The regular agenda is items that are open for discussion.

ASWSU

1. The executive board minutes were last updated online February 15, 2011.
2. The Coug Day at the Capitol is going swimmingly.
3. The senate agenda was last updated April 28, 2010.
4. The minutes were last updated April 20, 2011.

Whitman County

1. The commission usually meets Mondays.
2. The next aquifer meeting is Thursday, May 19.
3. a
4. The proclamation was celebrating older people.
5. 179,500 pounds of food were distributed last year. and 3060 households.
6. Lede - Whitman County will receive approximately 360 H1N1 doses of vaccinations but plans to withhold it until more is available.

Edit Your Peers

1. Every year more than 43,000 pounds of household items—most of them in good and functioning condition—are thrown away when students leave.
2. The city of Seattle is organizing its 40th annual Fremont Fair for June 18 and 19.
3. Rodney Farrington, drama club coach and director, said this is the first time the school has performed a musical in more than six years.
4. Sawyer said signage for the race cost more than $700.
5. “Their music can be so lively and energetic," said Christopher J. Merrit, senior fine arts major at Washington State University. "They really know how to connect with their audience."
6. “Even folks that live in Lewiston want to sell in this market,” Dolinky said. “It’s clear we’re doing something right.”
7. The competition consisted of about 15 teams. Each was given $100 and six hours to build a boat, which they would race against the other teams in Elliot Bay at the end of the day.
8. For adults, there will be a beer and wine garden to satisfy the summer thirst. Sponsored by Redhook Brewery the beer garden will be open until 10 p.m. on Saturday.

Questions to Ask Jodie DeJonge

1. How did you get started with The AP?

2. How is writing for The AP different than writing for a single newspaper?

3. How many press releases do you get a day?

4. What is The AP criteria for newsworthiness?

5. Did you always want to be a journalist?

Fixing a Broken Pulitzer Story

Four boys drowned when a group of seven boys plunged through thin ice in the worst local Merrimack River tragedy in nearly a century.

After finishing their snack run from the Lawrence Boys & Girls Club to Hanson's Market yesterday afternoon, a sudden urge to slide around prompted 11-year-old William Rodriguez to dash for the serene expanse of river ice.

It was a playful impulse that ended with his plunge through the ice, setting off an ill-fated rescue attempt that deteriorated into a mass of desperate children clinging to each other in 35-degree water.

The catastrophe left four boys dead, their families crushed and rescue workers shaken following an afternoon of fighting a river of broken ice, the steep mud-covered bank and driving rain.

Police said the four dead boys were trapped under the ice at least 10 minutes.

Dead are William Rodriguez, 11, of 292 Howard St.; Christopher Casado, 7, of 18 Jasper Court; Mackendy Constant, 8, of 7 Clinton St.; and Victor Baez, 9, 46 Bernard Ave.

Surviving the incident were Francis Spraus, 9, 14 School St.; Christopher's brother Ivan Casado, 9, 18 Jasper Court; Jaycob Morales, 10, 4 Winslow Place.

Ivan and Francis were released from the hospital last night, and recalled the story from its quiet start.

"Willie said he wanted to go down to the river, to slide on the Ice," Ivan said. “We tried to stop him.”

"He was in the middle of the river," Francis said, Ivan finishing the sentence: "Then the ice broke and he fell down in the water."

"My legs started to get stiff, and I had a freezing headache," Francis said. "I was hanging on to Christopher, but he started to slip under. I tried holding on to his hand, but it was like he let go."

"Then we all fell in," Francis said. "I thought I was going to drown."

The ice was one to two inches thick where they ventured off the river bank. Four inches is considered the minimum to support more than one person, and river ice may not be safe even at that thickness because of currents and other factors.

Members of the state police, Lawrence Police and Merrimack Valley dive teams entered the 38-degree water and conducted an area search to be sure no one was left behind.

Because of the steep embankment, rescuers were forced to use ladders to bring the children up off the river to the waiting ambulances.

"I threw the rope out once and it landed too far away, so I threw it out again, and again it was too far for them to reach," said Jacques Fournier, a retired maintenance worker.

Lawrence and Andover firefighters equipped with ice rescue suits arrived and after a search of the area where the boys went in, found the four remaining boys under the ice, 25 feet from shore in 15-20 feet of water.

Best Lede from First Story

1. A sense of nervousness, mixed with the smell of coffee filled the air as students anxiously prepared to step up to the microphone, some for the first time.

Event Story

A little girl in a bright red and yellow striped dress danced to the melody of marimbas and the beat of her father’s clapping. Nearby a young boy twirled with his mother, a smile stretched wide across his face. Early Saturday morning the sun shone over the crowd at the Moscow Farmer’s Market.

The Farmer’s Market in Moscow Idaho, established in 1977, is a place for local farmers, artists, artisans and musicians to directly engage the community. Every Saturday, May through October from 8:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. market goers mingle through Friendship square, browsing the various vendors and enjoying live music.

The market gives priority to vendors of fresh produce. About 50 percent of the vendors sell fresh produce, 25 percent prepared food, and 25 percent artisan crafts such as homemade soaps or handmade jewelry. It also regulates the locality of vendors—everything sold at the market must have been made or grown within a 100 mile radius. Nothing manufactured may be sold either.

Erica L. Dolinky is the coordinator for the market. While she’s only held the position for a month she said she has already seen the impact the market has on the community. The market attracts a large demographic of people Dolinky said. It rained during the first market this year and yet still people were eager to participate in the event, she said.

“Even folks that live in Lewiston want to sell in this market,” said Dolinky, “It’s clear we’re doing something right.”

Affinity Farms sells still planted vegetables and is one of the most popular vendors at the market. On Saturday a line formed in front of the vendor and remained throughout most of the day. Kelly Kingsland, the owner of Affinty Farms, said the market is one of the best in Idaho. She said the market certainly is great for business but for her it’s just as much about the social aspect. Her favorite part of the market is the support she gets from the community. Their gratefulness is very rewarding she said.

“Moscow really loves its farmer’s market,” Kingsley said.

Jane Estocin-Klaiber is also a vendor at the market. She sells hand-crafted earrings and has been selling them at the market for over four years. She described her work as simple and elegant. She most often uses pearls semiprecious stones to make the focal points of her designs.

The market gives Estocin-Klaiber an outlet to present her work. “I love jewelry,” she said,” I had so much inventory I had to find a way to do something with it.”

While by her own admission artisanry like her own is not the most popular item at the market despite up and down sales Estocin-Klaiber said being at the market is wonderful. She said even if someone isn’t buying she loves the chance to talk to people about what she does.

A band called Sesistshaya Marimba performed during the market Saturday. Their music is an African-inspired arrangement of songs all of which are played on up to nine marimbas at once. Doug P. Malm, a self-declared roadie for the band said the market gives the band a place to play, have fun, and sell a couple of CD’s. All the money raised from CD sales goes to an international scholarship fund.

“People get dancing to this stuff,” Malm said. Sure enough as the band played people of all ages danced throughout the market.

There’s something for everyone in this city and the farmers market reflects that Dolinky said.

Practice Outline - Easter Egg Hunt

I. Anecdote about event

II. Description of event

     a. 31 years

     b. Hundreds of children

     c. 11 and younger

     d. Prizes

          i. Candy

          ii. Season passes

          iii. IMAX tickets

III. Return to anecdote

     a. Strategy for winning

     b. Spoils

IV. Event help

     a. Team of volunteers

     b. KIX 96 radio

     c. Boy Scout Troop 22

Practice Outline - Seattle Budget Cuts

I. City of Seattle plans to close libraries for a week and lay off 30 workers

     a. Cut $13 million and spend $5 million to close budget gap

     b. Cutting 59 positions, but only 30 are filled

     c. 100 other employees take a week off unpaid

II. Worst economic crisis in Seattle

III. General cutbacks

     a. Most departments to take a 1 to 3 percent cut

     b. No cuts to police or human services

     c. Cuts in travel, interns, postage

     d. Cut budget for public toilets

IV. City response/Moving forward

     a. Library proposed shorter hours but was turned down

     b. Informational picket on Monday morning

     c. “we should spend more”

     d. $40 million short in 2010

     e. Still $25 million in rainy-day fund to help close gap

Passive to Active Voice

1. Police in riot gear fired rubber-coated bullets into the crowd.
   
2. Later in the day, the boss himself informed employees of the layoffs.
   
3. With five seconds left, Lebron James missed a three-point shot.
   
4. The survey asked participants about their changes in political affiliation.
   
5. Raoul avoided tall buildings and mountain roads because he feared heights.
   
6. The Legislature is considering the bill.
   
7. The earthquake destroyed the tiny island.
   
8. The class is reading the book.
   
9. Doctors performed an experimental operation at the hospital yesterday.
   
10. The downed airliner covered the wheat field in debris.
    

Removing Clutter

1. The man in the federal courtroom pleaded guilty.
2. The first batter had a home run.
3. Several new items on the agenda.
4. At the end of the day he was exhausted.
5. The president made no announcement at the press conference about the hostages.
6. Several laws ban tools that allow people to break into cars.
7. He smiled as she scooped the ice cream.
8. The hurricane slowed traffic in Miami.
9. The professor admitted he fabricated the data.
10. The critics said this movie will change her life.

Pullman Man Killed in Gang-Related Shooting

A Pullman man died last night in what police believe to be a gang-related shooting. After Police responded to reports of gunshots at 2400 block of SE 19th Ave., around 11:45 Friday morning, officers found three people with gunshot wounds. One man, Donald J. Connelly, 21, was declared dead at the scene. The two other individuals were transported to the hospital.

Connelly was unemployed and court records show a history of drug-related offenses. The other two victims have not yet been identified for safety reasons.

“This horrific shooting emphasizes the need for more cops on the street," said Pullman Police Commander Frank Murray, "We need this to stop."

Karen Potts, an artist who lives in the neighborhood, said she thought she heard fireworks but when she saw a guy running she was able to put two and two together. Potts said she was able to get a good luck at the shooter.

Police have identified the suspect as a white male, 5-foot-11, 165 pounds, and wearing a Huskies sweatshirt.

Detective Calvin Anderson said police raided a home in south Pullman and recovered a gun they believe was used in the shooting. The suspect, however, was not home. Police are continuing their investigation.

Joan Didion on Journalism and Tragedy - A Response

In this snippet by Joan Didion she seems to be commenting on the human response, or at least the writers response to tragedy. She expresses how we have a sort of internal need to know the story behind something; not even just the facts of the story, but the rest of what makes for a good story as well. In the midst of tragedy we look for the lesson that can be learned from it, the moral that can somehow be gleaned. She writes an emotional exposition as to why journalism is a needed part of humanity. Essentially, we use the art of story to cope with tragedy. Story allows us to reason our way out of dissonance and find hope in the midst of tragedy.