Apropos of the "Women Now" conference coming up. From csmonitor.com:

The number of US mothers who also work outside the home is actually on the rise.

By Stephanie Coontz

OLYMPIA, WASH. -- In 1998, Brenda Barnes quit her job as head of Pepsi's North American Division to spend more time with her kids. Since then, hardly a month has gone by without some media outlet reporting that affluent, highly educated mothers are opting out of their jobs to become full-time homemakers. If Helen of Troy was the woman whose face launched a thousand ships, Ms. Barnes was the woman whose resignation launched a thousand myths.

From kgw.com:

By PEGGY ANDERSEN / Associated Press

The federal government is proposing to list Puget Sound steelhead as "threatened" under the federal Endangered Species Act. The move starts the clock on a 12-month process to determine whether a listing is warranted.

An "endangered" listing means the species is in danger of extinction. "Threatened" indicates the species is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.

"We wouldn't be proposing to list these guys if their situation wasn't perilous," said spokesman Brian Gorman with the National Marine Fisheries Service, which proposed the listing.

"But by the same token, we think we can make some progress with the state on hatchery reform, and we will continue to look at causes for decline and signs of progress as we reach the anniversary of the proposal" on March 29, 2007.

NMFS reviewed the steelhead's status as recently as 1996, when it determined the population did not warrant a listing. But agency scientists said then they were concerned about the health of summer-run stocks — one of four annual runs — and the harmful effects of hatchery-raised steelhead on wild steelhead runs.

Since then, agency biologists have noted widespread declines in Puget Sound steelhead populations, despite reductions in the sport-fishing harvest of natural steelhead. Only hatchery-raised fish may be kept by anglers.

In September 2004, retired fish biologist Sam Wright of Olympia urged the government to list the fish, saying, "Nearly all the river systems have distinct downward trends in population abundance and are not even coming close to replacing themselves from generation to generation."

We all know that the time has come to organize intel on the caimans of South Sound. Perhaps we are also all so demoralized and weary of the foul beasts that we simply cannot bring ourselves to face facts. Files must be filed, links must be linked.

Oly Blog has bravely marched on against all odds, determined to tell the truth about caiman activity. Why, even the Caiman Master himself allows 24/7 surveillance on this very blog so that we, valiant defenders, can do whatever it is we are doing free (mostly) of caimanetic taint.

Long story short, I'd organize the caiman files here on Oly Blog if I could, but something keeps gnawing on my front door, and I find myself oddly distracted.

From the Seattle PI:

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- A marijuana conviction took away Beverly DuBois's right to vote.

The former park ranger, who became disabled after a car accident, said she thought that once she was released after serving nine months in prison, her rights would immediately be restored. But nearly $2,000 in court-ordered fees kept her from regaining her ability to cast a ballot.

"It's been frustrating," she said. "I'm on disability. I can only afford to pay $10 a month. Until it's paid off, I couldn't vote. A person who has money gets out of jail, they pay their fine, they can vote."

But a King County Superior Court judge ruled Monday that DuBois and others like her cannot be barred from voting just because they owe fines.

"There is no logic in the assumption that a person in possession of sufficient resources to pay the obligation immediately is the more law-abiding citizen, indeed, the better example of respect for our justice system may very well be the indigent who manages for years to make monthly payments toward the obligation," Judge Michael Spearman wrote.

Thus, contrary to what many have been suggesting, the issue is not whether ex-felons should be able to vote. It is whether the state can discriminate against poor vs. rich ex-felons.

Update: The state has decided to appeal the ruling.

From the Tacoma News Tribune:

RACHEL LA CORTE; The Associated Press Convicted felons who have served their time but owe court-imposed fines cannot be denied the right to vote, a King County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

Washington prohibits felons on probation, in prison or on parole from voting. Ex-felons in the state also must satisfy all court-related costs before getting their rights restored. More than 250,000 ex-felons are unable to vote, about 3.7 percent of the state’s population, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

“It is well recognized that there is simply no rational relationship between the ability to pay and the exercise of constitutional rights,