Dec. 21 – 28

The Associated Press reported on Friday on the agricultural and health research funding for WSU included in the omnibus federal funding bill signed by President Bush, including $1.9 million toward a USDA Agricultural Research Service building on the Pullman campus.

The January edition of National Geographic includes a brief story on the efforts to preserve the pygmy rabbit native to the Columbia Basin. Dennis Brown assisted a free-lance photographer working on the story last summer. (No link available).

Wednesday’s Tri-City Herald reported on the anticipated increase in women and minority college enrollment, especially Hispanic/Latino students, projected by the National Center for Education Statistics. The story was also carried by the publication Hispanic Business.

A story in Thursday’s Peninsula Daily News (Port Angeles) on an effort to establish a new state ferry route between Seattle and Port Townsend cites the endorsement of Team Jefferson, WSU Extension’s Jefferson county economic development team, as a major boost to the effort.

In the Dec. 23 Seattle Times the editorial board included the Island County Beach Watchers program and the work of Don Meehan on its “2007: Best of Puget Sound” list.

A guest article published in the Dec. 22 Whidbey News Times extolled the research and good work done by Beach Watchers volunteers.

A recent news release issued by Battelle announced an partnership agreement with WSU, UW and Babcock and Wilcox Technical Services to operate and manage the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Tri-cities.

The Associated Press story on organic milk demand increasing imports of questionable organic feed mentioned in the last news report in which David Granatstein is quoted has been carried by a number major newspapers, notably the Chicago Sun Times, San Francisco Examiner and Cincinnati Enquirer.

In this week’s Capital Press: The “People in agriculture” column notes Pete Jacoby’s appointment to the state Conservation Commission and Bee Cha’s appointment to the state Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs; and the announcement for Snohomish Co. Extension’s Agricultural Entrepreneurship course.