A new report reviews the extent of human trafficking in the Spokane area

• Spokane Spokesman-Review

Puget Sound ferry riders sought by the FBI were curious foreign tourists, it turns out

• Seattle Times

Taser inquiry in B.C. opens, may lead to end of its use

• Toronto Globe and Mail

Parlez-vous a software language?

Seattle's French Underground: Thousands have invaded metro Puget Sound, many of them in search of opportunities and attitudes in technology that simply don't exist at home in France. Part 1

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Latinos are politically under-represented in Eastern Washington, a study says

• Associated Press

May Day march in downtown Seattle

Many causes on display on Fourth Avenue.

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An entire Mexican town is mostly deserted, its residents now living in Seattle

• Seattle Times

In little Mattawa, Wash., mandatory bilingual government services

• Yakima Herald Republic

In the San Juans, growing irritation with those Border Patrol spot checks

• Seattle Times

Hey, what about an Absolut Ecotopia?

A vodka ad stirs anger and nationalism, tapping a history that links to the fight for the Pacific Northwest.

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Americanized, deported, unemployed, and largely forgotten in Mexico

• Seattle Times

Rick Steves, unlikely crusader for changing marijuana laws

• New York Times

Legal experts take issue with Canada's gay refugee claim guidelines

• CanWest News Service

Portland's new day labor site a contrast to Seattle's well-supported Belltown version

• Willamette Week (Portland)

Gates attributes high-tech outsourcing to U.S. immigration regulations

• Agence France-Presse

Is there any blarney in Hillary Clinton claims that she brought peace to Ireland?

Tonight's debate was the second time I was struck by Sen. Hillary Clinton's claim about her role in the peace process in Ireland. As a Claddagh wearing son of Irish citizens, I took note. Her claim reminded me of a lunch I once had with a literary hero of mine, the Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who praised Bill Clinton for helping to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Alluding to the kneecappers and killers of the tribal wars, he said: "We take our politics seriously." I agree. Bill Clinton moved that process forward, to his lasting credit.

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Obama and Clinton shift the debate to free trade

Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton ended their televised Austin, Texas, debate last week on a high note. But, since then, their campaigns have been outrightly confrontational. The tone is likely to carry over into their Cleveland, Ohio, debate late this week and into March 4 voting in Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Clinton, facing elimination from the race, has adopted an angry campaign persona and Obama is not turning the other cheek. Ironically, the hottest debate has been over an issue where both candidates have been trimming and grandstanding: the North American Free Trade Agreement and international trade (see below).

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The immigration debate neglects illegal aliens — from Canada

• Willamette Week (Portland)

A Pasco, Wash., elementary principal, who worked in the orchards, becomes a citizen

• Spokane Spokesman-Review

Have the Clintons turned their backs on the black vote?

• New York Times