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South Sound

Worshippers pass the still-vacant mosque, background right, as they leave the Islamic Center of Olympia’s portable building following Friday prayer. The $2 million mosque project has been in the works for decades, and organizers need more than $200,000 to finish construction

After decades and almost $2 million, faithful still are without a home

The local Islamic community is hopeful of finishing a mosque that’s been two decades in the making. Located at 2045 Abernethy Road, across from Pleasant Glade Elementary School, the Islamic Center of Olympia’s new mosque will feature a...

Government

Simulating a roadside investigation of a potentially intoxicated driver, Colorado state trooper Sgt. David Blatner, left, pretends to be high Thursday as he trains troopers Carrie Jackson, center, and Toby Cox in a Drug Recognition Expert class.

Colorado pokes fun at pot users, but it’s serious about their not driving

DENVER — Colorado is spending $1 million on television ads making fun of marijuana users who space out during everyday tasks — an effort to stop stoned driving. The Colorado Department of Transportation unveiled the “Drive High, ...

Sports

W.F. West’s Julie Spencer (23) is fouled on a shot during Friday’s Class 2A state semifinal against Lynden in Yakima. The Bearcats won, 52-35, to reach the title game.

W.F. West earns state title rematch vs. Mark Morris

YAKIMA — State semifinal games aren’t supposed to be easy. The final four teams in a winners’ bracket usually have to be good, or to have beaten a quality opponent, to still be alive. By no means did the W.F. West High School girls...

Business

In this Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, photo, job seekers line up to sign in before meeting prospective employers at a career fair at a hotel in Dallas. The Labor Department releases employment data for February, on Friday, March, 7, 2014.

US job gain despite freeze raises economic hopes

Job growth in the United States has proved surprisingly consistent. 28 minutes ago

Opinion

Jack Ohman / Sacramento Bee (March 7, 2014)

McClatchy cartoons for the week of 3/2/14

Living & Entertainment

Tinker Bell (Sarina Cofield) gets makeup touched up at last year’s “A Really Big Shoe 7.” Entertainment Explosion, a nonprofit performing group with members age 55 and older, puts on the event, which raises about $25,000 each year. This year’s theme is “EE Goes to the Movies.” See the show Sunday at The Washington Center for the Performing Arts in Olympia.

New ‘shoe’ from South Sound troupe to raise funds for homeless kids

It all started with a shoe.

Nation & World

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, right, and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin walk out of the reception center and holding area for family and friend of passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, March 8, 2014. Search and rescue crews across Southeast Asia scrambled to find a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that disappeared from air traffic control screens over waters between Malaysia and Vietnam early Saturday with 239 people aboard.

Oil slicks found in hunt for missing Malaysia jet

Vietnamese air force planes on Saturday spotted two large oil slicks close to where a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 went missing earlier in the day, the first sign that the aircraft carrying 239 people had crashed. 28 minutes ago