For the third straight year, a study of Hispanic representation in Washington state's politics finds Latinos are underrepresented. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports, "In towns such as Toppenish, Wapato and Walla Walla, Latinos have considerably less influence in local politics and policy-making although in some places Latinos outnumber whites. The study, "The State of the State for Washington Latinos," was carried out by researchers at Whitman University.

Latinos now account for 10% of the state's population, but only 2% of Washington's state legislators are Hispanic.

Latino Washingtonians are especially concentrated in the central part of the state, an agricultural region. Looking at local and countywide leadership there, the research team found "a 'pressing need' for changes in the way school boards are elected in Toppenish and Wapato, where at-large voting results in under-representation of Latinos." Students in Pasco, Washington, have challenged the lack of bilingual ballots as a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Federal officials arrested nearly 300 workers at chicken processing plants in five states yesterday, according to the Dallas Morning News. The workers at Pilgrim's Pride poultry plants were arrested on suspicion of committing identity theft.

The arrests were made in Batesville, Arkansas; Live Oak, Florida; Moorefield, West Virginia; Chattanooga, Tennessee; and Mt. Pleasant, Texas. Federal officials said the theft and sale of Social Security numbers were growing concerns. Pilgrim's Pride was not charged in this action.

Immigration officials have conducted several such raids, primarily in rural communities. Swift & Co. meat plants were raided in December 2006. Investigations into the Pilgrim's Pride workers began over a year ago.

Those opposed to a border fence have begun a nine-day protest march across South Texas. The group includes ranchers, school administrators, students and river runners.

The US has plans to build a 670-mile fence along the border with Mexico by December. Texas has the longest border with Mexico -- and the largest number of private property owners who would be affected by the fence. The federal government has already filed dozens of lawsuits against property owners who have refused access to their land to the fence builders.

There's a different attitude among those living on the border. "That's Mexico there," said  Johnny Hart, pointing across the river. Hart to the Dallas Morning News that he runs the Riverside Club in Mission, where he gives boat tours. "It's like two countries and it's like one. ... Mexico to me is like Oklahoma. ... We don't look at it as a foreign country."

There are too few doctors nationwide, but lower wages and heavier workloads-- also, more burdensome regulations for foreign-born physicians -- have made the shortages in rural communities dire.