According to a local news affiliate, the tournament has become a tradition in the last five years, and there’s nothing the local school district can do to shut it down.

According to the local school district, they’re powerless to do anything beyond discouraging the tournament since the contest doesn’t take place on school grounds. The police have gotten involved in the past, able to shut the site down temporarily due to vulgar and profane comments attached to people’s names, but were only able to do so much. Many parents, students, and community members have spoken out against the contest, claiming it sexualizes young girls, leading to self-esteem issues.

Sarah Niegowski, the district’s spokesperson, said this about the people running the website, “These are pretty smart folks behind this. They know their first amendment rights. They’re very quiet about who it is and the group behind it”

There is a May Madness Facebook page, however, there are only photos of the boys attending the school. According to those who have been tracking the contest, the people running it have done a good job in keeping outsiders from accessing it.

Washington Councilman David Grosso says the time has come to make a decision regarding the team’s name, owing to its “racist and derogatory” meaning.

“We have to change it, and I’m calling on [owner] Dan Snyder and the NFL to step up and do the right thing,” Grosso said.

Grosso has even come up with a replacement idea: the Washington Redtails, after the Tuskegee Airmen.

“You can still sing the song and everything,” Grosso said. “Hail … to the … Redtails.”

Grosso has drafted a resolution, which he plans to unveil soon and states that “Washington’s name has been dishonored by association with the word ‘Redskins’. Because it is well known in America and in nations afar that American Indians have experienced utmost suffering and disrespect over the years.”

The Redskins’ name has actually been under review by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board since 2006, when a group of Native Americans filed a case claiming the term “redskin” was disparaging to American Indians. Before that, the team went through a 17-year long case brought before the Supreme Court over the name that they ultimately won, so even if Grosso manages to convince the right people that things have to change, it could take years to be put into effect.

Coincidentally, a Pennsylvania school board was implored recently by a woman with Native American ancestry to change the name of their school team from the Redskins, as well. Donna Boyle says the board has shunted her case to the side before, but the time has come for change.

“I don’t understand the promotion of a racial slur,” she charged. “It may not seem important to you but it is to those across the country who have Native-American blood in their veins. The school district will survive a mascot change.”

Substitute teacher Donald Gallagher agrees with Boyle and spoke to the board on her behalf regarding the change.

“You not only harm youngsters the public trusts in your care–reason enough to end the old mascot policies–but this dispute also damages the reputation of your community,” he said.

According to an Associated Press report, four people have been arrested in connection with an attempt to smuggle drugs across the U.S.-Canadian border.

Two of those arrested were men caught by the American Border Patrol trying to smuggle a reported 58 pounds of MDMA (also known as ecstasy) into the U.S. near the small town of Sumas, Washington this week. They were dressed in camouflage clothing and carrying backpacks. One of the men was captured, and the other was reported by the border patrol to have fired gunshots and fled back into British Columbia, where he was later caught.

The other two suspects are reported to be a man and a woman who told authorities they would be paid $11,000 to haul the MDMA to San Francisco.

“With these updates – part of the millions of live transit schedule updates we process every day – you get instant access to the latest information right on Google Maps, making trip planning a cinch,” says Google Maps Partnership Development Manager, Soufi Esmaeilzadeh.

“Riders on the nation’s second largest subway, Metrorail in Washington, D.C., can now see live service alerts, including unplanned delays and scheduled track work, straight from Metro’s Control Center on Google Maps,” adds Esmaeilzadeh. “To adjust your travel around the alerts you see, simply choose another suggested route or change your departure time.”

There are now pick-up locations, departure times, estimated travel time, and fare amounts for over 800 cities in over 25 countries, with live trip updates only available in select cities.

“On behalf of my colleagues, I want to thank John Lawrence for his 38 years of service to the House of Representatives,” said Pelosi. “Few staff members have ever had the impact that John has had on so many laws that have been enacted in his years in my office as speaker and as democratic leader, and with Chairman George Miller. I wish John and Deborah well and will always value their friendship.”

Elshami currently serves as communications director for Pelosi. In the past he has served as a deputy communications director for Senator Dick Durbin and deputy chief of staff and communications for congresswoman Jan Schakowsky. He was also once the deputy press secretary for Senator Barbara Boxer, after beginning his career in congress in the Senate mailroom.

“For the past six years, Nadeam has been a key communications strategist, spokesperson and senior advisor,” said Leader Pelosi. “I know my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus will benefit from his leadership as he transitions to Chief of Staff.”

Drew Hammill, currently deputy communications director and press secretary for Pelosi, will be taking over Elshami’s role as communications director. In addition, Pelosi announced that Diane Dewhirst, a senior advisor to the Democratic leader, has been promoted to the role of deputy chief of staff.

The latest city to join this effort is Seattle, WA. The city’s mayor, Mike McGinn, announced this month that the city has reached an agreement with Gigabit Squared to start building out a fiber network in the city to bring gigabit speeds to homes and businesses.

The city will start by building out the fiber infrastructure to 12 neighborhoods in the city. They will also deploy “next generation wireless Internet” in the same 12 neighborhoods for those who use mobile devices.

Even better, the city will be deploying gigabit fiber wireless transmitters across the city. These transmitters will be placed on top of 38 buildings to create a wireless umbrella that will cover the entire city. The intention is to get faster Internet to multifamily housing units and offices that are not in the initial 12 neighborhoods receiving wired support.

Seattle citizens can hit up the Seattle Gigabit Web site to sign up for all the latest information. The city will also use this information to determine where to build out its fiber network next. Having city wide wireless is nice, but a wired connection will provide the true 1Gbps speeds you’ve been dreaming of.

On top of Google promising to bring Fiber to more cities, Gigabit Squared will also be partnering with university towns to bring fiber to cities that have an immediate need for cheaper, faster Internet. The big telecoms better start offering better service before they’re hammered into irrelevancy.

Google announced the imagery, to make its maps more appealing, back in June. The imagery, first available on Android, made its way to iOS a couple weeks ago.

Safeco Field (Seattle)

Downtown Seattle

Denver Art Museum

Wells Faro Center (Denver)

Google has been adding a lot of impressive imagery to Google Earth and Google Maps recently. The California State Parks and Hawaii Street View imagery have been particularly breathtaking.

But opponents of same sex marriage garnered enough signatures to put it on the ballot in November, and now the people of Washington will decide the fate of marriage equality in their state. And today, we learn that proponents of same-sex marriage in Washington will have a substantially larger amount of cash at their disposal, thanks to Jeff Bezos.

Yes, that Jeff Bezos. The Amazon founder and his wife has officially pledged $2.5 million to support same-sex marriage in Washington – as voters will decide its fate via Referendum 74 in November.

According to the New York Times, this $2.5 million donation not only doubles the cash flow of same-sex marriage activists in the state, but also makes Bezos and his wife MacKenzie one of the biggest monetary supporters of marriage equality in the whole country.

Bezos isn’t the only high-profile tech head to give money to this Referendum campaign, but he is the most generous. Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer each gave $100,000.

Here’s exactly what the voters in Washington will be deciding on in November:

This bill would allow same-sex couples to marry, preserve domestic partnerships only for seniors, and preserve the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform, recognize, or accommodate any marriage ceremony.

The bill that sparked the Referendum, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6239, also converts all current “domestic partnerships” into marriages after 2014 – except for seniors.

The group that snagged the signatures and prompted the Referendum calls themselves Preserve Marriage Washington, who says,

For thousands of years, marriage between one man and one woman has proven to be the cornerstone of our society. Thirty-two other states have already voted to preserve marriage—November 6 is our opportunity to do the same. Since same-sex couples already enjoy all the benefits of marriage in Washington—and same-sex marriage would grant no new rights whatsoever—it’s clear that the other side’s intent in this battle is to reinvent the family and make marriage a genderless institution.

Apparently, Mr. Bezos disagrees.

Bezos is known for his interesting investments. When he’s not giving money to social causes, his fortune is spent on a personal space shuttle and a giant 10,000-year clock.

Fortunately, the D.C. City Council and many local business professionals want to do something to entice them to stay. Members of the business community and state legislator came forward to support a proposed tax abatement that would save LivingSocial over $23 million if they decide to open a new office building in D.C.

Local legislators and business advocates feel a new office would draw more top-level talent to the area and further stimulate an already flourishing tech-based district economy. The tax breaks would begin at the beginning of 2015.

Living social currently employs about five thousand people with about a fifth of those actually working within the city. While the majority involved in the decision making process were in favor of the tax incentive, others would like to see the break tied to a percentage of the workforce which must be residents of the area.

Some have even suggested the incentives be related to the company’s ability to create new positions based on true progress rather than new hires as a result of turnover. Daily Deal Media has fuller coverage of the debate over the proposed tax abatement for LivingSocial.

Naturally, nobody stopped to consider the reality of the situation. Instead, they did most would expect them to do: jump to ridiculous conclusions. In fact, after reading about the supposed UFO on Twitter — it was apparently trending at the time — a man called 911 in hopes of finding out if everyone was okay. At one point, the concerned citizen asks if the operator can get on Twitter to see the photos people have taken. You can listen to the entire call below.

The official word coming out of Northrop Grumman is that the terrifying object in question is an X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System, which was on its way to Maryland for testing. Conspiracy theorists will no doubt draw their own conclusions about the aircraft. After all, how else do you explain the vehicle’s peculiar shape?

“[It's] a shape that minimizes its refection of potential … enemy radar signals,” Northrop Grumman spokesperson Brooks McKinney explained.

All kidding aside, the aircraft does strongly resemble an old-school, 1950′s B-movie flying saucer, so you can’t really blame people for getting a little worked up over its appearance. Still, considering the government claims UFOs don’t exist, I seriously doubt they’d transport one in such a conspicuous manner.

Hey, if nothing else, It certainly makes for a good story.