I talked earlier with Stacy Emerson, the community activist whose video about homeless camps near East 72nd Street and Portland Avenue in Midland drew much attention.

You'll likely be hearing more from her. She and her son have purchased higher-quality cameras so they can produce multi-angle videos. She registered a Web site to post the videos herself. And she hopes to release another video by the end of the month.

"We live in a society these days where you can’t believe it until you see it – whatever it may be," she said. "It sure does help to have digital technology to allow us to see it on our computer screens."

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction released figures from August retakes of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning tests.

According to a press release, “Of the seniors in the class of 2008, 88 percent have now met the reading requirement; 88.2 percent have met writing; and 84.5 percent – or 61,718 students – have met both. This is an increase of 657 students from spring testing.”

The OSPI wasn’t releasing district-by-district results, but I have calls into the Tacoma, Clover Park and Puyallup school districts. Four South Sound districts released their numbers.

In the Tacoma School District, 47 percent of the 64 students who took the reading portion passed, 63 percent of the 71 students who took the writing portion passed, and 21 percent of 122 students who took the math portion passed, spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht said.

In the Bethel School District, 83 percent of the 35 students who took the writing test passed, 62 percent of the 61 students who took the reading portion passed, and 25 percent of the 89 students who took the math portion passed.

The Puyallup School District released figures that factored in the original testing and the August retake. Of the 1,586 students enrolled in the Class of 2008 on Oct. 31, 1,473 passed the reading portion, 1,478 passed the writing portion and 1,155 passed the math portion.

In the Clover Park School District, six of 11 students who took the reading portion passed, seven of the 11 students who took the writing portion passed, and eight of the 38 students who took the math portion passed.

I’ve started making calls for a story that will run this weekend about the increasing trend of citizens snapping photos or shooting videos of apparent criminal activity and how the police use that information.

I just spoke with Greg Hopkins, a community liaison officer with the Tacoma Police Department. Hopkins carries a laptop in his car and a BlackBerry on him almost all day.

He hasn’t seen a dramatic increase in people snapping photos and e-mailing them in, but it’s definitely on the rise.

“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a consistent increase,” he said. “I think it has to do with the fact that people are getting more tech-savvy. And (the police) are also. And it’s on the rise. That’s a good thing.”

He said shooting video is OK, but digital photos tend to work better because the resolution is higher, making identification easier. But, he said, if you have videos, send ’em.

“The biggest part is that people are involved,” he said. “They feel like they’re part of the solution. I don’t want to minimize their participation, even if we’re not getting the best information out of something.”

There have been instances where digital photos have directly led to an arrest, he said. The most recent he could think of was in the spring.

“We’ve had instances where we’ve had people on a wanted flier,” he said. “We’ve put their photo out to some key neighborhood people, people we know are working with us.

“There were some instances in the Bryant neighborhood where we said, ‘Hey, we’re looking for this guy. Here’s a photo of him. Let us know as soon as you see him.’

“We got reports back. ‘Hey, this guy is on the corner of Eighth and Sheridan right now.’ We swooped in, picked them up and arrested them on a warrant.”

=> Read more!

A combat controller from McChord Air Force Base will be awarded a Silver Star tomorrow. Tech. Sgt. Scott Innis will receive the nation’s third-highest award for valor. About 25 other medals will be distributed at the ceremony.

I’m going to be on base tomorrow for the ceremony, but a transcript of a speech Innis delivered in September 2006 detailing his time downrange can be found here. It’s compelling reading.

Remember that cool, robotic-assisted surgery story I blogged about a long, long time ago (at 7:23 a.m.)?

Won't happen. I got a call from the hospital's media-relations manager guy saying it was rescheduled. But don't worry -- some of us Tribbers are still going to sit in on one later this week. And that gives me more time to find wacky YouTube clips that are somewhat related to robotics.

An office that coordinates services for homeless veterans that was supposed to open in Puyallup early next year won't be opening, a caller said.

She said the automotive business owner who donated the office space on Meridian Avenue says he can't get insurance for it.

I'll find out more details and report back.

One thing I've always liked about reporting is that I occasionally get to write about cool new stuff.

Today is one of those days.

A videographer and I are heading to St. Joseph Medical Center to watch surgeons using robotic arms to work more precisely. From what I understand, instead of a doctor standing over the patient, he or she will be in front of a monitor (with real-time, three-dimensional images) and controlling the arms. There's less room for human error, and I'm told it helps speed up healing time.

I'll let y'all know later if it's as cool as it sounds.

And I was hoping to find a YouTube clip with Kevin Kline from "Dave" in a scene where he's at (I believe) a car-manufacturing factory. He takes control of two giant robotic arms, spreads them apart and announces that he "just caught a fish -- it was this big!"

But, alas, a semi-successful movie from 1993 is a bit too obscure for YouTube. But while searching, I did come across a scene for "Terminator 2" dubbed in Punjabi. Bollywood and the governor of California. Enjoy.