It's time for the kids to sharpen their colored pencils. The 2012 Kids' Art Contest is underway. The winner of this competition will have their work displayed on 3.5 million voter pamphlets sent to people across the State.

The Office of Secretary of State is hosting the contest asking 4th and 5th graders to enter their best work. "If I Could Vote" is the theme for this year. The State says the contest is a chance for Washington's youngest citizens to get involved with the elections process.

The winner's work will be featured on Washington State Voter's Pamphlets and will receive a surprise visit from Secretary of State Sam Reed at school.

Students can enter their work here. Good luck! Artists have until April 16th to submit their entries.

Here’s an idea - Google Hangouts with citizens and local politicians. It’s another way to talk face to face over great distances. Some selected Google+ users had the rare opportunity to ask questions to President Barack Obama in a video chat on Monday. Reuters' Anthony De Rosa explains: 

He answered questions about the economy, job creation, small business, and the use of drones in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama referenced a New York Times story on the use of drones, which he called “overwritten,” and said that the use of drones had not resulted in an unusual number of civilian casualties. Asked about the anti-piracy legislation that set the Internet on fire, Obama said, ”When SOPA came up on the hill, we expressed some concerns about the way the legislation had been written.”

Share: It’s one way to answer the questions of millions of citizens. Locally, would you like to see this happen with state and city officials?

If you missed your chance to view some of the best short films at this year’s Spokane International Film Festival, you can see them again at the upcoming “Whirled Shorts” on Thursday, February at 6:45 p.m.

Here are the nominees for “Best Short Film”:

• ‘63 Comet (Jason McKee)
• Jesus Was a Commie (Matthew Modine)
• Kthimi (Blerta Zeqiri)
• Legacy (Bryn Chainey)
• Reflector (Dave Hill)
• You Should Be a Better Friend (Trish Harnetiaux, Jacob A. Ware)

One of the only exception to Thursday’s viewing is Jesus Was a Commie will not be available for a second viewing. That film was shown to a packed audience at the Bing Crosby Theatre last Friday with Modine and Jess Walters speaking before and after the showing. ‘63 Comet will also have an encore screening on Friday, February 3rd at 9:30 p.m.