Your digest:
2009 grads face rough job market
Fifth-year seniors just became a lot smarter, the Associated Press reports.
Employers intend to hire 22 percent fewer college graduates this spring than last year, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.  “For many college students in the class of 2009, the post-graduation job hunt has turned into a quest for a rewarding Plan B — or in many cases Plan C or D,” AP reports.  One can extrapolate two possibilities from this news:  Either A. we’re near the turning point of a things-will-get-worse-before-they-get-better type of scenario, or B. this is yet another sign of the apocalypse. 

Community members call for independent investigation on Lee case
Members of the Police Community Relations Council, a board of community members and police, are calling for an independent investigation into the death of Fong Lee, the Star Tribune reports.  Lee’s family recently filed suit alleging that a Minneapolis Police Officer shot their son and planted a gun near the body.  Controversy over the origin of the gun (police originally reported it was obtained and inventoried after a 2004 burglary) has brought highly-publicized community scrutiny on the Minneapolis police lately.  The PCRC wrote a letter asking the FBI, the federal bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office to investigate the case, the Strib reports.  The Strib story also features a choppy surveillance video of the officer chasing Lee. 

Teenage lobbyists find nothing clever about candy-cigarette marketers
A large troop of teenage pseudo-lobbyists packed the St. Paul City Council chambers last night to push for a citywide ban on candy cigarettes, the Pioneer Press reports.  One teen from Central High read the council a definition of the word “victory” in protest of Victory-brand candy cigarettes.  In a move that is impossible to definitively distinguish between a genuine sentiment and blatant sarcasm from the Pi-Press article, Council Member Dan Bostrom said this: “’I salute you for doing a great job,’ he began. ‘The only thing I wonder is … why don’t we amend this to say that no person shall sell tobacco?’
The chamber fell silent. It was no April Fool’s joke.
Bostrom clarified: ‘Just end the sale of cigarettes in the city. Isn’t that what you really want?’
Several teens fumbled for an answer."