UPDATE:
Watch Sunday, December 6 At 6:30 p.m.
Because of coverage of the shooting of four Lakewood police officers, The New Washington Power Players will air one week later than originally scheduled.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Maria Lamarca Anderson, Community Relations Manager
206.728.7777/mlanderson@kirotv.com

SEATTLE — When President Obama promised changes in Washington, few knew the impact they would have on this Washington. Within months, three of our region’s top leaders¯Gil Kerlikowske, Gary Locke and Ron Sims¯were headed to the nation’s capitol.

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Anchor Angela Russell followed. In The New Washington Power Players, she met with the nation’s new “Drug Czar,” Secretary of Commerce and HUD Deputy Secretary. She gained insight into their roles and what it’s like to work for the President of the United States. This KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Special airs on Sunday, December 6, at 6:30 p.m. on channel 7.

Having watched his stepson’s struggle with drugs, Gil Kerlikowske, Director of the Office of Drug Control Policy, knows firsthand the impact of the nation’s drug problem. He told Russell he is both “awed” and “pretty scared” by the responsibility of developing a national drug strategy, and said Americans will notice a shift from policies of previous administrations.

Soon after Gary Locke became U.S. Secretary of Commerce, his department decided to move the Northwest Regional Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from Seattle to Newport, Ore. Russell asked him about his role in the unpopular decision and how he will address the latest threat to American business: the H1N1 virus.

According to Ron Sims, President Obama tapped him to be the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after the president saw the quality of life in King County. Sims told Russell Seattle’s future is promising, though cautioned the region has become “a little relaxed” and suggested others may surpass our future development “if we’re not careful.”

The New Washington Power Players is a KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Special hosted by Angela Russell. It airs on KIRO 7 on Sunday, December 6, at 6:30 p.m. Extended interviews and raw video footage can be found on kirotv.com.

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About Angela Russell
Angela Russell co-anchors KIRO 7 Eyewitness News at 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Friday alongside Steve Raible and chief meteorologist Rebecca Stevenson. She has reported on the major news of the day, covering the historic 2008 presidential race and issues on national security at the height of the War on Terror. Angela also reported on a wide variety of Congressional hearings, most notably on steroid abuse in Major League Baseball.

KIRO 7 is a Cox Media Group station and CBS affiliate serving Western Washington.

About Cox Media Group
Cox Media Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With revenues exceeding $1.5 billion, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and 1 local cable channel, 86 radio stations, four metro newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.