For more information on this landmark legislation, read these articles:

President Obama Signs Bill Expanding Homebuyer Tax Credit

Unemployment rate rises above 10% ; Obama signs jobless benefit extension

In the Pacific Northwest we have a long history of trading throughout the Pacific Rim.  In August of 1896 the Miiki Maru steamed into Elliot Bay with a cargo of teas, silk camphor soy oil and paper, among other things, from Japan.  The Miiki Maru left with lumber, flour, cotton and hardware destined for Yokohama, Kobe, Nagasaki and Hong Kong.

In February of 2010 a delegation from the Washington Realtors will be steaming towards Kobe, Japan to join in ceremonies commemorating the 50^thanniversary of the Hyogo Prefecture Real Estate Transaction Association.  The visit is in response to a visit in September of 2009 by five representatives from the Hyogo Prefecture Real Estate Transaction Association (Hyogo Taku-Ren).  In a landmark ceremony members of the Washington Realtors and the Japanese delegation signed a Letter of Intent for a Bilateral Cooperative Agreement.  Press release