A stamp commemorating the 1994 visit of U.S. President Bill Clinton to Rīga is being issued by the Latvian Post Office. The 40-santīmi stamp shows the Statue of Liberty and Freedom Monument, as well as the flags of the United States and Latvia.

The stamp, according to a post office press release, was designed by Arta Ozola-Jaunarāja. A total of 300,000 stamps will be produced.

The first day of issue for the stamp will be July 6.

The 1994 trip was the first time a U.S. president has visited any of the Baltic republics. During the trip, he met with the presidents of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. He also spoke to the Latvian people at the Freedom Monument.

“Many of your countrymen and women sought refuge on our shores,” Clinton told the audience in his speech. “Now some have returned to serve their homelands, while others remain to keep your spirit alive all across America. The chain that binds our nations is unbreakable.”

Sarmīte “Sam” Bulte, a Latvian-Canadian member of parliament from the Parkdale-High Park riding of Toronto, has been reelected on the Liberal Party ticket. It will be her third term in office.

Canadian federal elections were held June 28. The Liberal Party still has the most seats in Parliament, but now finds itself in charge of a minority government, according to Canadian media reports.

Bulte received 42.1 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. Her closest opponent, Peggy Nash of the New Democratic Party, received 34.36 percent, while Jurij Klufas of the Conservative Party got 15.51 percent. Three other candidates shared the remaining votes.

Some observers suggested that Nash might upset Bulte because of the endorsement she recieved from Toronto Mayor David Miller.

Eighteeen-year-old Andris Biedriņš, a 6-foot, 11-inch (2.1-meter) forward for Skonto Rīga of the Latvian Basketkall League, has been drafted into the National Basketball Association in the United States.

Biedriņš was selected No. 11 in the first round by the Golden State Warriors in the June 24 draft in New York, the NBA announced.

As the first-round No. 11 draft pick, Biedriņš is guaranteed a three-year contract worth USD 4.6 million, according to the National Basketball Players Association rookie scale.

Biedriņš averaged 18 points per game during the 2003-2004 Latvian Basketball League season.

Born in Rīga, Biedriņš attended the Valters Basketball School, according to the NBA’s Web site.

Now based in California, the Warriors began playing in 1946 as the Philadelphia Warriors, moving to San Francisco after the 1961 season. The team became the Golden State Warriors and moved to Oakland, Calif., in 1971. The Warriors’ best known player was Wilt Chamberlain.

Biedriņš is only the second Latvian to play in the NBA. Gundars Vētra, now head coach for the basketball club Barons in Rīga, played with the Minnesota Timberwolves from 1992-1993.