The Seattle Times is expanding its community partnerships with the addition of two new websites today. That brings the total number of online partners to 56. (See the complete list, along with their latest headlines.)

Partnering with The Times today are:

Union Bay Watch: A regional wildlife blog with a primary focus on Union Bay. The biggest stories of 2012 were about the 520 eaglets, the Portage Bay peregrine 69Z and the recovery of the Capitol Hill snowy owl.

The New City Collegian: an independent-volunteer run news blog covering the Seattle Community College District and surrounding communities from a student perspective. The blog strives to provide accurate, timely news reporting and an educational platform for Seattle area students interested in learning about Journalism. NCC is a continuation of The City Collegian which was Seattle Central Community College's student newspaper from 1966-2008 and Seattle's first community college paper.

The Times' effort to build community-news relationships began in August 2009 with the launch of the Networked Journalism project. In 2010, this project helped The Times win the fourth annual Associated Press Managing Editors' Innovator of the Year award.

By partnering with these quality local sites, the Times can provide its readers with more links to important coverage about both neighborhoods and general interest topics. In return, the partners receive increased traffic and exposure.