Google "Summer of Code" Funds Students Writing Open Source
Google has announced a new program that pays students $4500 for the successful completion of an open source project over the summer. This is a great opportunity for Python -- paid students can take care of some of the many projects that would benefit the interpreter and standard libraries. The Python Software Foundation is participating and will provide mentors for the students to work with.
For more information, see Google Summer of Code and the list of proposed Python projects.