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grants while continuing to operate and par-
tially fund the federal food assistance pro-
gram — which serves some immigrants —
the state may be in violation of the
Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause.
On March 18, the state filed an appeal of
the preliminary injunction to the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Gov. Chris Gregoire and other officials
say this sets a worrisome precedent as the
state looks to close an estimated $5 billion
gap for the next two-year budget. In
September, the Democratic governor
ordered spending cuts of 6.3 percent across
all general-fund state agencies to make up
for a revenue shortfall.
``Now, can you imagine the ramifications
of that on any and all programs that we
might look at now that are state-funded-
only programs?’’ Gregoire said the day after
the injunction was issued.
Programs that receive no outside money
are the first to be considered for cuts
``because they are state-only and we should
have the say over whether we fund them or
we don’t,’’ Gregoire added.
‘in difficult times you
don’t want the brunt of
government action to
fall on vulnerable
groups’
While the potential implications of the
ongoing litigation have unsettled state offi-
cials, attempts to block budget cuts in court
are nothing new, said Narda Pierce, general
counsel in the Office of the Governor. She
called such lawsuits ``a constant, ongoing
challenge.’’
``Plaintiffs often ask for a temporary
restraining order and then a preliminary
injunction, and meanwhile the clock is run-
ning and money is going out the door,
requiring cuts in other programs,’’ Pierce
said.
The FAP case is one of six pending law-
suits challenging budget cuts to programs
within the Department of Social and Health
Services, the state’s largest agency.
That number is likely to increase as
Washington and other states continue to
face daunting deficits and tough spending
decisions, said Peter Nicolas, a professor at
the University of Washington School of
Law. However, he predicted most proposed
cuts would still go through.
``The concern that courts will step in for
every budget cut is unlikely to occur,’’ he
said.
Nicolas said the class-action suit in
Pechman’s court stands out from other
budget cuts in Washington because it targets
a group — legal immigrants — whose pro-
tection under the Equal Protection Clause
falls within a grey area of the law.
In essence, the judge must decide whether
the decision to cut the state-funded portion
of the FAP is subject to ``strict scrutiny’’
under the Equal Protection Clause. If it is,
the state would have to prove that eliminat-
ing the program serves a compelling state
interest.
``The Equal Protection Clause is a check
on the democratic process, and in difficult
times you don’t want the brunt of govern-
ment action to fall on vulnerable groups,’’
Nicolas said, adding that he would not be
surprised to see the FAP case reach the U.S.
Supreme Court.
A class-action lawsuit in Hawaii last year
raised similar issues after the state sought to
scale back a free health plan for low-income
legal migrants who don’t qualify for federal
Medicaid benefits. The state had hoped to
save an estimated $8 million annually
through changes such as limiting outpatient
hospital visits.
photo CourteSY of mike annee
continued from page 1
South Seattle residents addressed the City of Seattle to make good on its
promise of green jobs at Got Green’s community event, wednesday,
March 16. Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith, was present to represent Mayor
McGinn.
the City of Seattle will launch the Community Power works - a $20 million
stimulus project to weatherize 2,000 homes in Se Seattle - April 19.
Fourteen low-income trainees participating in the region’s only union-
certified weatherization - a partnership between Got Green, a grassroots
organization working to ensure that low-income and communities of color
benefit in the green economy, and its labor partner - LiuNA (Laborer’s
International union of North America — graduated March 18th.
these trainees will be in the pool of qualified local hires for contractors
participating in the City’s Community Power works to retrofit homes to
become more energy efficient.
Got Green, along with its labor partners, negotiated two community hiring
agreements with City of Seattle to employ local residents who have
graduated from certified weatherization training programs into family-
wage jobs.
residents, community partners, and labor representatives were at Got
Green’s weatherization training event to solidify commitment from the City
of Seattle that these high road green jobs will come back to the
community through the hiring of the trainees.
The suit alleged that by reducing
migrants’ medical coverage, the state had
violated their rights under the Equal
Protection Clause. In December, a federal
judge in Honolulu ordered the state to
restore full benefits to the program.
grants and refugees who are suspected of
having active TB.
However, because of state and King
County budget crises, the TB Control
Program faces continued funding chal-
lenges. Over the past several years, the TB
Program has reduced staff and now limits
services to the highest priority cases and
contacts.
“We estimate approximately 100,000 peo-
ple in King County have latent, or dormant,
TB infection. While they aren’t contagious
now, some will develop active TB in the
future and could infect others,” said Dr.
Masa Narita, TB Control Officer for Public
Health. “TB is curable and preventable, but
controlling TB is an ongoing challenge,
especially with fewer resources to protect
the community.”
Highlights of 2010 TB data:
116 people were reported with active TB,
for a rate of 6 per 100,000 people, a
decrease from 130 cases in 2009. This was
noticeably higher than the U.S. rate of 3.8
cases per 100,000 people.
84 percent of infected individuals were
born outside of the United States. Of these
individuals, 67 (62 percent) came from five
countries: the Philippines, Somalia,
Ethiopia, Vietnam and India.
People of color continue to have dispro-
portionately high rates of TB, with the high-
est case rate among individuals who identi-
fy their race as black (26.4 cases per
100,000) or Asian (21.4 per 100,000).
20 people (17 percent) treated for active
TB were resistant to at least one TB med-
ication.
Two multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB)
cases were diagnosed in King County in
2010. Multi-drug resistant cases are much
more expensive to treat, costing up to
$250,000 each.
last week in which he was indicted by a
grand jury on charges of attempted use of a
weapon of mass destruction and unautho-
rized possession of an unregistered explo-
sive device.
Federal prosecutors have sealed nearly all
the information in what authorities have
termed a case of attempted domestic terror-
ism, a decision Harpham’s lawyer called
“somewhat unusual.”
Harpham is an Army veteran who lives
near Addy, 50 miles north of Spokane.
The bomb was found the morning of the
parade on Jan. 17 and disabled before it
could explode. No one was injured.
Harpham’s father, Cecil, has told reporters
his son was with him the morning the bomb
was found, and could not have planted the
device. Peven said he has met with the
father but could not disclose the contents of
the conversation.
The father has said his son talked to
racists on the Internet regularly, but never
acted on racial hate.
Kevin Harpham served from 1996 to 1999
in the U.S. Army at what is now Joint Base
Lewis-McChord, near Tacoma, Wash.
He owns 10 acres of land north of Addy in
rural Stevens County, a few miles south of
his father’s home. Property records show he
bought the land in 1997 and built a small
house in 2007. His lawyers have said
Harpham is not married and had not been
recently employed.
The Spokane NAACP’s website is under
construction but they have a Facebook page
and a special event invitation to the Sunday
march also on Facebook.
Email
the
group
at
Spokane.naacp@yahoo.com.
Consumption
continued from page 1
the world’s population is infected with
tuberculosis, and two million people die
from it every year. King County’s active TB
rate is consistently among the highest for
any local area in the country, reflecting the
global nature of King County’s community.
Of the 116 people diagnosed with active TB
in 2010, 84 percent were born outside the
United States.
Public Health – Seattle & King County’s
TB Control program ensures that people
with active, or infectious, TB are diagnosed
and treated until cured. They also evaluate
and treat, if appropriate, people exposed to
infectious TB, so it does not continue to
spread. Everyday, TB program staff ensure
that infectious TB patients adhere to drug
treatment, which consists of multiple med-
ications for six months or longer. More than
2,800 clients make almost 12,000 visits to
the TB clinic annually for treatment. The
TB Control Program also evaluates immi-
King County’s active TB
rate is consistently
among the highest for
any local area in the
country
March
continued from page 1
“Overall it was devastating, there were
various forms of trying to address this vio-
lence, and many meetings trying to deal
with the hate,” Smith says.
NAACP members held a forum in
February that concluded residents needed to
“send a message to those who would dare
target individuals,” she said.
“You can’t stop hate but you can let them
know that they will not destroy your com-
munity.”
Harpham, who has extensive ties to white
supremacist groups, made yes and no
answers during his brief court appearance
march 30, 2011 The Seattle Skanner page 3