www . tHEskANNEr . COM
M Ay 4, 2011
s EAttLE , w AsHiNgtON
V OLuME XXXiii, N O . 26
25
CENts
i nSide
‘Fast Five’
page 2
Herman Cain
page 4
‘Ladder to the Moon’
C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow
page 5
Act So
governor
Nixes Pot
Measure
Gregoire cites threats
from federal agents
in veto decision
PHoto By SuSan fried
By Mike Baker
associated Press
Aren roberson describes how he created the drawing he entered in the finals of the NAACP’s seattle king County
Branch ACt-sO Competition, saturday, April 30, at the Masonic temple in the Central District. the
NAACP’s Academic, Cultural, technological and scientific Olympics is a program designed to encourage high
academic and artistic achievement among African American high school students. the winners of saturday’s
competition go onto the National competition in Los Angeles in July.
Clean green Leader shares secrets
Rev. Robert Jeffrey to speak at May 7 Kidney Health Fest
By Christine Carson
T
he Rev. Dr. Robert Jeffrey
Sr. is a man who puts
faith into action. As pas-
tor at Seattle’s New Hope
Baptist Church, Jeffrey feels his
call is to help people who live in
the inner city. Part of how he
does this is to dig deep, literally,
into the Puget Sound soil and
help produce nutritious organic
food for them to eat.
Jeffrey will be speaking at
Northwest Kidney Centers’ May
7 Kidney Health Fest for
African American Families. He
is executive director of Black
Dollar Days Task Force, in
which the Clean Greens Farm &
Market is a project. Clean
Greens brings healthy, farm-
fresh produce to residents of
Seattle’s Central District, along
with information about meal
planning and how to cook the
fresh food for optimum nutri-
tion and flavor.
The Kidney Health Fest, held
at Van Asselt Elementary, 8311
Beacon Ave. S. in Seattle, runs
from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is free
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to the whole community. Hear
Jeffrey and other community
leaders in a kidney talk show
emceed by Angela Russell of
KIRO 7 Eyewitness News, and
enjoy entertainment and free
health screenings. Event-goers
will also be treated to healthy
food samples made by local
celebrity chefs and take home a
free cookbook. Although the
Fest focuses on African
Americans, who have a higher
incidence of kidney disease than
the general population, every-
one is welcome to attend.
A diet rich in fresh vegetables
and fruit is key in maintaining
good health, especially for your
kidneys. According to nutrition
experts, Americans eat too little
fresh produce, choosing instead
to fill up on processed foods.
Most processed foods have way
too much salt – not good for
your kidneys.
Jeffrey knows firsthand the
value
of
eating
fresh,
unprocessed foods. Several
years ago he became severely ill
with diverticulitis, which caused
See kidney on page 3
oLyMPia, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Chris
Gregoire vetoed key parts of a bill Friday
that aimed to regulate medical marijuana
dispensaries, saying she could not approve a
measure that might put state workers at risk
of federal criminal charges.
The state’s two U.S. attorneys previously
told Gregoire that state employees would
not be immune from prosecution for their
role in regulating the industry. Prosecutors
contend that the measure would create a
licensing scheme that permits large-scale
marijuana cultivation and distribution.
A union that represents thousands of state
employees asked Gregoire to veto the bill.
“I cannot disregard federal law and our
two U.S. attorneys on the chance that state
employees may never be prosecuted,’’
Gregoire said. “What do you say to them if
they are? What would you tell that employ-
ee?’’
The veto came just a day after federal
authorities raided at least two dispensaries
in Spokane. It immediately brought con-
demnation from advocates who noted that
other states with similar laws haven’t seen
state workers charged.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think you can get
any better than the solution that was on her
desk that she chose to veto,” said Shankar
Narayan, legislative director for the
American Civil Liberties Union of Seattle.
“She should have signed the entire bill.’’
Federal law still prohibits marijuana for
medical uses. Gregoire said she is interested
in working with governors in other states on
pushing to change federal law and reclassi-
fy medical marijuana as a Schedule 2 sub-
stance, putting it on par with addictive but
accepted drugs such as morphine or oxy-
codone.
The bill sought to address murky areas of
the state’s medical marijuana laws.
Dispensaries have popped up all around the
See veto on page 3
seattle grabs wright in Middle of graduation
Drafting was beginning of busy final day for the NFL draft
By tim Booth
aP Sports Writer
renton, Wash. (AP) — K.J. Wright
wanted to scream. The situation dictated he
whisper.
When Wright wasn’t taken in the third
round of the NFL draft Friday, the
Mississippi State linebacker knew that
Saturday could get a little odd and a little
awkward. Wright knew he was going to get
drafted. The problem came with the timing.
Would Wright get the phone call he’s
always wanted to receive in the middle of
his college graduation ceremonies?
Yep.
“As soon as I got off the phone, two min-
utes later I had to go up there and walk
across the stage,’’ Wright said.
The drafting of Wright was the beginning
of a busy final day of the NFL draft for the
Seattle Seahawks. Picking seven times in
the final three rounds, Seattle addressed
mostly the defensive side of the ball after
spending the first two days working to bet-
ter an offensive line that was a constant
problem in Pete Carroll’s first season.
Seattle grabbed a trio for its secondary
See draft on page 3