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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2011)
WWW . THeSkANNeR . COM A uGuST 31, 2011 S eATTLe , W ASHINGTON V OLuMe XXXIII, N O . 44 25 CeNTS I nsIde Family Fun page 2 Job Listings page 3 Zendaya C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow page 4 Gregoire Touts Diversity Summer League But AP investigation finds her staff is mostly white, male mike Baker Of The associated Press PHOTO BY susan FrIed The Jamal Crawford Foundation Summer ProAm featured an incredible line up of professional and college all stars like Nate Robinson, Jamal Crawford, Isaiah Thomas, and Tony Wroten Jr., Aug. 27 and 28 at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club. On Saturday the summer league Hawks played the Mavericks followed by a close game between the Bulls and the Sonics. Sundays festivities included a three point shootout and slam dunk contest, followed by an all- star game. Poll: uS Muslims Feel Targeted Singled out for harassment, yet supportive of government policies By Hope Yen The associated Press WasHIngTOn (aP) — More than half of Muslim Americans in a new poll say government anti-terrorism poli- cies single them out for increased surveillance and mon- itoring, and many report increased cases of name-calling, threats and harassment by air- port security, law enforcement officers and others. Still, most Muslim Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. and rate their communities highly as places to live. The survey by the Pew Research Center, one of the most exhaustive ever of the country’s Muslims, finds no signs of rising alienation or anger among Muslim- Americans despite recent U.S. government concerns about homegrown Islamic terrorism and controversy over the build- ing of mosques. “This confirms what we’ve said all along: American IndeX News ........................2,4 Calendar ....................2 A&e .............................4 Bids/Classifieds............3 Muslims are well integrated and happy, but with a kind of linger- ing sense of being besieged by growing anti-Muslim sentiment in our society,” said Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Washington, D.C.- based Muslim civil rights group. “People contact us every day about concerns they’ve had, particularly with law enforce- ment authorities in this post- 9/11 era,” he said. Muslim extremists hijacked four passenger planes on Sept. 11, 2001, crashing them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pa. In all, 52 percent of Muslim Americans surveyed said their group is singled out by govern- ment for terrorist surveillance. Almost as many - 43 percent - reported they had personally experienced harassment in the past year, according to the poll released Tuesday. That 43 percent share of peo- ple reporting harassment is up see muslIms on page 4 OlYmPIa, Wash. (AP) –Gov. Chris Gregoire has spent part of this summer reshuffling her leadership team, adding two new people to her inner circle, elevating another to chief of staff and naming a new cabinet secretary. All of them are white. Gregoire’s staffing selections have pro- longed a trend that runs contrary to her vow to make diversity one of the chief initiatives of her administration. Minorities now account for more than one-quarter of Washington state residents, but Gregoire’s entire senior staff is white and her cabinet of 26 has only two people of another race. It’s a gap that extends to rank-and-file workers. Just 18 percent of state employees as a whole are minorities, according to an AP analysis of state personnel records, and there’s even less diversity among managers – only 16 percent of them are non-white. The numbers are not getting any better: The percentage of minority hires has fallen from 18 percent in 2007 to just under 16 percent this past year. Gregoire spoksman Scott Whiteaker said the governor understands the importance of diversity and has placed an emphasis on minority recruitment and retention. “It’s a challenge we don’t shy away from and strive to continue to improve,’’ Whiteaker said. Supporters of diversity in state govern- ment believe an expanded minority pres- ence would help officials better understand and work with the people they serve. Some pointed to a lack of diversity in social serv- ices that provide aid to a large segment of minority residents. – Gregoire herself has long touted the bene- fits of diversity. “Because diversity is as important in the workplace as it is in the community, the Governor has selected a diverse staff within see gregOIre on page 4 Attorneys General: Stop Online Sex Ads State law enforcement says website is major avenue for abuse W ashington State Attorney General Rob McKenna and 45 other attor- neys general Wednesday called for information about how Backpage.com presumably attempts to remove advertising for sex trafficking, especially ads that could involve minors. In a letter to the online classified site’s lawyers, the attorneys general say that Backpage.com claims it has strict policies to prevent illegal activity. Yet the chief legal officers of Washington state, Missouri and Connecticut have found hundreds of ads on Backpage.com’s regional sites that are clearly for illegal services. “It does not require forensic training to understand that these advertisements are for prostitution,” the attorneys general wrote. The letter says the hub for illegal sex ads is a magnet for those seeking to exploit minors and points to more than 50 cases, in 22 states over three years, involving the trafficking or attempted trafficking of minors through Backpage.com. “These are only the stories that made it into the news; many more instances likely exist,” the attor- neys general wrote. They also reminded Backpage.com of a 2010 request from near- see TraFFIckIng on page 2
