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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2011)
www . tHesKaNNeR . COm N OvemBeR 2, 2011 s eattle , w asHINGtON v Olume XXXIII, N O . 53 25 CeNts i nSide Black Republicans? page 2 Growing Inequality page 4 Harold and Kumar C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow page 5 Fire SaFety special election shakeup Poll: Voters lean in favor of liquor privatization initiative PHoto BY SuSan Fried By Mike Baker The Associated Press seattle Firefighter Kyle shoecraft helps Dylan 2, out of a fire truck outside the Douglass-truth library. October was Fire Prevention month and the seattle Public library and the seattle Fire Department teamed up with their story time program to teach kids about fire safety. Race, Immigration Issue explored Seattle Conference brings African American allies to the table traci tate of The Skanner News T he National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC) was held last week at the Westin hotel in Seattle. Featured were 12 immigrant- rights coalitions from across the country searching for effective ways to obtain solidarity in communities around the world. Workshops focused on ways to deepen understanding of immi- grant integration through film, discussion panels and lectures. At a panel focused on bring- ing together immigrant and receiving community members, we caught up with Trina Jackson. She’s an activist and organizer for the Network of Immigrant and African Americans in Solidarity, based in Boston. We asked her to share some information about this cause. the Skanner news: During your panel discussion you made the comment “there aren’t enough of us (Black people) indeX News .....................2,3,8 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................4,5 Bids/Classifieds.........6-7 here.” Why do you think that? trina Jackson: I think a lot of African Americans feel threatened by immigration in terms of jobs and housing and I think that’s a real threat, but we know that immigrants them- selves are not the cause. We know that there is a bigger structure and it’s a system of racism and a legacy of slavery and that all these other systems are really at work. But there are real threats that we feel. I also think we are busy trying to sur- vive. Language barriers, cul- tures, how we talk, how we gather haven’t bridged yet. A lot of people who fill these con- ferences are from white main- stream agencies and we haven’t found them helpful for our situ- ations so we aren’t going to be at conferences like this. tSn: What do you want peo- ple to know about immigration integration? tJ: Well, that it goes beyond integration. As African Americans we know that inte- gration was only the start, it did- See race on page 3 olYMPia, Wash. (AP) — Almost half of Washington voters say they support a plan to privatize the state’s liquor distribu- tion system, according to a University of Washington poll released Monday. The survey found that about 48 percent of respondents planned to vote yes on Initiative 1183, which would end state-run liquor sales and allow private businesses to sell the product in their stores. About 41 per- cent said they opposed it, while others were undecided. Matt Barreto, director of the poll, said the measure looked to be in good shape because it was already nearing 50 percent support in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election. About 3 percent of undecided respondents said they were leaning in favor of the plan. ``Initiative 1183 looks like it is headed for passage,’’ Barreto said. The results on Tim Eyman’s anti-tolling measure are less clear, with about a quarter of all people still undecided. About 37 per- cent plan to vote yes, while 38 percent plan to vote no. Meanwhile, looking ahead to next year’s governor’s race, the poll found that Republican Rob McKenna has built a seven-point advantage over Democrat Jay Inslee in a head-to-head vote. About 47 per- cent of voters reported having a favorable opinion of McKenna, while only 33 percent did of Inslee. Half said they didn’t have an opinion yet of Inslee. Barreto said those results could be prob- lematic for the Democratic congressman because early support for a candidate tends to be reliable support and difficult to sway. He noted that a similar poll in the race between Chris Gregoire and Dino Rossi four years ago showed Gregoire with a slight lead and she went on to win. Barreto said one positive sign for Inslee was that President Barack Obama is holding See electionS on page 3 Prepaid College tuition Program Opens Skyrocketing costs motivate families planning for higher education By donna gordon Blankinship The Associated Press Seattle (aP) -- As Washington’s prepaid tuition program opens to new participants Tuesday, the plan may not seem like much of a bargain to people who bought in years ago at the equivalent of $7,000 or $8,000 for a year of college. But it’s the inevitable result of keeping up with the state’s skyrocketing tuition. This year’s price for one Guaranteed Education Tuition unit is $163, which trans- lates into $16,300 for a year of tuition and state-mandated fees at the University of Washington or Washington State University. That doesn’t include room and board. One tuition unit cost $117 before a September increase. The program allows parents to prepay tuition for their kids, at a rate above current costs but below what they would expect when their kids are in college. They’re guar- anteed that 100 units will pay for a year of Washington’s most expensive tuition and the units can be turned into cash for out-of- state and private colleges. For parents buying tuition units for cur- See college on page 3
