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