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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM F EBRUARY 1, 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 5 25 CENTS I NSIDE Movie Openings page 2 Reading Marathon page 3 Cymphonique C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW page 6 THANKS Plan B: A Must- Sell? Requiring birth control sales debated in federal courthouse By Gene Johnson The Associated Press On Friday, Jan. 20, Skanner Publisher Bernie Foster visited the Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business in New Orleans, La. He shared advice on starting a business especially a newspaper company. “Mr. Foster encouraged us to reach our goals by being prepared with a good education. We were inspired by his success. He spoke to us about how to present ourselves as well-spoken, well-groomed, and well- informed young men. In an era where there is often a lack of African-American role models, Mr. Forster showed his concern for our success by his visit to our class.” Signed, the 7th grade class, Miller-McCoy Academy for Mathematics and Business, New Orleans, LA. NCLB Waivers Raise Concerns Who will ensure poor schools are accountable to for all students? By Christine Armario AP Education Writer MIAMI (AP) — In its initial review of No Child Left Behind waiver requests, the U.S. Edu- cation Department highlighted a similar weakness in nearly every application: States did not do enough to ensure schools would be held accountable for the performance of all students. The Obama administration praised the states for their high academic standards. But nearly every application was criticized for being loose about setting high goals and, when necessary, interventions for all student groups — including minorities, the disabled and low-income — or for failing to create sufficient incentives to close the achieve- ment gap. Under No Child Left Behind, schools where even one group of students falls behind are con- sidered out of compliance and subject to interventions. The law has been championed for helping shed light on education inequalities, but most now agree INDEX News .....................2,3,8 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................4,5 Bids/Classifieds.........6-7 it is due for change. Indiana’s proposal to opt out of the federal law’s strictest requirements was criticized by the Education Department for its ``inattention’’ to certain groups, like students still learn- ing the English language. New Mexico’s plan, a panel of peer reviewers noted, did not include accountability and interventions for student subgroups based on factors like achievement and graduation rates. In Florida, the department expressed concern that the performance of some groups of students could go overlooked. The concerns were outlined in letters sent last December by the administration to the 11 states that have applied for a waiver. Since then, state and federal officials have been talking about how to address the concerns; some states have already agreed to changes. The letters were obtained by The Associated Press for all of the states except Tennessee and Kentucky, which declined to See NCLB on page 3 TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A federal judge is considering whether Washington state can require pharmacies to stock and sell Plan B or other emergency contracep- tives, even in the face of religious objections by druggists who believe they destroy human life. Ralph’s Thriftway in Olympia and two licensed Washington pharmacists sued the state in 2007, saying that dispensing the drug would infringe on their religious beliefs because it can prevent the implanta- tion of a fertilized egg. They argue they can easily and quickly refer customers to nearby pharmacies will- ing to sell the drug, which is effective in preventing an unwanted pregnancy if a woman takes it within 72 hours of unpro- tected sex. The drug, which has a high dose of medicine found in birth-control pills, has no effect on pregnant women. The Washington Board of Pharmacy requires pharmacies to dispense any med- ication for which there is a community need, and to stock a representative assortment of drugs needed by their patients. The state says the rules are legal because they apply neutrally to all medicines and pharmacies, and that they promote an important govern- ment interest - the timely delivery of medi- cine. A group that includes HIV patients inter- vened in the case on the state’s behalf, argu- ing that if pharmacies can refuse to dispense Plan B for religious reasons, some might also refuse to dispense AIDS medications, for example. Individual pharmacists are allowed to pass a prescription to another druggist in the same store, provided the patient’s order was filled without delay. But that left no option for a lone pharmacist, or for the owner of a pharmacy who also has religious objections to a particular drug. See PILL on page 3 Same-Sex Marriage Vote This Week On the table is Gregoire’s new initiative-which could raise revenue Rachel La Corte The Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The Wash- ington state Senate is set to take a crucial vote Wednesday on a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The bill has narrow support in the Senate, but is expected to pass because supporters have secured 25 “yes” votes - the minimum required for approval. Five senators, two Democrats and three Republicans, have not indicated how they will vote. If passed by the Senate, the measure moves to the House, which has enough votes to pass the bill by a more comfortable margin. Also, Democratic Gov. Chris Gre- goire supports the measure and said she will sign it into law, which would make Wash- ington state the seventh state to approve gay marriage. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Ed Murray of Seattle, still cautioned, “Nothing is done until it is actually voted on.” The Senate vote Wednesday is expected to come in the late afternoon or early evening. The Senate Rules Committee voted Tues- day to advance the measure for a vote by the See MARRIAGE on page 3
