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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 23, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM M AY 23, 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 21 25 CENTS For The Skanner news alerts Text "NEWS" to 503-715-0890 or scan this QR code C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW FIRE MEN Breaking Election Rules? Files show McKenna used office resources for campaign bid By Mike Baker The Associated Press PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED U Shane joins his son Tony 4, in the cab of a fire truck at the annual Open House at Fire Station 13 on Beacon Hill, on Saturday May 19. Last Call to Halt State Liquor Law Opponents try striking it down using ‘more than one subject’ rule By Mike Baker The Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Opponents of Washington state’s liquor-privatization ini- tiative made a final bid Thurs- day to invalidate the voter-approved law just two weeks before it is set to take effect. An attorney argued before the Washington Supreme Court that the measure violates rules that require initiatives to address only one subject, since it includes extraneous issues such as a provision to set aside $10 million for public safety. Lawyer Michael Subit also con- tended the initiative’s title mis- led voters, hiding what he described as taxes on those who distribute and sell liquor. The initiative called those new payments ``fees,’’ even though they were based on volume. ``That is verbal sleight of hand. That’s like calling the B&O tax `a fee for the privilege of doing business,’’’ Subit said, referring to the Business and INDEX News .......................2,4, Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................3 A&E .......................2,5,7 Bids/Classifieds............7 Occupation tax. Justice Charles Wiggins seemed to agree, telling an attorney arguing in support of the initiative, ``It sure looks like a sales tax.’’ Subit is hoping for an expedit- ed decision from a court that typically takes months to publi- cize its opinions. The initiative takes effect June 1, and the Washington Liquor Control Board already has auctioned off the rights to sell liquor at many of its state-run stores and issued layoff notices to 1,200 employ- ees. Voters approved the initiative last fall to privatize liquor sales and dismantle Washington’s state-run liquor system, which was formed in the 1930s in the aftermath of Prohibition. The measure, backed by retailing giant Costco, allows stores larg- er than 10,000 square feet to sell liquor, though it could allow smaller stores to sell liquor if there are no other large retail outlets in their area. A Cowlitz County judge in See LIQUOR on page 3 sing a fax machine and letterhead from the King County Council in April 2002, the office of then-Coun- cilman Rob McKenna sent off an invitation to the U.S. secretary of the interior. McKenna, listed as the sender on both the fax cover page and underlying note, requested on behalf of the Washington State Republican Party that the Cabinet leader speak at the party’s annual convention. It was a political memo that may have placed McKenna’s office afoul of state or county ethics laws, which bar the use of govern- ment facilities for “personal convenience” and political campaigns. An Associated Press review of thousands of pages of official McKenna documents stored at the King County Archives identi- fied hundreds of records that have no place in government files: fundraising lists, candi- date strategy ideas, a voided campaign check and a packet titled “Rob McKenna For Attorney General.” And there are strong indications that McKenna himself was at least aware of how his District 6 office mixed campaign and government docu- ments. McKenna, now the attorney general and Republican favorite in this year’s race for governor, said in an interview that many of the documents were likely left accidentally in the office by someone doing outside cam- paign work. Questioned about the fact that political issues were scheduled for discus- sion during staff meetings, McKenna said the office inevitably discussed politics but that they were careful not to use county resources for personal or campaign matters. “Part of what you do in the county coun- cil business is politics, but that’s not the same thing as running a campaign,” he said. A few days before the faxed invitation to the interior secretary, McKenna himself sent an officially headlined memo to his legisla- See MCKENNA on page 3 Army Soldier Faces Murder Charges Sgt. accused of killing four soldiers, officer in mental health clinic By Doug Esser The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Murder charges have been filed against a sergeant accused of killing four other soldiers and a Navy offi- cer in May 2009 at a mental health clinic in Iraq, the Army said Friday. The charges against Sgt. John Russell were referred Wednesday and announced Friday in a statement from Joint Base Lewis-McChord. He faces five charges of premeditated murder, one of aggravated assault and one of attempted murder. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. The charges result from an investigation into the shooting at the Camp Liberty Com- bat Stress Center near Baghdad. No date for the court-martial has been set. Russell is being held at the base about 40 miles south of Seattle. Russell is from Sherman, Texas, and is now about 47 years old, said Lt. Col. Gary Dangerfield. The delay since the killings has been filled with the process of deter- mining whether Russell is fit to stand trial. Russell has an Army defense attorney but See MURDER on page 3
