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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 22, 2012)
News Airman continued from page 1 WWII. ``There was nothing better in the world. In that biplane, the guy wires between the wings were like musical instruments,’’ he told the News Tribune of Tacoma in a 2011 interview. But he also recalled in a 2009 Associated Press interview the The grandson of slaves, Hickman nurtured an interest in aviation as a curious boy gazing up at the sky above St. Louis humiliation of being pushed off sidewalks in the South and spit at while in uniform. As a cadet captain, he was effectively blocked from flying when he called out white superior officers for the mistreatment of a fellow black cadet. ``I felt like I had really been mistreated,’’ he told the AP. In 1955, he met and married his wife in Amarillo, Texas, while vol- unteering with her mother at a local library, according to an Army profile. Doris Hickman was drawn to her husband’s character when they first met. He moved to Seattle in 1995 to work for Boeing and ultimately was in charge of accounting Boeing training equipment. He retired in 1984. Hickman autographs copies of ‘Red Tails: An Oral History of the Tuskegee Airmen,’ for a fan last year. The book was made into a film by George Lucas, which Hickman viewed at the director’s invitation. Veterans continued from page 1 ans Affairs (VA). “Most of society thinks that [veterans] can just go to the VA and receive any service they ever wanted and needed, which is not the case,” Murch said. “Not every single vet actually qualifies to get services from the VA; not every single vet wants to get serv- ices from the VA. For women in particular … a big barrier for outreach is that they may not identify themselves as being a veteran.” That’s where Stand Down comes in. Along with a host of services for both men and women, the event will provide coun- selors trained to treat MST, domestic vio- lence advocates and representatives from the Department of Labor’s Women’s Bureau. There will also be manicures, mas- sages and child care available. “We’re trying to provide another way for these women to access the services that they need,” she said. Adam Horton, director of Seattle Stand Down and a veteran of the Iraq war, said one of the event’s main goals is helping female veterans reclaim their identity. “We want them to feel comfortable being called a veteran again and get themselves in position to get all the services that they’ve earned,” he said. Horton planned last year’s Stand Down with fellow members of SCCC’s veteran’s club, motivated by a desire “to do some- thing bigger for veterans.” He said Stand Downs have been happening across the country throughout the last decade and that, despite the litany of services to be offered at this year’s event, their goal is not to provide ing hand, the Stand Down is also a way to say thank you. “This is a time to say, ‘we appreciate you; we want to help you.’ We don’t want to give you a handout because we know that’s not what you want. But we’re here to tell you that ‘here’s the services that are available— ‘Not every single vet actually qualifies to get services from the VA; not every single vet wants to get services from the VA. For women in particular … a big barrier for outreach is that they may not identify themselves as being a veteran’ — Rebecca Murch, Seattle Stand Down a handout, but to fill a gap. “We feel there’s a disparity in the number of veterans who get out of the service and feel like they have no one there to turn to,” he said. “There’s a gap between when you get out of the service and when you find a job or get into school. We’re trying to close that gap.” But for Murch, besides providing a help- please take advantage of them.’ “We want to help them back up.” Gowrylow said state law does not consid- er medical marijuana a prescription drug. Hiatt and others have also argued that dis- pensaries are not selling the drug but his facility is a donation to the collective effort of producing the marijuana. He noted that it is illegal to sell marijuana under both state and federal law, so it would be prob- Contact information for Seattle Stand Down: Phone: 206-934-5417 Website: www.seattlestandown.com For partner organizations: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Phone: (206) 762-1010 Website: www.pugetsound.va.gov U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau, Region 10 Phone: 206-553-1534 Email: lock.betty@dol.gov YWCA of Seattle Phone: 206-461-3660 Website: www.ywcaworks.org Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, King County Website: http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthser- vices/health/personal/WIC New Beginnings (domestic violence advocates) Phone: 206-522-9472 Website: www.newbegin.org Andrew Gospe is a student in the Univer- sity of Washington Department of Commu- Pot continued from page 1 on two marijuana dispensaries. Some in the pot community have encour- aged dispensaries to pay taxes as a means of achieving legitimacy. But Seattle medical marijuana lawyer Douglas Hiatt said he doesn’t believe the state can tax medical marijuana sales, nor would he allow one of his clients to cooperate with an audit. When the Department of Revenue recent- ly tried to require one of his clients to pay taxes, Hiatt said he threatened to litigate, and the department backed down. ``There’s no way they can do this,’’ Hiatt said. ``DOR doesn’t have the power to tax marijuana. It’s not only that you can’t tax it because it’s illegal, it’s that you can’t tax it because it’s medicine. There’s an exemption for prescription medicine under state law, and an authorization is the functional equiv- alent of a prescription.’’ Officials noted that the federal government could come in and dismantle the whole thing exchanging items as part of a cooperative. None of that really matters from a tax stand- point, Gowrylow said, because there is an exchange of value taking place. Steve Sarich, who runs a medical marijua- na establishment in Seattle called Access 4 Washington, said any money exchanged at lematic for any medical marijuana provider to claim sales of the drug. ``If you pay sales tax, you’re admitting to sales,’’ Sarich said. ``I wouldn’t advise any- one to do that.’’ Sarich received a letter from the state regarding the tax issue but hasn’t had any further discussions with revenue officials. Washington’s medical marijuana industry has been left in a constant state of flux, with federal authorities cracking down on some dispensaries. Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed a measure that would have provided broader regulation of the sector, saying she was con- cerned that the federal government could prosecute some workers for overseeing it all. Now marijuana advocates are pushing an initiative that would legalize pot and allow sales at state-licensed stores. If that system becomes fully functioning, state officials estimate that it could raise as much as near- ly $2 billion over the next five years. But those projections are extremely uncertain. Officials noted that the federal government could come in and dismantle the whole thing. August 22, 2012 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
