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WWW . THESKANNER . COM S EPTEMBER 19, 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 38 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 OPEN WIDE STEM Schools Needed Washington has two openings for every qualified jobseeker By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED I US Army veteran Bruce Perry has his teeth looked at by volunteer dental hygienist Camille at the Second Seattle Stand Down on Wednesday Sept. 12 at Seattle Central Community College. The free event provided 350 veterans with free legal and financial advice, housing assistance, domestic violence support, dental care, medical check ups, help with job readiness, Veteran Affairs help, haircuts, manicures, free hygiene supplies, clothes, groceries, sack lunches, sleeping bags, shoes and supplies for their pets. Arena in Bag, Time for a Team Seattle investor can now go shopping for Sonics replacements By Tim Booth AP Sports Writer SEATTLE (AP) — Chris Hansen has a ticket to shop. His list is short: Find an NBA franchise willing to sell and bring professional basketball back to Seattle. Hansen, the investor trying to build a new arena, said Thurs- day that the league has been closely watching what’s taking place in the Pacific Northwest and a renegotiated memoran- dum of understanding between Hansen and the city council on the proposed arena goes a long way to easing the league’s con- cerns about Hansen’s plan. ``It means a lot to the NBA,’’ Hansen said. ``They’ve been watching very close to what we’re doing. I think going in they were very skeptical we would get to this point given our history in Seattle. ``It’s a great win for the city with the league.’’ Hansen spoke at a bar in Seat- tle’s Pioneer Square shortly before an event where he invited INDEX News ........................2,4 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................3,6 Bids/Classifieds............3 fans to come celebrate the agreement announced earlier this week and have their first beer on him. While the green-and-gold cel- ebration was just getting under way, a short distance away a council committee was voting to advance the renegotiated agreement to the full city coun- cil for a vote that is expected to happen Sept. 24. The agreement must receive full approval from the city council and the King County council. Even some members of the city council showed up at the bar following the committee vote, along with a huge throng of Sonics fans hoping to see the franchise return sooner than later. Hansen cautioned it might not be a quick process and what might be the most difficult task — team acquisition — is just beginning. Asked if there could be a fran- chise in Seattle next year, Hansen didn’t want to be overly optimistic. ``I think it’s conceivable, that See SODO on page 3 f you’re looking for work it helps to have education and skills in the STEM subjects: Science, Technology, Engi- neering and Math. “Vital Signs,” a new report by the Washington DC-based non- profit, Change the Equation, found that on average there are two open jobs in STEM fields for every qualified applicant. Yet in the Northwest, and across the coun- try, education in STEM subjects still lags. And an achievement gap leaves Black, His- panic and Native American students at the bottom of the heap, along with girls of all races. “States are undertaking a lot of really heroic work in STEM education,” says Linda P. Rose, Change the Equation’s CEO. “Vital Signs represents an incredible oppor- tunity for business leaders, educators, and policymakers to accelerate this work and identify a path forward in STEM learning, and we hope that leaders will capitalize on what they learn from the data to improve STEM learning in every state.” The state-by-state analysis of STEM edu- cation and training opportunities found high demand for STEM workers in the North- west. But not enough workers have the edu- cation and skills to fill those jobs. In Washington, jobseekers outnumber all available jobs by 3.7 to one. But in STEM fields, for each qualified jobseeker 2.1 jobs are open. In Oregon, jobseekers outnumber all available jobs by 4.26 to one. But in STEM fields, for each qualified jobseeker, 1.7 jobs are available. “Business leaders in Washington have sounded an alarm,” the report says. “They cannot find the science, technology, engi- neering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students’ lag- ging performance in K–12 is a critical rea- son why.” Nationally, the report found, “Students are See STEM on page 3 Clinton Raises $750,000 for Inslee Former President touches down in Seattle for big bucks event By Gene Johnson The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Former President Bill Clinton came to Seattle on Saturday hoping to perform the same trick for Washington’s Democratic candidate for governor that he did for President Barack Obama at the Dem- ocratic National Convention: giving a big boost in a tight race. Jay Inslee, a seven-term congressman, is facing Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna in what is considered one of the closest gubernatorial races in the country this year. Heading into the weekend, each had raised about $8.6 million, but Clinton’s appearance added $750,000 to Inslee’s tally, his campaign said. Clinton spoke to more than 3,000 people at the Washington state convention center, telling them that Inslee has the right vision for creating clean energy and biotechnology jobs. He praised what he described as Inslee’s 75-point plan for the economy, which includes creating a state office for economic competitiveness, allowing work- ers to create ``lifelong learning accounts’’ with matching contributions from their See CLINTON on page 3
