WWW . THESKANNER . COM
S EPTEMBER 19, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 38
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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
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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