WWW . THESKANNER . COM
N OVEMBER 7, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 5
25
CENTS
Election
News
C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
OBAMA!
Historic
Election
Night
Washington races
beat out Oregon for
groundbreaking wins
By Lisa Loving
Of The Skanner News
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
H
Louis Swan and his sister Henrietta Price celebrate at an election party at First AME Church after Obama gets enough
electoral college votes to put him over the top. Find more election photos on pages 4 and 5.
Fight Intensifies Over NW Coal
Should the region become the hub for exporting U.S. coal to Asia?
By Phuong Le
The Associated Press
BELLINGHAM,
Wash.
(AP) — The progressive college
town of Bellingham, Wash., is
known for its stunning scenery,
access to the outdoors and
eclectic mix of aging hippies,
students and other residents. But
lately it’s turned into a battle-
ground in the debate over
whether the Pacific Northwest
should become the hub for
exporting U.S. coal to Asia.
Five ports proposed for Wash-
ington and Oregon could ship as
much as 140 million tons of
coal, mostly from the Rockies,
where it could travel by rail
through communities such as
Spokane, Seattle and Eugene,
Ore., before being loaded onto
ships bound for Asia.
The Cherry Point marine ter-
minal would be the largest coal-
export port in the U.S.,
exporting up to 54 million tons
of bulk commodities, mostly
coal.
With so much at stake, critics
and supporters have intensified
INDEX
News ...........................2
Calendar ....................2
Election Photos.........4,5
A&E .......................2,6,8
Bids/Classifieds............7
their pitches in recent weeks,
running TV and radio spots,
doorbelling homes and turning
to phone banks and social media
to rally support for their side.
Hundreds packed a public
hearing in Bellingham last week
to tell regulators what should be
analyzed during the environ-
mental review process. Hear-
ings in Seattle, Vancouver and
Spokane are also expected to
draw crowds.
``This flies in the face about
what are we about as a region,
as far as our leadership on build-
ing a clean economy and saying
no to coal. We’re seen as a
region that leads with innova-
tion,’’ said Kimberly Larson,
with the Power Past Coal cam-
paign. ``Are we going backward
or forward?’’
Environmentalists,
some
Northwest tribes and others
want regulators to study the
cumulative effects all five proj-
ects: increased train traffic, car-
bon emissions from burning
coal overseas and other health
and environmental concerns.
See COAL on page 3
istory was set Tuesday night in
Washington State, where same sex
couples will now be allowed to
marry and marijuana has been legalized, to
be regulated like alcohol.
Also in Washington, in what national pun-
dits called the most competitive race for
governor in the nation, Democrat Jay Inslee
narrowly bested Republican Rob McKenna
in unofficial results, 51 percent to 49 per-
cent – despite a controversial last-minute ad
campaign by the Seattle Times newspaper in
support of McKenna.
In Clark County, voters turned down a
sales tax increase for C-Tran; turned down a
bid to create a metropolitan parks district by
a margin of two to one; and voted to put
David Madore on the City Commission.
The race for Washington State Senate Dis-
trict 17 showed Wednesday morning that
Tim Probst and Don Benton are both at
about 50 percent of the vote.
In Oregon, the incredible roller coaster of
an Election Night that swept President
Barack Obama back into office saw a paltry
54.98 percent voter participation in Mult-
nomah County; by contrast, Oregon’s
statewide voter participation rate soared to
over 70 percent.
Big winners in Portland included mayoral
candidate Charlie Hales and City Commis-
sioner Amanda Fritz, who won their races
by big — in Hales’ case landslide — mar-
gins.
Meanwhile every proposed tax and bond
measure passed in the City of Portland,
including the Arts Tax, the Portland Schools
bond and the Multnomah County Library
district.
Oregon’s hot-potato statewide measures
may be the reason for the higher state
turnout, with a major battleground erupting
around the Cannabis Tax Act, Measure 80.
While Multnomah County voters passed the
See ELECTIONS on page 3
US Soldier Had Blood of Victims on Him
Hearing helps determine whether the case goes to a court martial
Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
JOINT BASE LEWIS-McCHORD,
Wash. (AP) — The soldier accused of
killing 16 villagers in a nighttime rampage
in Afghanistan returned to his base wearing
a cape and with the blood of his victims on
his rifle, belt, shirt and pants, a military
prosecutor said Monday.
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales was incredulous
when fellow U.S. soldiers drew their
weapons on him when he returned to Camp
Belambay in southern Afghanistan last
March, prosecutor Lt. Col. Jay Morse said
as a preliminary hearing opened at Joint
Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.
Bales then turned to one sergeant at the
scene and said: ``Mac, if you rat me out ...’’
Morse said.
Bales, 39, has been charged with 16
counts of premeditated murder and six
counts of attempted murder in one of the
worst atrocities of the Iraq and Afghanistan
wars. Nine of the victims were children. The
hearing will help determine whether the
case goes to a court martial.
Bales has not entered a plea. His attorneys
See SOLDIER on page 7