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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 14, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM N OVEMBER 14 , 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 6 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 Pot Cases Dropped SCIENCE Two prosecutors say they’re upholding new marijuana law CAMP By Greg Morrison Of CNN PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED A butterfly lands on Aisha, 11, during a visit to the Tropical Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center, part of the 26th Annual Ron McNair Camp-In Saturday Nov. 10. Boys and girls ages 8 to 12 and their adult chaperones got to enjoy a private overnight stay at the Science Center, where they had the opportunity to explore the exhibits, attend workshops, see live science shows, see Tutankhamun: The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs and spend the night at the center. Afghans Hope for U.S. Justice Robert Bales faces possible death penalty in Mideast murders Gene Johnson The Associated Press JOINT BASE LEWIS- McCHORD, Wash. (AP) — Through a video monitor in a military courtroom near Seattle, Staff Sgt. Robert Bales saw young Afghan girls smile beneath bright head coverings before they described the blood- bath he’s accused of commit- ting. He saw boys fidget as they remembered how they hid behind curtains when a gunman killed 16 people in their village and one other. And he saw dignified, thick- bearded men who spoke of unspeakable carnage — the piled, burned bodies of children and parents alike. From the other side of that video link, in Afghanistan, another man saw something else _ signs that justice will be done. ``I saw the person who killed my brother sitting there, head down with guilt,’’ Haji Mullah Baraan said Monday in an inter- view with The Associated Press. INDEX News .....................2,3,5 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................4 Bids/Classifieds............7 ``He didn’t look up toward the camera.’’ Baraan was one of many Afghan witnesses who testified in Bales’ case by live video link over the weekend. ``We got great hope from this and we are sure that we will get justice,’’ Baraan said. Prosecutors say Bales, 39, slipped away from his remote base at Camp Belambay to attack two villages early on March 11, killing 16 civilians, including nine children. The slayings drew such angry protests that the U.S. temporari- ly halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before American investi- gators could reach the crime scenes. Bales faces 16 counts of pre- meditated murder and six counts of attempted murder. The preliminary hearing, which began Nov. 5 and is scheduled to end with closing arguments Tuesday, will help determine whether he faces a court-mar- tial. He could face the death See BALES on page 3 (CNN) — The prosecutor’s offices for two Washington counties — including the one that contains Seattle — announced Friday they will dismiss 175 misdemeanor marijua- na possession charges, days after the state’s voters legalized the drug. The dropped cases all involve arrests of individuals age 21 and older for possessing one ounce or less of marijuana. Washington state voters passed Initiative 502 on Tuesday, thus legalizing and regulat- ing the production, possession, and distribu- tion of cannabis for people ages 21 and older. The initiative is set to take effect Dec. 6, though King County Prosecutor Dan Satter- berg decided to act before then. “There is no point in continuing to seek criminal penalties for conduct that will be legal next month,” Satterberg said in a news release. The King County Sheriff’s Office subse- quently announced that, in light of the coun- ty prosecutor’s decision, its deputies “will not be directed to arrest or charge individu- als caught with one ounce or less of marijua- na.” This decision affects efforts only in the unincorporated part of the county, with the sheriff’s office noting that leaders in 12 municipalities in the county will decide how deputies act between now and Dec. 6 in their locales. Mark Lindquist, the prosecutor for Pierce County in Washington state, said his office will dismiss simple marijuana possession cases as well. But cases in which a person is charged with other crimes, in addition to marijuana possession, will still stand, Lindquist said. The Washington referendum called for a 25 percent tax rate imposed on the product three times - when the grower sells it to the processor, when the processor sells it to the See LAW on page 3 Make Emergency Plans for Your Pet King County officials urge disaster preparedness for Fluffy too T orrential downpours and saturated earth are typical of winter weather in Western Washington and so is flood- ing. In fact, flooding is the most common and costly weather-related disaster in West- ern Washington, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Major flooding situations can often result in communities needing to evacuate and take steps to protect their families and prop- erty. Pets and animals in our care may seem like secondary concerns when in the midst of a flood situation; however, having an emergency plan that includes pets and ani- mals is a critical part of being prepared for floods and decreases the likelihood of the need for emergency rescues, which also put first responders in harm’s way. “In King County alone there have been 12 presidentially-declared flood disasters since 1990,” said Julia Patterson, chair of the King County Flood Control District. “That’s an average of a major event every other year. That’s why we urge everyone to pre- pare for flooding. Because it is not a matter of if it will happen, but when.” Animal welfare gained national attention See PETS on page 3
