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N OVEMBER 14 , 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 6
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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