WWW . THESKANNER . COM
N OVEMBER 28, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 8
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
State
House
Diversity
PASSING
THE
BATON
New legislature is
least diverse group
elected since 1992
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
Maxie Jamal practices West African
dance during a class Saturday, Nov.
24,
at
Garfield
Community
Center. The class, taught by Adefua
African Music and Dance, is working
towards a spring show called
“Passing the Baton” which will
include drumming, vocals, hip hop,
gospel and a variety of other
disciplines.
Gregoire Takes On Web Retail
Online companies pay no sales tax--a loss of hundreds of millions
By Mike Baker
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) —
Gov. Chris Gregoire’s time in
office may be best remembered
for the major deals she helped
broker, often in late-night bar-
gaining sessions in which nego-
tiators were ordered to find a
resolution.
Now the Democrat, two
months away from leaving
Washington state government,
is looking to finalize one more
big agreement.
Over the past year, Gregoire
has been working to build sup-
port for a congressional plan
that would allow states to col-
lect sales tax from online retail-
ers based elsewhere. Similar
efforts in Congress over the past
decade have all failed, even as
online sales have become more
common.
Gregoire said the current
lame-duck Congress is perhaps
the best time to pass the meas-
ure, with some Republican gov-
ernors and lawmakers signaling
their support. She said the issue
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is a matter of fairness, helping
states collect taxes that are due
and helping local businesses
compete on a level playing field
with online counterparts.
``I will tell you that our com-
panies in this state are suffering
mightily because of this funda-
mental unfairness,’’ Gregoire
said.
A deal would also provide
Washington with hundreds of
millions of dollars in revenues,
helping deal with budget short-
falls in a state dependent on the
sales tax.
Gregoire, who is working
along with Republican Ten-
nessee Gov. Bill Haslam,
believes any agreement will
have to be part of larger negoti-
ations to avoid the so-called
``fiscal cliff’’ — in which a
batch of tax increases and gov-
ernment spending cuts are set to
take effect in the new year
unless Congress acts. If Con-
gress fails to reach agreement to
that issue, she doesn’t see a
pathway for the online sales tax
measure.
See TAX on page 3
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington state
Legislature that will gather in Olympia early
next year will be the least diverse group of
state lawmakers in a generation, mostly due
to fewer women.
Even as the U.S. Congress is becoming
more diverse, Washington’s 63rd Legisla-
ture will include 44 women, or about 30 per-
cent, among its 147 members — the fewest
since 1990, The Seattle Times reported Sun-
day.
Overall, nearly two-thirds of the Legisla-
ture, or 95 lawmakers, will be white men —
the most since 1992.
Depending on a too-close-to-call House
race in Vancouver — where Democrat Mon-
ica Stonier, who identifies as Asian and His-
panic, holds a 100-vote lead — there may be
just one Latino lawmaker, the lowest num-
ber since 1996, the newspaper reported.
There will also be two African Americans,
two Native Americans, five Asian Ameri-
cans and, for the first time, an Iranian Amer-
ican, according to the latest vote tallies.
There will be six openly gay or lesbian
members.
The dearth of diversity is particularly
apparent in the Republican Party, whose
legislative ranks next year include no
minorities and either 16 or 17 women, the
Times reported.
Lawmakers and advocates say there aren’t
more women and minorities in the Legisla-
ture for a number of reasons, including poor
recruitment, low salaries, competing needs
for women and the rancorous nature of pol-
itics being a turnoff.
``This doesn’t happen overnight,’’ Tim
Ceis, a Democratic member of the Washing-
ton State Redistricting Commission, told
The Times. He said increased minority rep-
resentation will come, eventually. ``It takes
organizing. It takes candidate recruitment. It
takes time.’’
The commission, which redrew district
boundaries last year after the once-a-decade
census, made increased minority representa-
See LAWMAKERS on page 3
County Sheriff to Close Cold-Case Unit
228 unsolved missing person and homicide cases still on books
SEATTLE (AP) — The King County
sheriff’s office is closing its cold-case unit
at the end of the year, despite some notable
successes, because the squad has run out of
money.
The team was started in 2009 with money
from a federal grant. The grant was renewed
in 2011 and officials had hoped for another
renewal this year, but that didn’t happen,
The Seattle Times reported in Friday’s
newspaper.
Since its formation, the squad has identi-
fied suspects in at least eight slayings. Some
cases resulted in convictions, some deter-
mined that the likely killer had died, and, in
some, detectives are still coordinating with
county prosecutors before the case goes to
trial.
The county still has 228 unsolved missing
person and homicide cases dating to the
1940s.
``Loss of the funding is a real blow, and it
means some cases will likely go unsolved,’’
said King County Sheriff-elect John
Urquhart.
The unit did its best to stretch federal
grant money, said Major Crimes Unit Sgt.
Jesse Anderson. The Metropolitan King
See COLD CASE on page 3