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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 5, 2012)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM D ECEMBER 5, 2012 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 9 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 ZULU JAM 2012 Aryan Nations Return? Racist says white supremacists building new base in Idaho PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED By Nicholas K. Geranios The Associated Press Dance, spoken word and more were featured at Zulu Jam: Hip Hop History Month Edition sponsored by 206 Zulu & Seattle City Breakers, Nov. 30 at Washington Hall. The event honored the legacy of talented Northwest Hip Hop artists like Emerald Street Boys, Seattle City Breakers, Nastymix Records and countless others who began to make their mark 30 years ago. Pot Backers Go Public After Win TV host Rick Steves talks on how the legalization battle was fought By Gene Johnson The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — In the late-1980s heyday of the anti- drug ``Just Say No” campaign, a man calling himself ``Jerry” appeared on a Seattle talk radio show to criticize U.S. marijuana laws. An esteemed businessman, he hid his identity because he did- n’t want to offend customers who — like so many in those days — viewed marijuana as a villain in the ever-raging ``war on drugs.” Now, a quarter century later, ``Jerry” is one of the main forces behind Washington state’s successful initiative to legalize pot for adults over 21. And he no longer fears putting his name to the cause: He’s Rick Steves, the travel guru known for his popular guidebooks. ``It’s amazing where we’ve come,” says Steves of the legal- ization measures Washington and Colorado voters approved last month. ``It’s almost coun- terculture to oppose us.” INDEX News .....................2,4,5 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................3 Bids/Classifieds.........6,7 A once-unfathomable notion, the lawful possession and pri- vate use of pot, becomes an American reality this week when this state’s law goes into effect. Thursday is ``Legaliza- tion Day” here, with a tote-your- own-ounce celebration scheduled beneath Seattle’s Space Needle _ a nod to the measure allowing adults to pos- sess up to an ounce of pot. Col- orado’s law is set to take effect by Jan. 5. How did we get here? From ``say no” to ``yes” votes in not one but two states? The answer goes beyond soci- ety’s evolving views, and grow- ing acceptance, of marijuana as a drug of choice. In Washington _ and, advo- cates hope, coming soon to a state near you _ there was a well-funded and cleverly orchestrated campaign that took advantage of deep-pocketed backers, a tweaked pro-pot mes- sage and improbable big-name supporters. Good timing and a growing See POT on page 3 SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A disciple of former Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler wants to build a new compound in northern Idaho to act as a gathering place for white supremacists, a development that troubles human rights groups who spent decades bat- tling Butler and his group. Shaun Winkler, who unsuccessfully ran for sheriff of Bonner County earlier this year, said a supporter is donating 8 acres near the town of Priest River, Idaho, that he hopes to develop into a place for white supremacists to conduct meetings, cross burnings and other activities. ``I’m just one guy that wants to bring peo- ple together to continue the struggle for white survival,” Winkler, 33, told The Asso- ciated Press this week. Butler’s high-profile Aryan Nations activ- ity tainted northern Idaho’s image national- ly, and local civil rights groups were wary of a potential new hub for racist activity. ``Our work has to go on to promote equal- ity and justice and fairness,” said Tony Stewart, a leader of the Kootenai County Task Force on Human Relations. Human rights groups, including the Southern Pover- ty Law Center, at this point are just raising awareness. There are no active efforts to try to thwart Winkler. The task force and the Southern Poverty Law Center combined to push a civil law- suit that bankrupted the Aryan Nations in 2000, leading to the sale of the original compound. Butler died in 2004. Winkler declined to identify his benefac- tor, other than to say he was a former Los Angeles police officer who had supported Winkler’s bid for sheriff. Aryan Nations was structured as a church of the white suprema- cist Christian Identity religion, and Winkler said the new compound will include a church hall for services and places for sup- porters to live. See ARYAN on page 3 Retired Postmaster’s Experiment Shows Legitimate businesses will never demand money in exchange for a By Tony Lystra The Daily News CASTLE ROCK, Wash. (AP) — In early November, Dwight Giffin, a retired Castle Rock postmaster, conducted an experiment: He agreed to be a sucker for a scam. He had recently received an ``Express Notice” from the ``Financial Acquisition Agency,” which suggested he had won exactly $2,536,092.23. The letter, which included the illegible signature of the FAA’s ``director (of) Winner Notification,” asked that Giffin initial the ``Express Notice Tracking Form” and mail the form to a post office box in Miami, Fla., to collect his prize. On a lark, Giffin filled out the form and enclosed a $20 bill, as requested, then mailed the form off. He wasn’t shocked that his $2.5 million never showed up. What did surprise him, though, was the deluge of mail that came from scammers trying to get more money out of him. ``They evidently thought, `Here’s a suck- er!’ you know?” said Giffin, who is 76 and still lives in Castle Rock with his wife, See SCAM on page 3
