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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 19, 2012)
Local News COMMUNITY NEWS BRIEFS Pot Use Won’t Exclude Potential Police Officers Coal Protest The Seattle Police Depart- ment will no longer exclude applicants with past marijuana use. Police officials say the change in policy comes because voters legalized the recreational use of pot by approving initiative 502. Until this week, applicants were immediately disqualified if they had smoked marijuana within three years of applying for a position. The new rule lowers that to a year. Assistant chief Jim Pugel says the department will also reevaluate other marijuana- related hiring policies. Dick Reed, another assistant chief, says the department is trying to find a middle ground that does- n’t exclude good candidates. Whooping Cough Kills Infant A King County newborn child died last week from whooping cough, or pertussis as its known to doctors . So far, health officials have confirmed 752 cases of pertussis among King County residents. That’s the highest number in over a decade. Health officials say the rise in the number of children who get the disease and the child’s death, point to the importance of vaccination for everyone who is in contact with infants. Infants are the most vulnerable, and before the vaccine was developed it was not unusual for babies and young children to die of pertussis. But families can prevent that C O More than 2300 people filled 2 rooms at the Washington State Convention Center on December 13th to express how they felt about a proposed plan to ship 48 million tons of coal to Asia. The coal would travel from Montana on trains through the Pacific Northwest to the Cherry Point Terminal outside Ferndale Washington. Four students and their teacher were part of the vast majority of people attending the hearing, who opposed the plan. horrible outcome by making sure that pregnant women, mothers, fathers and everyone in contact with babies are vac- cinated. Women should be revaccinat- ed with every pregnancy because protection is passed from mother to baby. Vaccinat- ing the mother, ideally between week 27 and 36 of her pregnan- cy, provides temporary immu- nity until the baby is old enough to get immunized, beginning at 2 months of age M M U N Lewis McChord Soldier Faces Death Penalty The U.S. Army said Wednes- day it will seek the death penal- ty against the soldier accused of massacring 16 Afghan vil- lagers during pre-dawn raids in March. The announcement followed a pretrial hearing last month for Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, 39, who faces premeditated murder I T Y C and other charges in the attack on two villages in southern Afghanistan. Prosecutors said Bales, who grew up in the Cincinnati sub- urb of Norwood, Ohio, left his remote base in southern Afghanistan early on March 11, attacked one village, returned to the base, and then slipped away again to attack another nearby compound. Of the 16 people killed, nine were children. No date has been set for A L E N D Bales' court martial, which will be held at Joint Base Lewis- McChord south of Seattle. His civilian lawyer, John Henry Browne, did not imme- diately return an email seeking comment Wednesday. But on Tuesday, he told The Associat- ed Press that he met with Army officials last week to argue that Bales should not face the possi- bility of the death penalty, given that Bales was serving his fourth deployment in a war zone. A R S EATTLE 2012 Friday December 21 If you have an event you want to share with the community, email it two weeks in advance to The Skanner at info@theskanner.com Thursday December 20 FRYE ART MUSEUM Art exhibits, performance programs and more.The Frye Museum has free admission and parking. Open from 11a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday- Sunday at 704 Terry Ave., Seattle 206 622 9250 Page 2 The Seattle Skanner December 19, 2012 GINGERBREAD VILLAGE Every year, architects and pastry chefs build gingerbread mansions and landmarks in the lobby of the Sheraton downtown. Free but your donations benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Seattle Sheraton Hotel and Towers, 1400 6th Ave., Seattle 206-621-9000 Saturday December 22 SEE SANTA. Join us at the Seattle Children’s Museum as we welcome Santa. We’ve added some activities and decoration to the mountain to make him feel more at home. 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. $4.50 per adult, $6.50 per child and $6.50 per grandparent. 305 Harrison St. PHOTOS WITH IVAR’S SANTA CLAM Ivar’s famous Dancing Clam will be transformed into Santa Clam during the holiday season complete with holiday garb for children and families to snap a holiday photo. Noon - Ivar’s Acres of Clams 1001 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98104 (206) 624-6852 Sunday December 23 CHRISTMAS SHIPS First sailing: Choir: Dickens Carolers Depart/Return: Kirkland City Dock, 3:45pm to 5:40 pm Passing by Yarrow Point Park at 4:05 p.m. and 4:25 p.m. and Waverly Beach Park at 4:45 p.m. and 5:05 p.m. Parade Finale with the Seattle Girls’ Choir - Prime Voci Depart/Return: Kirkland City Dock, 8:00pm to11:05pm Passing by W. Montlake Park at 8:45pm and 9:05pm and by Gas Works Park Grand Finale at 9:45pm and 10:05 p.m. Tuesday December 25 MERRY CHRISTMAS
