WWW . THESKANNER . COM
J ULY 3, 2013
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 39
25
CENTS
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Have a Safe Fourth
C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
HEAT WAVE
Federal
Attorney
Cuts
Public defender
offices face closure
from sequestration
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
By Gene Johnson
The Associated Press
A little boy beats the heat by jumping into Lake Washington at Mathews Beach. Temperatures soared in the runup
to the Fourth of July holiday, with a record-setting 93 degrees posted Monday. But the hot-streak is set to break by
Thursday, which is predicted to be a perfect day for outdoor celebrating.
Magnuson Park Citizen Comment
News the a fenced-off area is radioactive shocks local residents
The Staff
Of The Skanner News
P
ublic-comment period has
been extended to July 26
for comments on the
cleanup of Magnuson Park
radioactive contamination.
The extension was requested
by state Rep. Gerry Pollet and
his citizens’ group, Heart of
America Northwest.
Comments on the contamina-
tion and cleanup may be sent to:
cindy.ohare@navy.mil and
ching-pi.wang@ecy.wa.gov.
The proposed plan is available
for reviewon The Skanner News
website, www.theskanner.com.
Pollet says significant ques-
tions have been raised about the
levels of radioactivity which
would remain in park soils and
about the lack of investigation
of Lake Washington sediments
and groundwater.
He also says the Washington
State Department of Ecology
says it is planning a public
meeting to answer questions
and take public comment in
July.
INDEX
News .....................2,3,8
Calendar ....................2
Opinion .......................4
Cars ............................6
Bids/Classifieds............7
Pollet’s 46th Legislative Dis-
trict includes Magnuson Park.
High levels of radioactive
contamination were identified
in the park in 2010, but the pub-
lic was not notified of the con-
tamination. In March, the Navy
informed local elected officials
that it planned to start a cleanup
using an expedited process
which bypasses normal public
review and comment.
The Department of Ecology,
which has oversight authority
for the cleanup, was not
informed until mid-April of a
cleanup which the Navy
planned to start in May.
The extension of the comment
period, which was due to close
on June 27, comes after dozens
of citizens, Heart of America
Northwest and Pollet requested
more time for public comments
due to a lack of access to docu-
ments needed to inform com-
ments as required by law.
Pollet said that the Navy is
proposing to leave contamina-
tion in soil and storm drains at
levels hundreds of times higher
See PARK on page 3
SEATTLE (AP) — The lawyers who rep-
resent poor people charged with federal
crimes across the country say they already
face an unfair fight when they head into
court against the resources of the Justice
Department — and that’s only going to get
worse if draconian budget cuts occur as
planned next year.
As a result of the automatic cuts known as
sequestration, federal public defender
offices have recently been told they must
reduce spending by 14 percent for fiscal
year 2014, on top of the roughly 9 percent
suffered this year.
The result, the lawyers say, will be drastic
layoffs for public defenders, expensive case
delays and costly appeals — all for nothing,
as pricier private attorneys are expected to
step in to fill the void at government
expense.
“Absent some immediate action, federal
defenders will begin the process this sum-
mer of laying off between a third and half of
their staff,’’ said a memo prepared by sever-
al federal public defenders. ``They will
begin closing many offices. The cuts will
result in irreparable damage to the criminal
justice system, and paradoxically, greater
expense to the taxpayer as indigent defen-
dants are increasingly assigned private
counsel.’’
Congress provides about $1 billion for the
representation of poor people charged with
crimes. The money is split evenly between
federal public defender program, which was
established in 1970, and private attorneys,
who are generally paid $125 an hour to rep-
resent defendants who can’t be represented
by the public defenders because of conflicts
of interest or other reasons.
Because the right to counsel is a constitu-
tional guarantee, the federal defenders have
no control over their workloads. When
someone is charged and needs a lawyer,
See CUTS on page 3
Gov. Inslee Signs $33.6 Billion Budget
Government shutdown averted by last-minute agreement
By Rachel Le Corte
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Gov. Jay
Inslee signed a new two-year budget on
Sunday, averting a government shutdown
that state officials had been planning for in
case the new spending plan wasn’t in place
by the end of the weekend.
The $33.6 billion operating budget was
the key item among more than a dozen bills
signed by Inslee, just a day after the Legis-
lature adjourned for the year after two over-
time legislative sessions.
“We’ve done some good things in tough
times, and I’m glad we found compromise
so that the work of the state of Washington
will continue,’’ Inslee said before signing
the budget.
His signature came just hours before the
end of the current budget cycle. Thousands
of state workers had been warned last week
that they could face temporary layoffs
because much of state government would
need to shut down if a budget plan wasn’t in
place by midnight Sunday.
It’s been more than 20 years since a gov-
ernor signed a budget this late in the
See BILLIONS on page 3