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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (July 31, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM J ULY 31, 2013 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 43 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 BOOGIE BLOCK New Laws In Effect Wrongful convictions, alcohol, social media passwords PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED By Rachel La Corte The Associated Press Moorpheus Magnetik entertained the crowd at Boogie Up the Block Urban Arts Festival, held July 27-28 on the streets adjacent to Washington Hall. The event featured music, art, food, dance and lots of fun activities for children. More photos on Page 6. Agent Accused in Camera Grab Man claims casual photographs caused tussle at Federal Building By Gene Johnson The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — A Seattle privacy activist says a plain- clothes federal agent briefly seized his camera this week after he took photographs from a public sidewalk near the feder- al building downtown, and that he was harassed by a different federal officer the next day. Phil Mocek said he was walk- ing to work Wednesday morn- ing when he took a picture of what appeared to be unmarked or personal vehicles parked in a row of spots reserved for law enforcement outside the Henry M. Jackson Federal Building. Soon afterward, a white truck that had been parked in one of the spots drove by Mocek and pulled a U-turn, parking crooked in the street, he said. A man got out and grabbed his camera. Mocek called 911, and two Seattle police officers arrived but refused to take a report. The man who took the camera iden- tified himself as an agent with INDEX News .....................2,3,6 Opinion .......................4 A&E ..........................2,5 Auto ............................6 Bids/Classifieds............7 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He began going through the pictures as an offi- cer from the Federal Protective Service and a private security guard who works at the federal building watched. The agent eventually returned the camera, but one of the images had been deleted, Mocek said. Seattle police spokeswoman Renee Witt said it was the offi- cers’ judgment not to take a report, and she referred further questions to the ATF. Seattle ATF spokesman Bill Perkins said the agency was aware of the incident but had no immedi- ate comment. It is not against the law to take photographs in public, or to take photographs of federal facilities, though some law enforcement officials have been sensitive about such activity since 9/11. On Thursday, again as Mocek was walking to work, he said he saw the same Federal Protective Service officer who had wit- nessed the previous day’s inci- OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — A variety of new laws take effect Sunday in Washington state, ranging from measures that make it easier for certain businesses to serve alcohol to a plan that compensates people who have been wrongfully convicted. Lawmakers passed more than 300 bills this year, most of which took effect last weekend, though a handful of others will hit the books in September. While the focus of the recent marathon legislative session was on the $33.6 billion, two-year state operating budget that was signed into law just hours ahead of a dead- line that would have triggered a government shutdown, several other issues also came to the forefront. — WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS: A new law allows people who were wrongfully convicted of a crime to file a claim for dam- ages against the state. A successful case would have to show that a wrongful conviction was overturned based on significant evidence of innocence. State compensation levels are to be simi- lar to amounts paid by the federal govern- ment, according to House Bill 1341. A wrongly convicted person would receive $50,000 for each year of imprisonment, including time spent awaiting trial. An addi- tional $50,000 is awarded for each year on death row. A person will receive $25,000 for each year on parole, community custody, or as a registered sex offender. The state will also pay all child support owed while the claimant was in custody, and reimburse all court and attorneys’ fees up to $75,000. In addition, in-state college tuition waivers will be provided for the person who was wrongfully convicted, as well as his or her children and/or step-children. — ALCOHOL: Two measures, House Bill 1001 and Senate Bill 5607, will allow the- See CAMERA on page 3 See LAWS on page 3 Afifa Ahmed-Shafi, 1978-2013 Services for beloved Washington transplant who died unexpectedly F uneral services for Afifa Ahmed-Shafi are Wednesday, July 31, sometime after 5:30 p.m., at Eilnan’s Funeral Home, 915 By-Pass Highway, Richland, WA. A Muslim Portlander, born on the Fourth of July, Ahmed-Shafi’s career and commu- nity activism typified a love of country and a love of community even when the two at times seemed to be at odds with each other. She was born in Charlotte, N.C., and lived in Kennewick for 13 years before moving to Portland. Ahmed-Shafi was Public Involvement Best Practices Coordinator at the City of Portland Office of Neighborhood Involve- ment, and leaves behind a huge community of friends, colleagues and associates. As a volunteer for KBOO Community Radio, Ahmed-Shafi anchored the KBOO Evening News for one night each week for years. She was also a founding member of the Asian Pacific American Compass news and public affairs collective, conducting interviews on issues impacting the APA community. The APA Compass episode marking the U.S. assassination of Osama Bin Laden in 2011, which featured Ahmad-Shafi and See SHAFI on page 3
