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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2013)
News Massacre King Celebration Camp Belambay in Kandahar Province when he slipped away before dawn. Bales said he had also been taking steroids and snorting Valium. Armed with a 9 mm pistol and an M-4 rifle, he attacked a village of mud-walled compounds called Alkozai then returned and woke up a fellow soldier to tell him about it. The soldier didn’t believe Bales and went back to sleep. Bales left again to attack a second village known as Najiban. ‘Our general theme is that Sgt. Bales snapped’ Prosecutors questioned the potential jurors in hopes of discovering any underly- ing biases that might affect their ability to serve on the panel. Lt. Col. Rob Stelle asked whether they were serving in Afghanistan at the time of the attacks, whether the attacks hindered their ability to do their jobs, and whether they believe soldiers with post- traumatic stress disorder are more likely to commit violent crimes. Defense attorney John Henry Browne asked whether any potential jurors dis- agreed with the concept of parole. None did. Four were dismissed, for reasons ranging from the personal experiences one had with post-traumatic stress disorder to the fact that another helped transport Bales around Joint Base Lewis-McChord while he was in cus- tody. The massacre prompted such angry protests that the U.S. temporarily halted combat operations in Afghanistan, and it was three weeks before Army investigators could reach the crime scene. Bales, who told the judge at his plea hear- ing that he couldn’t explain why he com- mitted the killings, has not issued an apology, but his lawyers hinted that one might come at sentencing. Prosecutors question whether he’s remorseful. They asked a judge Monday for permission to play jurors a recording of a phone call of Bales laughing with his wife as they review the charges against him. ``It certainly goes to evidence in aggrava- tion, the attitude of lack of remorse,’’ Stelle told the judge. Bales’ attorneys have said they plan to present evidence that could warrant lenien- cy, including his previous deployments and what they describe as his history of post- traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. “Our general theme is that Sgt. Bales snapped,’’ Browne told The Associated Press earlier. “That’s kind of our mantra, and we say that because of all the things we know: the number of deployments, the head injuries, the PTSD, the drugs, the alcohol.’’ PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED continued from page 1 Kevin Allen speaks Saturday, Aug. 17, at the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists’ march for jobs, equality and freedom in commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington 50 years ago. The event, sponsored by the Puget Sound and Pierce County Chapters at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park, drew a large crowd, including Eliga Sacks and Loretta Gutierrez, who were married before the assembled community. Wage continued from page 1 Economist Chris Benner of the University of California at Davis does not agree that a higher minimum wage would lead to job losses. ``There may be some job impact in those small businesses themselves,’’ he said. But in the entire economy, when you increase income to low-wage workers, it creates jobs because those workers are likely to spend their additional income and that increases demand for goods and services. Benner also doubts a higher minimum wage would affect prices enough to scare away consumers. His research has shown that even a large increase in wages, like the proposal in Seattle, has only a 4 to 5 percent effect on prices. One of those affected by a potential wage she was fired by another chain shortly after participating in the minimum wage strike. ``I have co-workers who are single moms. I honestly don’t know how they make it,’’ said Durocher, who sleeps on her father’s couch. City Council member Nick Licata doesn’t expect the issue to get any offi- cial traction soon. One of the council’s most liberal members, he said there are — Nick Hanauer other issues the council should tackle to help low-wage workers, including wage theft and affordable housing. Pushing it forward before it can actually pass would kill he idea, he said. One Seattle City council candidate has made the topic the centerpiece of her cam- paign. Economist Kshama Sawant is basing her campaign on similar efforts in New York City and Washington, D.C. While saying her chances of getting elected are not great, she is pushing the rise in the minimum wage and said she is hearing about it on the cam- paign trail. An alternative, yet politically mighty, weekly newspaper, the Stranger, has endorsed her idea. ``We’re getting a huge echo for the idea,’’ she said. Another 400 were fed from the trio of FRED buses — for fun, read, eat, dream — roaming the city from Monday to Thursday each week. Among other programs, the USDA is experimenting with debit cards that give kids up to $60 a month to buy food at gro- cery stores over the summer. Officials also access by helping parents find summer food programs through a new text-messaging service and a toll-free number. The Federal Way School District believes its approach — combining activities, tech- nology and food — is something that can become a model for wider use. ``The parents are drawn to the food,’’ said Chrissy Hart, 20, a United Way intern who grew up in Washington state, ``and the kids are drawn to the activities.’’ As Mia and Anita, the rising fifth-graders, played their board game, others gathered at a table to color and read. Some kids, mean- while, kicked around a soccer ball as others played on laptop computers with Internet access inside the bus. Jeanette Borchers, who brings her two children to the bus for lunch and stays to help, said the summer program fills essen- tial needs. ``I think it’s fantastic,’’ she said. ``It real- ly is a good community thing.’’ increase is Caroline Durocher, 21, who has been working low-wage jobs since high school. She has been working at a Seattle Subway restaurant for about a month, since ‘A higher minimum wage is a very simple and elegant solution to the death spiral of falling demand that is the signature feature of our economy’ Meals continued from page 1 that works to expand food programs. In recent years, the federal government has been pushing its spending toward mobile food programs, feeding hungry kids in parks, recreation centers and even their homes. There are now 42,000 sites that pro- vide summer meals, and the 3,000 locations added this year represent the largest increase the program has seen, said Under- secretary Kevin Concannon, with the food and nutrition division of the USDA. That growth came as Agriculture Secre- tary Tom Vilsack announced in June a goal of serving 5 million more meals to eligible youngsters this summer. Government offi- cials said an assessment of that goal won’t be available until at least next year, but offi- cials pointed to the thousands of new sites as reasons for optimism. In Federal Way, Wash., where more than half of the school district’s 22,000 children receive free or reduced-price lunches, about 900 students receive meals at summer school programs and community centers. About 21 million U.S. students receive free or reduced-price lunches during the school year, but only a fraction of them, 3.5 million according to most recent statistics, are fed regularly over the summer The program, hailed for its approach, was paid for by about $40,000 in donations and a $34,000 grant from the federal govern- ment. Child welfare activists say it will take more such creativity to help additional stu- dents. ``We need to innovate,’’ said Bill Shore, who leads Share our Strength, another non- profit working with the USDA. are encouraging more churches, camps and community groups to start their own meal programs, with federal money paying for setup costs and food. ``The challenge is across the United States, the time of year an American child is most likely to go hungry is the summer- time,’’ said Concannon, of the USDA. The USDA also has worked to improve August 21, 2013 The Seattle Skanner Page 3
