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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM N OVEMBER 27, 2013 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXVI, N O . 8 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 GOBBLE GOBBLE Charter Schools Launch Proposed facilities target an array of educational needs PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED By Donna Gordon Blankinship The Associated Press Kevin McGinnis passes out a ribbon to one of the kids who ran in the Kids Dash Sunday, Nov. 24, in this year’s Green Lake Gobble & Mashed Potato Munch Off. The event featured a 10K run/walk, 5K run/walk and a free kids’ dash followed by a Mashed Potato Munch Off competitive eating contest. Money generated by the Thanksgiving themed running and walking event helps support the Seattle’s Union Gospel Mission through cash donations as well as the well-needed onsite canned food drive. County Town Planning Pot Store Skamania not only embraces the new shops -- it’s opening its own Bob Young The Seattle Times NORTH BONNEVILLE, Wash. (AP) — Many cities in Washington state are trying to ban or block new state-regulat- ed pot stores. North Bonneville, population 1,005, is not one of them. A city some see as a Chevron station just west of the Colum- bia River’s Bridge of the Gods, North Bonneville not only wants a pot store — it wants to own a pot store. Mayor Don Stevens figures that would give the Skamania County city more control of a store they’re likely to get any- way — and more revenue. “We have a longstanding rela- tionship with law enforcement. We have a vested interest in maintaining the health and wel- fare of our community. And someone else who might be granted a license might not have the same concerns,” Stevens said. On the question of North Bon- neville becoming the first Wash- INDEX News .....................2,3,6 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................4 A&E ..........................2,8 Bids/Classifieds............7 ington city to own a pot busi- ness, only three residents stood up and disagreed with the mayor at a public hearing Tuesday. And they were pretty tame. John Mobley mostly had ques- tions. Susie Strom, a drug- and alcohol-prevention coordinator, implored the City Council to slow down and think more about children. Jim Goldring agreed, asking, “How can the city operate a store without an adverse impact on youth?” Five residents supported the city becoming a pot dealer, some reluctantly. “I don’t want somebody com- ing into the community where I walk my 6-year-old and making money off getting people high,” said Rachele Rice. But “if it’s coming here ... I want to see that money benefit the community.” The council voted 3-to-1 to take the pioneering step and apply for one of the state’s 334 retail stores. Councilmember Charles Pace stressed that in no way was he encouraging cus- See POT SHOP on page 3 SEATTLE (AP) — Dropouts, gang mem- bers, kids who love sports, children with disabilities and creative youngsters who can’t sit still are among the children charter school developers say they’ll teach in the new public schools they want to open in Washington State next year. Their applications due last week to the state Charter School Commission span the academic spectrum, the Cascade Range and the Internet. A year ago, Washington voters approved the opening of up to 40 of the alternative public schools. Nineteen groups and indi- viduals filed proposals by Friday’s deadline to be among the first to open a charter school in the state. The next step will be public hearings and then approval of the first schools in Febru- ary. The first schools would open to students for the 2014-15 school year. Here are profiles of some of those hoping to open charter schools in Washington. DROPOUTS, ADDICTS, GANG MEM- BERS Seventeen years ago, Por Vida Academy was one of the first charter schools in Texas. Now the San Antonio group wants to start a school in Yakima for young people who are far away from graduating from high school. Joseph Rendon, now superintendent of a small group of Por Vida charter schools in Texas, says his students have drug prob- lems, anger management issues, are active in gangs, have been arrested and have dropped out of school at least once. Most students are between 16- and 18- years-old, Hispanic and were out of school for at least a year before enrolling. The school gives them heavy doses of social work and counseling, as well as edu- cation in small classes. The high school has 250 or fewer students at any one time, but the population is always changing. Patience, See SCHOOLS on page 3 Rob McKenna Lobbies for More Coal Former AG pushes to keep climate change out of negotiations SEATTLE (AP) — A former Washington state attorney general who is now lobbying for Montana and North Dakota has said an environmental review of a proposed coal terminal in Longview should not include possible climate change considerations. Congress “has not authorized states to regulate interstate commerce in relation to climate change, and has not enacted nation- al legislation to control greenhouse gas emissions indirectly by limiting the sale or export of coal,” Rob McKenna wrote earli- er this week in a letter to the Corps of Engi- neers, Washington Department of Ecology and Cowlitz County. McKenna was the Republican nominee who lost the race for Washington governor in 2012. The three government entities are now determining the scope of the upcoming environmental review for the $650 million Millennium Bulk Terminals project planned by Ambre Energy Ltd. and Arch Coal Inc. Trains would carry Rocky Mountain coal to the Longview terminal for export to Asia. A similar terminal is planned at Cherry Point, near Bellingham, Wash. Another pro- posal would ship coal by barge down the See COAL on page 3
