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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM D ECEMBER 18 , 2013 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXVI, N O . 11 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 Farewell Nelson Mandela TRIBUTE Mandela, known as Tata or father is buried with honors PHOTO BY GEORGE CURRY By George E. Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief With a rich mixture of ceremonial military pomp and ancient tribal customs, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first dem- ocratically elected president, was buried Sunday in Qunu, the village of his youth. Mandela is considered the father of the country, known as “Tata,” which means father. He is also referred to as Madiba, his clan name. State Leaders Press for Union Vote Proposed contract would secure work on Boeing’s new 777X plane Mike Baker Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) — Political pressure is building in support of letting Puget Sound machin- ists vote on a Boeing contract proposal in high-stakes negotia- tions to keep thousands of jobs in Washington State. Leaders in the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers publicly differed Friday on whether to bring Boeing’s latest contract offer to a vote, exposing ten- sions within the union over how to proceed. National, state and local polit- ical leaders called for a vote, even though local union leaders have already rejected the com- pany’s latest offer. The contract would secure work on Boeing’s new 777X airplane at a time when 22 states are competing for those jobs. Gov. Jay Inslee said in a state- ment that union membership gives each worker a say in his or her future and workers should have the opportunity to exercise INDEX News ........................3,7 Calendar ....................2 Opinion ....................4,5 A&E ..........................2,6 Bids/Classifieds............7 that right. “That should happen soon, as I have become increasingly con- cerned that we are at a perilous point in our effort to bring the 777X to Washington state,” said Inslee, who was endorsed by the local Machinists union in his campaign for governor last year. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen echoed those comments, expressing concern about the region’s aero- space future if no labor agree- ment is in place and saying “the time to vote is now.” Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson and Snohomish County Executive John Lovick also urged the Machinists in their area to hold a vote and also urged them to approve the contract. State Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom, a Democrat, and Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler sent a joint letter Fri- day to a local union leader, urg- ing a vote. “We trust that your members will make the best decision,” the two senators wrote. “We respectfully ask, however, that See BOEING on page 3 QUNU, South Africa (NNPA) – With a rich mixture of ceremonial military pomp and ancient tribal customs, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first democratically elected president, was buried here Sunday in the vil- lage of his youth, culminating 10 days of national mourning. The former Nobel Prize-winner, in accor- dance with his wishes, was buried in a fam- ily graveyard high in rolling green hills where other close relatives are buried, including his father, Makgatho Mandela, who died in 2005; his eldest son, Madiba Thembekile, who died in an automobile accident in 1969; and Makaziwe Mandela, his first daughter who died as an infant in 1948. In his autobiography, Long Walk to Free- dom, Mandela described Qunu as a place where “I spent the happiest years of my boyhood and whence I trace my earliest memories.” To pay tribute to Mandela, leaders and celebrities from around the world made their way to this bucolic community in the eastern section of the country to share their memories of the global icon. Among those attending were Britain’s Prince Charles; media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who was escorted by longtime beau Stedman Gra- ham; civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, Arch- bishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson and British actor Idris Elba, who plays Mandela in the movie, “Long Walk to Freedom.” Guests attending the funeral were trans- ported from a park-and-ride facility at Wal- ter Sisulu University to a makeshift white dome-like auditorium covered in white sheathing. Because seating was restricted to 4,500 accredited guests, many local resi- dents complained that they were relegated to the background, forced to watch the funeral of their most celebrated son on tele- See MANDELA on page 3 Should Barges Transport Fracking Wastewater? Coast guard says yes; environmentalists fear toxic chemicals By Kevin Begos Associated Press PITTSBURGH (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard wants to allow barges filled with fracking wastewater to ply the nation’s rivers on their way toward disposal. Many environmentalists are horrified, but industry groups say barge transport has its advan- tages. Now, the wastewater is usually disposed of by truck or rail, which poses more risk for accidents than shipping by barge, according to a government report. And one barge can carry about the same amount of waste as 100 exhaust-spewing trucks. The disagreements go to the core of the fight over shale gas drilling. Environmental- ists say the chemicals in fracking waste are a tragedy in the making, but the industry says far greater amounts of toxic chemicals are already being moved by barge, includ- ing waste from oil drilling. In 2010, U.S. barges carried 2,000 tons of radioactive waste, almost 1.6 million tons of sulfuric acid and 315 million tons of petro- leum products, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. See FRACKING on page 3
