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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 22, 2014)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM J ANUARY 22, 2014 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXVI, N O .16 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 Scrutiny Of Care Centers KING DAY HB 2165 requires facility reviews in child death cases By Donna Gordon Blankinship Associated Press PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Fai Mathews holds up signs during a rally at Westlake Park after the 32nd Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration march. More then a 1000 people attended workshops, a rally and the march. This year’s theme was Rise Up! Restore the Dream. Longtime chair of the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee, Larry Gossett, who is stepping down after this year, was honored at the rally with speeches by newly elected Mayor Ed Murray, King County Executive Dow Constantine and US Congressman Adam Smith. Stalled Bill May Impact Elections Immigrants’ rights could create wedge issue for November By Manuel Valdes Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) _ The state House’s swift move to advance an immigrants’ rights bill on the first day of this year’s legisla- tive session could create a wedge issue that might affect the results of the November elections, some political experts said. Lawmakers in the House on Monday approved with strong bipartisan support a proposal that expands state financial aid for college students in the coun- try without legal status. The measure, however, is likely going nowhere in the Senate because Majority Leader Rod- ney Tom, the Democrat leading the predominantly Republican Majority Coalition Caucus, said his caucus has other priorities to focus on during the 60-day ses- sion. ``I’m looking for more dollars for state need grants, but not expanding the pool (of eligible student applicants) at this time,’’ said Sen. Barbara Bailey, INDEX News .....................2,3,6 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................4 A&E ..........................2,8 Bids/Classifieds.........6,7 Republican chairwoman of the Senate education committee. Spokespeople for Republicans in the House and Senate said their caucuses don’t have immi- gration-related bills they are putting forward this year. Inaction this session on bills important to immigrants and minorities, such as the so-called Washington Dream Act, could become an election issue in November, when 24 spots in the Senate are contested. Ten of those Senate seats are expected to be challenged vigorously by both parties. Roughly half a dozen of those seats are in sub- urbs in the greater Puget Sound area, including Tom’s. ``It’s an issue that can dramat- ically affect the swing races in suburban districts,’’ said Chris Vance, a Republican political consultant who has worked with immigrant-rights groups, like OneAmerica. Following a year where Con- gress failed to reform the nation’s immigration laws, the Washington Dream Act is a pri- See BILL on page 3 SEATTLE (AP) Lawmakers are consid- ering a bill that would require formal inves- tigations at child care centers when a death occurs, even if the child appears to have died from natural causes. The proposal is named for a 5-month-old girl who died last year while napping in a Seattle home day care center where another death occurred in similar circumstances more than a decade earlier. Eve Uphold’s parents, who have since moved away from Washington, testified last week before the House Early Learning and Human Services Committee. Kyle Uphold said they were told in May 2013 their daughter died from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome or SIDS. When they conducted their own investiga- tion, they discovered the day care center in a North Seattle neighborhood had been cited by the state for safety violations. They also learned another baby had died there years earlier. Their own child had been left unat- tended for about an hour in a waterproof portable crib with a loose cover. Parents who brought their children to the center, which closed after Eve died and it lost its state license, should have been told about the previous problems to prevent something like this from happening, Aman- da Uphold said on Thursday. Committee chairwomen Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Seattle, promised the Upholds, ``We real- ly do want to learn from Eve’s death.’’ House Bill 2165 would require the Department of Early Learning to conduct a child-fatality review for any death in a licensed child care center, a licensed child care home, or an Early Childhood Educa- tion and Assistance Program. The bill was passed out of the House com- mittee on Monday. It will be reviewed by a budget committee before it can go before the full House and then potentially move on See CHILD on page 3 Gov. Inslee’s Big Ideas Face Big Hurdles Observers say it’s possible none of his priorities will be successful By Mike Baker Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has some big ideas that face some big hurdles in the state Legislature. If the Democratic governor has his way, lawmakers will work over the next several weeks to increase the minimum wage, raise the state gas tax, provide financial aid to students living in the country illegally and add more funding to public schools. But it’s possible none of those things will happen. Leaders in the state Senate—largely Republicans, but also some Democrats— have balked at Inslee’s proposals, which he laid out this week in an address before the Legislature at the start of a 60-day lawmak- ing session. Here’s a look at some of Inslee’s ideas and how they’ve been received by lawmakers: Minimum Wage Inslee proposed this week to increase Washington’s minimum wage from $9.32 an hour — already the nation’s highest state standard —to somewhere between $10.82 See INSLEE on page 3
