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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 6, 2014)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM A UGUST 6, 2014 P ORTLAND AND S EATTLE V OLUME XXXVI, N O . 44 For The Skanner website scan this QR code CENTS Pacific NW The Skanner News presents our new regional edition, featuring more news and local information. C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW Retail Pot Penalties Biased? 25 UMOJAFEST First report on new law shows odd snafus in enforcement By Helen Silvis Of The Skanner News See POT on page 3 INDEX News ..............1,3,8-10 Opinion .....................2 Calendars ..............4,5 A & E ......................6,7 Bids/Classifieds ........11 PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED W hen Washington voters legalized marijuana, Seattle passed an ordi- nance that forbids using pot in public. Now a report on the first six months of the new law, shows one Seattle police officer wrote 66 of 83 tickets issued for using marijuana in public. The report also found that homeless peo- ple who congregate in downtown Seattle’s West precinct received 41 percent of the tickets. And Blacks received 37 percent, although they make up only 8 percent of Seattle’s population. Gerald Hankerson, president of Seattle King County NAACP and also president of the NAACP regional conference, said the results of the ordinance were predictable. “While we are disheartened to hear that homeless people and people of color are dis- proportionately ticketed for the public use of marijuana, we are unfortunately not sur- prised. Ever since the war on drugs began, people of color have been the primary tar- get—leading to appalling and indisputable disparities in our criminal justice system. What this report makes clear is that even though the laws have changed, the mentality has not.” The Seattle Times and KOMO television identified Randy Jokela as the veteran offi- cer who single handedly wrote 80 percent of Seattle’s pot tickets. Jokela has been removed from his role as a bicycle cop patrolling Seattle’s downtown pending an investigation. Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole posted a short statement to the Seattle Police Department Blotter, web page. Without naming Jokela, she said the officer has been assigned to administrative duty pending an investigation by the Office of Professional Accountability. “The report is designed to provide another level of oversight for marijuana enforce- ment in our city and flag anomalies or Buffalo soldier Geordan Newbill talks to children at Umojafest on Saturday, Aug. 2. Umojafest is a three-day celebration held in conjunction with Seafair and includes a parade, the Heal the Hood Basketball tournament, three stages of live music, a marketplace and community resource fair. Providence Offers Grief Programs Unresolved pain over the death of a loved one has lasting effects By Lisa Loving Of The Skanner News W hile summertime and holidays are the best of times for many people, those who have lost a loved one can be hit by grief and isolated with their pain even while others are having fun around them. Providence Health & Services grief specialist Anne Kister spoke with The Skanner News about their ongoing free-of- charge grief support programs – available in Oregon as well as Washington State — and how the emotional pain from the death of someone close to you can be helped, if not cured. The Skanner News: Talk about your work. What’s the most important thing people should know about the work- shops you’re holding? Anne Kister: First of all that they are open to anybody in the community, and they’re offered free of charge. Sometimes I think, particular- ly with some communities, there can be a feeling of isola- tion with certain kinds of deaths that occur. So when people come into a presentation like this, one of the things I hear a lot is: Thank you, at least now I know I’m not going crazy. I hear people say wow, I’m not alone. TSN: How does this program work? AK: These types of presenta- tions are geared more specifically to people who are actively grieving. We also have one that is geared towards get- ting through the holidays. About five years ago we began offer- ing a presentation for people who are actively grieving, no matter what time of year it is. I can have 10 people in the room, all of whom may have had a husband who died, and each person has very individual experience of grief. Because of what determines their grief, who the person was to them, how old they were, how they died. What See PROVIDENCE on page 3 Washington School Fight Takes a Twist Children’s advocates caution against extreme funding decisions Of The Skanner News T he fight over the Washington State Legislature’s school funding plan — and the 2018 deadline for ample funding for basic education required by the state Supreme Court – is turning into a brawl. The Court’s 2012 ruling in McCleary v. Washington, a lawsuit that saw one family successfully suing the state in a bid to stop successive waves of school cuts, requires lawmakers to craft a plan for stable funding for the Washington State Department of Education. State education officials estimate another $3.5 billion per year is needed for that to happen; the issue has been given some urgency by the federal government’s deci- sion not to renew Washington’s exemption from the No Child Left Behind law. Now the Court is threatening to punish the Legislature for missing its April 30 deadline for coming up with a “complete plan” out- lining where the education money will come from – and even children’s rights advocates are pushing back against the pos- sibility that essential state services will be See SCHOOLS on page 3
