Tulalip News

Birth Mother Speaks in Baby Veronica Case: Analysis

Suzette Brewer, Indian Country Today Media Network

After years of silence surrounding the failed attempt to put up her biological child for adoption, Christine Maldonado finally went public with an editorial on custodial placement in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl in Friday’s Washington Post. By rehashing outdated talking points, Maldonado has reanimated her position as the central figure in a case that has pitted Veronica’s biological father, Dusten Brown, against a pre-adoptive couple in an epic crucible over race, class, tribal membership and father’s rights.

Following the United States Supreme Court ruling last month, which held that a specific section of the Indian Child Welfare Act did not apply, but the rest of the Act remained intact and in force, attorneys for Dusten Brown in both Oklahoma and South Carolina moved swiftly and decisively to follow the directions and guidance of what the court did—and did not—elaborate on in their decision to remand the case back to the lower courts for further review.

Meanwhile, the Capobianco’s camp, continuing a pattern of behavior prior to the Supreme Court hearing, again released court records regarding the juvenile matter to Andrew Knapp, a reporter for the Charleston Post and Courier, though requests to release the same records to Indian Country Today Media Network were denied by the South Carolina Supreme Court because the case is sealed under state law.

But since the contents of the documents are now in the public sphere, it appears that events unfolded quickly after the Supreme Court issued its ruling on June 25. On July 1, Brown and his wife, Robin, jointly filed for custody, adoption and guardianship in Nowata County, Oklahoma. The following day, his parents, Tommy and Alice Brown also filed a motion with the District Court of the Cherokee Nation as a certified adoptive placement preference of their granddaughter, in the event that Brown’s parental rights are terminated.

Under the law, however, the Indian Child Welfare Act is still applicable in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl and must be followed regarding adoptive placement preference with either family members or fellow tribal members in the event a parent is found unfit or their rights are terminated, according to Indian law experts.

Beating the Capobiancos to the punch, on Wednesday, July 3, Brown’s attorneys in South Carolina also filed a motion to remand the case back down to the family court in Charleston for a fulsome review and evaluation of all parties and current conditions. They argue that Veronica has been with her “fit and loving” biological father and her stepmother as part of an intact family for the last 18 months, therefore necessitating an updated determination of the “best interest” doctrine commonly used throughout the United States.

Also at issue is whether or not South Carolina should retain jurisdiction at this juncture in the case, considering that Veronica, her biological father and stepmother, her grandparents, siblings, cousins, friends, healthcare providers, et al, are domiciled in Oklahoma. The Capobiancos are the only parties in the case who live in South Carolina. Therefore, experts say it beggars belief that a South Carolina Court could even make a best interest custodial placement there, since the entire family and all the relevant experts reside in another jurisdiction, which would exact an enormous logistical and financial burden on all of the parties.

Bringing up the rear, the Capobiancos closed out the first week of July by filing a motion for immediate judgment with the South Carolina Supreme Court on Friday, July 5, which means in plain English that Dusten Brown’s rights would be immediately terminated, and Veronica would be transferred back to the pre-adoptive couple. In anticipation of such a ruling, the Capobiancos have offered a “transition plan” to the court in which they would move to Oklahoma to assist with Veronica’s transition back to South Carolina.

Legal experts, however, say that because the case has likely reverted back to a “best interest analysis,” it would be highly unusual that the court would strip Brown’s custody without a comprehensive and thorough review of all the evidence accrued since Veronica left South Carolina in December 2011.

Which brings the subject back to Maldonado’s editorial in Friday’s Washington Post. In her prose, she returned yet again to the infamous “text message” in which she claimed Dusten Brown “renounced” his parental rights, disregarding not only the fact that parental rights cannot be terminated via text message (even though Brown has repeatedly asserted that was never his intent), but also that that specific text message was ruled inadmissible.

Judge Deborah Malphrus refused to admit it into evidence unless the phone and the entire conversation was produced. Subsequently, the phone, which had been locked away in a safe, mysteriously went “missing” the next day at court. And along with it, the full transcript of what actually transpired between Maldonado and Brown.

Therefore, say family law experts, the “text message” that was used against Brown is without context and is therefore irrelevant to the current situation on the ground and further court proceedings that are no doubt getting ready to happen—whether they occur in South Carolina or are ceded to Oklahoma.

Additionally, it ignores the South Carolina’s Supreme Court’s written finding that both she and the Capobiancos twisted the facts and the strained the limits of truth to fit their legal strategy in attempting to terminate Dusten Brown’s parental rights to push the adoption through without his approval or consent. Finally, it is a miraculous recovery of her memory of events that she could not seem to recall, based on her own previous court-recorded testimony.

“The optics of this case are very clear,” says one legal scholar who asked not to be identified because the case is ongoing. “This is a mother who very early on decided that she did not want this child. So it strains the imagination that this entitles her to abrogate the father’s parental rights to his daughter simply because of her personal issues with him. At some point, this case has to be about what’s in Veronica’s best interest, and unfortunately, it’s become about winning.”

GED clock is ticking

Mark Mulligan / The HeraldVanessa Miller, 22, questions instructor Jennifer Jennings during her GED class Thursday at Everett Community College. — Mark Mulligan / The Herald
Vanessa Miller, 22, questions instructor Jennifer Jennings during her GED class Thursday at Everett Community College.

Erc Stevick, The Herald

EVERETT — It feels like a high-stakes game of Chutes and Ladders for thousands of people trying to improve their lives by earning a GED.

Their academic climb could slide into nothingness at the end of the year.

The five-subject national exam is getting an overhaul Jan. 1.

That gives less than six months for those hoping to pass the old version.

If they don’t pass each and every subject between now and then, they must start from scratch with a new set of exams that are expected to be harder.

There is urgency but not panic these days on the second floor of Everett Community College’s Baker Hall, where two rooms of mainly 20-somethings are trying to make up for lost time and missed opportunity.

One morning last week, EvCC instructor Jennifer Jennings led her students through a multi-step math problem that involved credit cards, percentages and interest rates. For most of the students, math is their biggest obstacle between now and the new year deadline.

Jennings remembers the last time the GED was changed in 2001 and the long lines at the college’s testing center.

“It was crazy,” she said.

The General Education Development certificate was started in 1942 to allow returning World War II GIs to continue their education when they came home. It was designed to show that they had earned basic academic skills many consider the equivalent of a high school diploma. People not in the military were able to start taking the GED in 1947.

Roughly 20 million people have earned GEDs over the years.

With the change in exams approaching, test preparation programs, such as ones at Everett Community College, are bracing for heavy enrollment through the fall.

Lanora Toth, 21, attended five high schools, but didn’t graduate. Life has been a struggle for the young mother who said she once held a cardboard sign at a street corner. It read, “Cold, homeless and hungry.”

Her goal in pursuing her GED is simple: to provide a better home and set an example for her young child.

Classmate Vanessa Miller nodded as Toth spoke.

“I want to give my 1-year-old the life I never had,” she said.

Skyy Sepulveda dropped out of Mountlake Terrace High School in her junior year when she fell hopelessly behind on credits. She took a GED class a year ago and didn’t finish. It stung a bit to see her classmates earn their certificates and that has motivated her this time around.

She said she is studying more than ever.

“It’s really nerve-wracking to get everything done,” she said.

Since 2009, more than 3,900 people have gone through EvCC’s GED programs and taken all or portions of the exam. More than 2,900 have passed.

Over the last four years alone, that leaves 1,016 others who must reach the finish line between now and Jan. 1 or start anew. Nationwide, there are about 1 million people whose scores could expire Jan. 1 under the new testing program.

“We want people to know that these changes are really happening and they are happening soon and to get all their ducks in a row,” said Katie Jensen, EvCC’s dean of basic and developmental education.

College officials are reaching out through fliers, letters, word of mouth and mention on the reader board at the college’s Broadway entrance.

These days, GED testing is done by appointment and Jensen warns that prospective exam takers should not procrastinate getting ready.

“I think our testing times are going to fill up,” she said.

Instead of five sections, the new GED test will be reconfigured into four: reasoning through language arts, mathematical reasoning, science and social studies. The existing stand-alone essay section will be folded into writing assessments within the language arts and social studies sections, It also will all be done on the computer.

Jessica Cleveland, 25, is a mother of three who quit school after the eighth grade. She hopes she never has to see the new GED exams.

“It scares me,” she said. “I want to be done by then.”

Cleveland has worked in coffee stands and at a pizza restaurant, but believes she needs a GED to get a foot in the door for better-paying opportunities.

“I want an education so my kids have a good role model to look up to, so they don’t drop out of high school and can see where I went wrong,” she said.

Devona Fields, 31, is married and has three children.

As they get older, she hopes to find a job to help with family expenses and figures a GED could be a big help.

Fields has passed two of the five GED exams.

Her husband, Wilson Fields, recently earned his GED and is taking pre-college math to prepare for college courses.

Wilson Fields tries to encourage Devona with each subject she passes.

Devona resists patting herself on the back.

She still must get through the math test, which gives her anxiety.

“I will cheer and celebrate when I have all the scores back,” she said.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446; heraldnet.com.

About the GED

To learn more about GED preparation help at Everett Community College, call 425-388-9291 or email www.everettcc.edu/ged.

For opportunities at Edmonds Community College, call 425-670-1593 or email devediv@edcc.edu.

Traffic Revision on Marine Drive

Two upcoming construction projects will affect traffic on Marine Drive in Marysville between I-5 and the Quilceda Creek Bridge. Both are Snohomish Public Works Projects.

Sidewalk ramps on the north side of Marine Drive will be upgraded to current American with Disabilities Act standards at 31st Avenue NE and 33rd Avenue NE. Work will begin on Monday, July 15, and will require single lane closures between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day, Monday through Friday, for up to two weeks.

Marine Drive will be paved from I-5 west to the Quilceda Creek Bridge. Cemex is this year’s contractor for the county’s overlay program. The work will require coordination with several cities. The schedule is not yet finalized, but work is likely to begin after August 19 and last for approximately three days, weather permitting. All work will take place between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.. Single lane closures will be in affect. A variable message sign will notify citizens one week before the project begins.

Access to businesses will remain open at all times, and construction crews will make every effort to minimize the impacts.

We ask for your patience during construction. Thank you!

For information about this and other projects that may affect travel on county roads, visit www.snoco.org or email questions and comments to transportation@snoco.org.

Lake Washington sockeye count nears 150,000

People flock to see returning sockeye at The Ballard Locks fish viewing window

Mark Yuasa, The Seattle Times

The Lake Washington sockeye counts remain steady, and show no sign of dropping for now.

The updated run size of 147,240 sockeye through Thursday, July 11, is now just a little less than 7,000 fish ahead of the 2006 run during this same time frame, which was the last time a sport fishery was held in the large urban watershed. The preseason forecast this summer was 96,866.

The peak return time is usually between July 4 and July 12.

Last summer’s return of 145,815 shattered the preseason forecast of 45,871, and more than 20-million fry were released into the lake earlier this spring.

State Fish and Wildlife met Thursday (July 11) via a conference call with Muckleshoot, Suquamish and Tulalip tribal fisheries managers to review the Lake Washington sockeye run. The plan is to discuss the sockeye situation very soon with state Fish and Wildlife director Phil Anderson.

The director will be briefed on the technical group’s new management objective, which calls for an escapement spawning goal as low as 200,000. The current spawning escapement goal is 350,000, which has been in place at least three or four decades.

Concerns at this point are the sockeye returns appear to be declining, and looks like it peaked a week ago, but that could still climb or continue in a downward trend. Others discussed the warm water once the sockeye cross over the Locks, and into the thermal barrier between Lake Union and Lake Washington that creates a dire situation for fish.

Once the director is briefed and the tribal managers also meet, then another co-manager discussion will likely occur at some point next week.

If a reduction is eventually approved, and if the run continues to move toward and above that 200,000, then a really small fishery could still be possible. State managers call this a step harvest rate approach.

The question is whether this new policy would be agreed for three or four years, and be a test drive to the change in management as well as working out sticky topics like mitigation and hatchery issues.

The earliest time frame to have a possible fishery would be later this month, and it is likely fisheries managers will not make any decisions for at least a week or so.

Based on the latest numbers – adjusted for tribal C&S fisheries below the locks – the final run will end up between 175,000 and 225,000.

Single-day counts have looked like this since counting began on June 12 it was 2,778; June 13, 2,424; June 14, 1,285; June 15, 2,430; June 16, 3,081; June 17, 3,603; June 18, 3,851; June 19, 4,638; June 20, 2,961; June 21, 3,296; June 22, 10,782; June 23, 12,936; June 24, 4,545; June 25, 6,021; June 26, 5,577; June 27, 4,641; June 28 5,314; June 29, 9,084; June 30, 9,182; July 1, 51,35; July 2, 5,194; July 3 5,185; July 4, 3,309; July 5, 3,257; July 6, 2,988; July 7, 6,543; July 8, 3,791; July 9, 4,532; July 10, 4,748; and Thursday, July 11, 4,130.

Just to compare, here are the cumulative totals of counting from past years:

2006: 247; 803; 1,217, 1,975; 2,606; 3,179; 4,656; 6,623; 9,660; 12,785; 16,162; 20,840; 24,030; 29,158; 33,407; 37,917; 44,168; 53,334; 60,808; 70,016; 75,996; 79,476; 81,368; 85,638; 89,605; 97,431; 109,226; 119,495; 129,342; and 140,723 (453,543 was the final season total).

2007: 412; 892; 1,343; 2,058; 2,907; 3,467; 4,302; 6,595; 8,390; 9,795; 11,048; 13,013; 15,484; 17,604; 20,824; 22,692; 24,033; 26,148; 27,196; 27, 769; 29,180; 31,516; 33,236; 34,761; 37,117; 39,459; 40,160; 42,551; 43,348; and 43,927 (69,271 was the final season total).

2008: 236; 570, 894; 1,411; 1,774; 2,173; 2,785; 3,653; 4,530; 5,437; 6,577; 8,439; 9,752; 11,068; 11,564; 13,558; 15,509; 16,781; 17,910; 19,012; 19,012; 20,275; 21,443; 22,810; 23,726; 24,223; 24,969; 25,568; 26,187; 27,073; and 27,915 (33,702 was the final season total).

2009: 299; 825; 1,322; 1,797; 2,425; 2,880; 3,520; 3,931; 4,394; 5,064; 6,190; 7,057; 7,686; 8,156; 8,702; 9,414; 10,279; 11,296; 12,124; 12,933; 13,606; 14,306; 14,839; 15,494; 16,182; 16,735; 17,447; 17,945; 18,242; and 18,434 (22,166 was the final season total).

2010: 625; 1,027; 1,673; 2,342; 3,296; 4,194; 5,531; 6,756; 8,119; 9,475; 12,679; 15,656; 18,094; 20,616; 22,433; 27,449; 32,012; 36,538; 40,00; 45,518; 48,535; 50,789; 57,555; 62,012; 72,169; 79,600; 82,425; 86,421; 89,801; and 95,758 (161,417 was the final season total).

2011: 304; 563; 866; 1,218; 1,866; 2,512; 3,134; 3,452; 4,177; 5,319; 6,297; 7,221; 9,175; 11,011; 12,531; 13,794; 14,659; 14,969; 15,217; 15,612; 16,016; 16,913; 20,463; 23,824; 25,599; 26,596; 27,460; 29,131; 30,507; and 31m354 (43,724 was the final season total).

2012: 1,633; 2,320; 2,852; 5,035; 8,097; 9,821; 11,337; 13,577; 19,999; 23,546; 25,385; 27,628; 31,368; 37,191; 38,971; 42,701; 47,781; 50,565; 57,094; 59,036; 63,575; 69,340; 78,940; 85,072; 93,563; 99,661; 103,639; 109,974; 113,556; and 118,918 (145,815 was the final season total).

The last time Lake Washington was open for sport sockeye fishing was 2006 for 18 days with a return of 458,005 fish, the longest since 1996 when it was open 25 days. Other dates a fishery was held included 2004, 2002, 2000 and 1996.

Learn how to catch pinks this summer at Tulalip Cabela’s clinics this weekend

Mark Yuasa, The Seattle Times

More than six-million pinks are expected to migrate into the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound this summer, and the Cabela’s Tulalip Store at 9810 Quil Ceda Blvd. in Tulalip is hosting a pink salmon fishing seminar July 13-14.

Seminar schedule each day is: 11 a.m., Fly Fishing for Pinks by Mike Benbow; 12:15 p.m., Successful River Techniques for Pinks by Jennifer Stahl; 1:30 p.m., Catching Pinks with Dick Nite Spoons by Jon Blank; 2:45 p.m., Puget Sound Pink Fishing by Nick Kester and Ryan Bigley; 4 p.m., Tying Your Own Pink Salmon Jigs; and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Smokin’ Pinks and Kids Casting.

For more information, go to www.cabelas.com/tulalip.

Mash-Ups Star in a Homage to American Indians

Jeffrey Gibson Injects Visual Pizazz Into Found Objects

“Freedom” uses tepee poles, rawhide lacing, artificial sinew, buffalo hide, acrylic paint, wool, glass and plastic beads, sterling silver and turquoise.

Karen Rosenberg, The New York Times

“Jeffrey Gibson: Said the Pigeon to the Squirrel” is the type of show that’s perking up the once-sleepy National Academy Museum. It inaugurates a new biennial program of solos by emerging artists, expanding on smaller efforts to highlight young, living artists (Phoebe Washburn’s spiraling nest of scrapwood in the rotunda, for example).

There are a few glitches with this one, however. One is that the Academy hasn’t yet figured out how to handle ultracontemporary art with the ease of a MoMA or a Whitney. (This show looks a lot like a commercial gallery exhibition, but its texts seem to be pitched at graduate students.) Another is that Mr. Gibson’s art, though promising, falls short of its potential.

Mr. Gibson, an abstract painter who often works on animal hides in homage to his American Indian heritage (he is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and is half Cherokee), is certainly an interesting choice. His work points to worlds of intensive, disciplined art making beyond the walls of this Academy, or any academy.

It also embodies two sweeping trends in contemporary art: feverishly bright geometric abstraction and the creative reuse of found objects. The animal hides are stretched over antique mirrors and ironing boards, and even wrapped around fluorescent light tubes in an obvious nod to Dan Flavin.

In his catalog essay the show’s curator, Marshall N. Price, describes Mr. Gibson’s work as a “mash-up” or “remix.” The show’s playful title, he says, imagines a “dialogue between two urban animals as characters in a contemporary creation myth.”

Nonetheless, the paintings and their supports don’t always interact in any way that generates sparks. “Freedom,” for example, simply carries forward the indigenous conventions of the parfleche and the travois. (The parfleche is a carrying case made of animal hide, often adorned with geometric designs; the travois is a frame of long tepee poles, used to transport the parfleche on horseback.) Mr. Gibson’s version is exuberantly decorative, with beaded fringe and a weblike pattern of painted triangles, but then so are objects made and shown in a more traditional tribal context. A show last year at the gallery Participant made this point neatly with collaborations between Mr. Gibson and more specialized American Indian artists.

Other works — especially the ones made with antique mirrors as supports — have plenty of visual pizazz but are weak conceptually. The painting-as-mirror conceit feels a bit stale, and they rely too heavily on the thrift shop eclecticism of the mirrors, with their different carved and cast frames, to offset a formulaic painterly vocabulary.

Also problematic are the fluorescent light sculptures, which cover the bulbs with colored gel and encase them in acrylic tubes that are then wrapped in deer hide. On a material level, Mr. Gibson is onto something here: the hide softens the light, making the sculptures look less like Flavins and more like ravers’ glowsticks. But they still read as pastiches, especially if you aren’t aware of Mr. Gibson’s interest in rave culture.

He is certainly capable of variety and invention, as his drawings series “Infinite Sampling” suggests; its 55 configurations of pencil, watercolor, thread and tape have a kind of shamanic flow and intensity.

Something of that magic makes its way into the “shield paintings,” executed on hide stretched over ironing boards, which are by far the best of the painted works here. Their sharply angular compositions allude to European early Modernist movements, like Orphism and Rayism, but the curved contours of the boards foster all sorts of other associations: the surf-inspired art of 1960s Los Angeles, or the early shaped canvases of Frank Stella, or, as the titles suggest, heraldic armor.

Also intriguing are the punching bags bedecked with sequins, beads and tin shingles, wrapped in pieces of “repurposed” paintings. They have the festive, performative appeal of Nick Cave’s “Soundsuits”; one, “She Walks Lightly,” is placed close to an air-conditioning vent so that its fringed skirt sways ever so gently.

In the catalog Mr. Gibson recalls his inspiration for the piece: a performance by the dancer Norma Red Cloud. “She moved gracefully,” he writes, “so that the jingles all moved in unison and made the most beautiful sound: even, continuous, confident.”

The sculpture conveys that powerful impression and more, and suggests that dance — or movement of some kind — may be the next step for this talented artist who hasn’t quite hit his stride.

“Jeffrey Gibson: Said the Pigeon to the Squirrel” runs through Sept. 8 at the National Academy Museum, 1083 Fifth Avenue, at 89th Street; (212)369-4880, nationalacademy.org.

Schimmel Sisters to Attend ESPN’s ESPYs Award Show July 17th

Brent Cahwee, NDNSports.com

LOS ANGELES – Shoni Schimmel and younger sister Jude will be in attendance for the 2013 ESPN’s ESPYs Award show slated later this month on July 17th in Los Angeles, California.

Jude and Shoni Schimmel during the Sweet 16 round of the women’s NCAA basketball tournament. – photo by Rhonda LeValdo

The annual award show highlights many of the past year’s defining sports moments in which fan voting determines the award winners in each category. The University of Louisville Cardinal’s women’s basketball team is up for the “Best Upset” of the year award for the game in which they defeated, then number one and defending national champions Baylor Bears, in the Sweet 16 round of the women’s NCAA tournament. The game was highlighted by an acrobatic layup by Shoni in which she took on player of the year Brittney Griner in what became an ESPN top 10 highlight for the tournament.

Competing for the same award category will be Florida Gulf Coast University’s upset win over the Georgetown Hoya’s in the men’s NCAA tournament, Texas A&M over Alabama from college football, and the Pacquiao vs Marquez “Champion of the decade” fight in which Marquez was the victor.

Although the Lady Cardinal team was selected for this award, not all of the Cardinal squad will be an attendance. Current head coach Jeff Walz will attend along with Shoni & Jude, Sara Hammond, Bria Smith and Antonita Slaughter.

“It’s exciting to know that Shoni and Jude were able to play in a game of this status. I think it will be an upset that people reflect on for many years not only in Women’s basketball, but also in the sports world in general,”

said Rick Schimmel, the father of the Schimmel sisters.

“Louisville beating Baylor was as big an upset as anyone could ever imagine. It was a thrilling game to watch and it’s exciting to know that they are being nominated for an ESPY for their victory over the Player of the Year and the defending National Champion.”

This year’s host for the ESPY’s will be Jon Hamm who will be accompanied by the usual all-star lineup of top athletes and entertainers.

Voting for the ESPY’s will continue all the way up until the start of the award show and end at 9:00 pm eastern time. Anyone wishing to place a vote for the Schimmels and the Louisville Cardinals for the “Best Upset” of the year award can do so by visiting the ESPY’s voting website at espn.com/espys »

Dogs have their day at Marysville Poochapalooza

Sarah Weiser / Herald file photo, 2011 Jaden Curtis, then 1, of Snohomish, reacts as Francy, an Irish wolfhound, licks him during the Best Kisser Contest at Poochapalooza at Strawberry Fields Athletic Park in Marysville in July of 2011.

Source: The Herald

MARYSVILLE — The seventh annual Marysville Poochapalooza dog festival is planned from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Strawberry Fields Park, 6100 152nd St. NE in Marysville.

Snohomish County’s largest dog event includes a fashion show for rescue dogs, canine flying disc tournament, flyball exhibitions, pie-eating and pet contests that give dogs their moment to shine.

“This year, we’re adding our ‘Running of the Wieners’ wiener dog races to the schedule, and invite dachshund owners to bring out the champion in their dogs,” said Leslie Buell, Poochapalooza founder and coordinator, in a news release. “See these energetic low-rider pups give it their all for trophies, prizes and glory.”

Poochapalooza is free, but a suggested $5 per person donation provides goodie-filled “wag bags” to the first 400 visitors. All proceeds support Strawberry Fields for Rover Off-Leash Park, which is maintained year-round by Marysville Dog Owners Group volunteers.

The pie-eating contests and fashion show will be emceed and sponsored by Dining Dog Café and Bakery of Edmonds and owner Dorothy Moore.

Food and refreshments will be sold by the Marysville Kiwanis Club in support of youth programs, and by other vendors. Parking is free. Rare Birds and Rosemary will provide live music from 4-5 p.m.

Visit the Poochapalooza website at http://poochapalooza.org for forms and schedule. For more information, contact Leslie Buell at 360-651-0633, email labuell@frontier.com. The event[‘]s Facebook page is www.facebook.com/poochapalooza.

19 options for fun this weekend

Planes, kangaroos, music, theater, festivals and much more

Photo by Jay Koh"Chicago" is showing in Everett this weekend. — Photo by Jay Koh
“Chicago” is showing in Everett this weekend.

Source: The Herald

For dogs and their people: Poochapalooza is Saturday in Marysville. This party has music, flyball, exhibitions, contests and — new this year — wiener dog races. Read all about it here.

Live music: Everett Music Initiative has show tonight in Everett. Seattle’s blues rock duo My Goodness will play on the outside patio at Sol Food Bar & Grill. Also playing are Portland’s Tango Alpha Tango and Seattle’s Prism Tats. Tickets are $12 at the door and this show is all ages. Doors open at 8 p.m. with music starting around 9 p.m. More info here.

Musical: Our reviewer has glowing things to say about Village Theatre’s “Chicago.” It shows all weekend and various other days until July 28. Read more here.

Local movie: Check out the locally made movie “Imagination Thief” at a screening on Friday and Saturday at Historic Everett Theatre. Read more in our story here.

Waves: Pro wakeboarders will show off their skills from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday at Lake Tye in Monroe.

Up in the sky: The Arlington Fly-In continues Friday and Saturday. There will be daily air shows, hot air balloons, vendors, bouncy house and exhibits. Get more info here.

Wine: Sunsets in Snohomish, a wine tasting event, is from 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday. There will also be shopping and dining specials. Click here to buy tickets or for more details.

Roo to you: Meet a real live joey and learn about kangaroos at the Monroe Library from 2 to 3 p.m. on Saturday. Cameras are welcome. Quiet is required. Click here for more details.

Improv: A family-friendly improv show is Saturday in Duvall. The Cascade Community Theatre will put on a show at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. No two shows are the same because the audience helps direct the action. Get more information here.

A Shindig: The Sultan Shindig is Friday and Saturday in downtown Sultan. The event celebrates Sultan’s logging history and includes a carnival, food, crafts and live entertainment. A logging contest includes spar-pole climbing and ax throwing. There also is a parade. Click here for more info.

Music on the loop: The Mountain Loop Music Festival is noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday in Old School Park, 1026 Alvord St., Darrington. There will be local music, a barbecue and old-fashioned carnival games. For more information call 360-436-0308.

Ultimate flea market: Junk in Trunk is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday at 1015 State Ave., Marysville. Shoppers can buy garage sale items, tools, vintage, antiques, collectibles, crafts and more from more than 60 vendors. Details are here.

Pinks are running: Get information from experts about fishing for humpies on Saturday and Sunday at the Tulalip Cabela’s. Learn more in Wayne Kruse’s column here.

Meow: Find a new friend at a Meow in Mukilteo from noon to 3 p.m. on Saturday at the Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Avenue. Cats from many shelters and rescue groups will be at the event. Get more information here.

Festival: The Mill Creek Festival and Street Fair is Saturday and Sunday. You’ll find live entertainment, Kids’ Korner, arts and crafts; main stage and a beer garden. A free shuttle is available from Jackson High School. Learn more here.

Art: Art by the Bay is Saturday and Sunday at the Stanwood-Camano Community Fairgrounds, 6431 Pioneer Highway. There will be concerts, fine arts, garden art. Parking and admission are both free. Get more information here.

Outdoor tunes: Ryan McKasson and Dave Bartley, who play traditional Scottish music on fiddle and guitar, will perform at the West Beach amphitheater at Deception Pass State Park at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The concert is free but you’ll need a Discover Pass to park. Get more info on this, and other park events, here.

Cannonball! A Cannonball and Belly Flop Contest is at 6 p.m. Friday at Yost Pool, 9535 Bowdoin Way, Edmonds; $5 entry fee. Learn more here.

Hoops: A 3-on-3 “Main Street Madness” Basketball Tournament is 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at 15720 Main St., Mill Creek. Youth divisions third through eighth grades play in morning and adult divisions play in afternoon.

Student Loan Rate Increase Impacts Neediest Native Students Most

Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today Media Network

With the U.S. Congress’ failure to curb vastly increasing student loan rates, Native American college students are on par to become some of the greatest harmed in the nation.

Rates on new federal subsidized student loans doubled from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent July 1 after Republicans blocked legislation that would have maintained lower student loan interest rates. That means it will take much longer for students to pay back loans after graduation, and they will be saddled with debt for much longer.

Carrie Billy, president of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, says that this situation is especially dangerous for Native American students, since for many taking out federal student loans is unavoidable—especially for those who choose to attend public or private universities or who go on to graduate school after attending tribal colleges or universities, many of which do not offer advanced degrees.

“For these American Indian students—who have some of the lowest family income rates in the country and who will return to their reservation communities to work after graduation—doubling the interest rate on their loans could mean the end of their education,” Billy says. “They simply will not continue. They cannot afford to carry such a heavy financial burden.”

Billy also makes the case that high interest rate loans not only harm students and their families, they also hurt the economic progress of tribal nations and the country as a whole. “[E]very student we lose is one less student contributing to the rebuilding of our tribal economies and contributing to America’s future workforce,” she says.

Quinton Roman Nose, executive director of the Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, predicts that costlier student loans will cause major problems for Indian college students.

“The student loan situation is even more detrimental to Native American students, especially if the student quits school and then defaults,” Roman Nose says. “They are put in a Catch 22 situation where they probably won’t be able to get a job that’s going to give them a chance to earn a living and make their student loan payments.”

On top of this, Roman Nose says that some colleges are not helping Native American students become aware of the long term effects of taking out student loans.

“With the loan interest rates subject to rise for all students, it creates a larger burden for our Native American students,” he warns, saying that financial education is especially important for such students.

Attempts to block the rate increase have currently stalled in the U.S. Senate, with S.1238, the Keep Student Loans Affordable Act of 2013, failing by a procedural vote of 51 to 49 on July 10. The bill needed to get 60 votes to proceed to debate. It would have kept the interest rate on federal subsidized Stafford student loans at 3.4 percent for an additional year.

Democrats have vowed to continue the effort to maintain lower rates. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) is one who has been working to prevent the increases through reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. “The Higher Education Act, the appropriate vehicle to change the way interest rates are calculated, doesn’t expire until the end of this year,” Heinrich said in a statement. “Passing a year extension gives Congress the time to consider all the proposals in the context of containing college costs, not just loan rates.”

After voting for the failed Keep Student Loans Affordable Act, a bill he cosponsored, Heinrich added, “Earning a college degree shouldn’t be a luxury, but something that every American family can afford… We need to give students a fair shot at succeeding in a tough economy, not saddle them with debt.”

Republicans are currently supporting a proposal that would reset interest rates each year, even as they rise–“a move that could cause student loan rates to more than double over the next 10 years, burdening students and families with more debt,” Heinrich said.

Billy, meanwhile, says that AIHEC and other Native education groups are currently working with national partners, led by the American Council on Education, to urge Congress to take action immediately helping to ensure that all Americans, including American Indians, have access to high-quality and affordable higher education.

“A key tool in making postsecondary education accessible and successful is affordable student loans,” Billy says.