MARYSVILLE — An employee at a Marysville bar offered to call Terrence Olesen a taxi, but the Everett man allegedly refused and got behind the wheel of his car.
Prosecutors allege that a few minutes later, Olesen, 27, plowed into two pedestrians and a bicyclist on Shoultes Road, then sped away. They allege that Olesen’s blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.
Shane Santos
Shane Santos, 18, died on the road before help arrived. He had multiple broken bones and a fatal head injury. His friends, 20 and 21, also had multiple broken bones. One of the men remains in a wheelchair some eight months later. He must wear a helmet to protect his injured head.
Prosecutors on Thursday filed multiple charges against Olesen for the June 9 incident.
His friend told investigators that he and Olesen had been drinking vodka and orange juice earlier in the day. He estimated that Olesen had consumed about 10 shots of vodka. Later that evening, the friends went to the Home Plate Tavern in Marysville. The witness told investigators that Olesen drank about two 24-ounce beers while at the bar. He reportedly got involved in an argument and patrons escorted him outside to his car. That’s when one of the employees offered to call a cab for Olesen, Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Tobin Darrow wrote.
Olesen reportedly refused the offer and drove his friend to a nearby fast food restaurant. An employee there later told detectives that Olesen was “obviously drunk” and had trouble maneuvering his car through the drive-thru. More witnesses reported seeing Olesen nearly hit at least two other cars. One woman had to pull her vehicle onto the shoulder to avoid a head-on crash with Olesen’s Volkswagen Golf.
Investigators believe Olesen plowed into Santos and his friends as they were on the shoulder of the road. He reportedly pulled over and the passenger exited the vehicle and surveyed the damage. A witness heard the passenger curse before he jumped back into Olesen’s car. They sped off.
Santos was dead when paramedics reached him. His friends were unconscious with obvious broken bones. They were rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
Police followed a trail from the scene. It crossed a roundabout toward 51st Street. An officer found a license plate and a bumper on top of the median. Eventually officers found Olesen’s car, which had crashed into a tree. Olesen reportedly emerged from behind some nearby shrubs.
He allegedly told police he had been driving the car. The officers noted that he smelled of alcohol. Olesen asked the officer if the situation would be “like a vehicle homicide, allegedly?”
Olesen was arrested and taken to the hospital for a mandatory blood draw. Lab results later concluded that his blood alcohol level was .24, Darrow wrote.
Olesen is scheduled to be arraigned later this month.
He has a drunken-driving conviction from 2007. He also has three convictions for driving with a suspended license.
If he is convicted in this case, state law allows for enhanced penalties because of the prior drunken-driving prosecutions.
The state Liquor Control Board has opened an investigation into the Home Plate Tavern in connection with the June 9 incident, a spokesman said Thursday. It isn’t clear when that investigation will be completed.
Pine Ridge Liberation Day Event Turns Into Alcohol-Related Showdown in Whiteclay Nebraska, Says Alcohol Justice
PINE RIDGE, S.D., March 1, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Alcohol Justice is reporting that a serious confrontation over illegal alcohol activity occurred last night on the border between Whiteclay Nebraska and the Pine Ridge Native American Reservation in South Dakota.
“We have so many strong sober relatives that the only option is to continue to heal,” stated activist Olowan Martinez. “We no longer hide our spirituality, we no longer walk in shame of who we are. An escape from the slavery of alcohol is now occurring and soon the mind of the Oglala Lakota will also be liberated.”
Eyewitness reports state a Round Dance celebration for Liberation Day 2013 (in recognition of the 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation) turned into a showdown between Nebraska state troopers and Native Oglala Lakota activists working to end destructive alcohol use when Nebraska State troopers walked onto Pine Ridge sovereign land. They warned Bryan Brewer Sr. , Oglala Sioux Tribal President, that if he stepped into Nebraska he would be charged with trespassing.
A state trooper performed an alcohol Breathalyzer test on Whiteclay Nebraska Sheriff Terry Robbins due to his behavior and results were not made public. Over a hundred Oglala Lakota marched into the town of Whiteclay forcing the state troopers to withdraw from the area. Tribal President Bryan Brewer Sr. stated that “…on Friday March 1st, activists will return with five times as many people to shut down Whiteclay.”
25% of Pine Ridge Reservation youth suffer from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder.
2/3 of Pine Ridge Reservation adults suffer from alcoholism.
What: Liberation Day 2013 Rally to end illegal alcohol activity in Whiteclay Nebraska
When: Friday, March 1, 2013
Where: Border of Pine Ridge South Dakota and Whiteclay Nebraska
Who: Representatives from:
Oglala Lakota Nation
Deep Green Resistance
Community Supporters
Why: To stop the illegal alcohol activity at Whiteclay, Nebraska such as:
Retailer participation in alcohol smuggling into the Pine Ridge Reservation
Trade of alcohol for sex
Loitering at the premises of alcohol retailers with open containers
The inability of Nebraska Liquor Commission to stop illegal retailer activity
International indigenous rights experts looks at the significance of the Idle No More movement, as indigenous peoples engage with nation-states, the UN, and international institutions specializing in transitional justice. (ICTJ)
The goal of the three-day gathering is to collect and share the experiences of indigenous peoples in designing, using, and advocating for truth and justice processes in countries as far apart as Australia, Canada, Colombia, Guatemala, Greenland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, and the United States.
These calls for justice coincide with growing movements by indigenous rights groups, like Idle No More in Canada and the United States, which are drawing global attention.
“Indigenous peoples are among the most affected populations in times of violence,” explains Eduardo González, director of ICTJ’s Truth and Memory program. “Even in places that have not experienced dictatorship or internal conflict, indigenous peoples are affected by systemic, structural violations.”
Against this backdrop of both abuse and silence, some first nations and governments are charting new ground on ways to uncover the truth about the past, redress abuses suffered by indigenous peoples, and begin to heal as part of official truth-seeking policies.
“Around the world, great hopes are pinned on transitional justice measures,” said Pablo de Greiff, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence. “In practice, we are still trying to see how transitional justice measures actually work holistically.”
Chief Wilton Littlechild, who helped open the expert seminar on Wednesday morning, is one of three commissioners of the Canada TRC and chair of the UN’s Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
He is also a survivor of Canada’s Indian residential schools, where, for more than 150 years, Aboriginal children were often forbidden to speak their own languages or practice their own faiths, in an attempt to assimilate them into mainstream Canadian society. Many children were separated from their families and communities and sometimes forcibly removed from their homes.
“Justice necessarily involves considering the role of truth and reconciliation,” said Chief Littlechild, “the right to truth for victims and the right to truth for states.”
Each country’s unique historical and social circumstances will shape how groups and government can work together to address and redress historic injustices against native populations.
In Guatemala, the Historical Clarification Commission completed its work in 1999, finding that over 200,000 people had been killed in Guatemala’s civil war from 1960 to 1996. Approximately 83% of victims were Mayan.
Through its investigations, the commission laid the groundwork for today’s landmark case against former Guatemalan General Efraín Ríos Montt, who will now stand trial on charges of genocide.
Alvaro Pop, one of the international attendees and a Mayan activist who assisted with preparations of the Guatemalan Peace Accords, knows how hard it can be for indigenous peoples to raise their concerns. Although Mayans represent nearly 50 percent of Guatemalans and are a stronghold of the economy, they still live “like strangers in their own land,” remarked Pop.
As the UN reports, “The free expression of Mayan religion, language and other factors continues to be hampered by a shortage of resources and a lack of political will to enforce laws.”
Looking ahead, fundamental questions will need to be answered, including how truth commissions can address violations against indigenous peoples when they are still ongoing. While the expert seminar ends on March 1, discussions will continue, resulting in an unprecedented report to the UN Human Rights Council exploring these issues.
“Because indigenous peoples have experienced violence in several areas of the world, under conflict, dictatorship, or as a result of structural injustice,” said ICTJ Vice President Paul Seils, “we anticipate that there will be a need to adapt the instruments of transitional justice to these situations.”
About ICTJ
The International Center for Transitional Justice works to redress and prevent the most severe violations of human rights by confronting legacies of mass abuse. ICTJ seeks holistic solutions to promote accountability and create just and peaceful societies. For more information, visit www.ictj.org
500+ days after VAWA authorization expired, Senator Murray helps push House Leadership to finally pass the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive bill
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray released the following statement after House Republican leadership finally allowed the Senate’s bipartisan, inclusive Violence Against Women Act to be voted on in the House. The bill, which Murray cosponsored, passed by a vote of 286-138. Passage comes over 500 days after the bill’s authorization expired in late 2011. Since that time Murray has helped lead efforts in Congress to reauthorize an inclusive bill that expands VAWA’s protections to cover more women in at-risk communities.
“This is a long delayed, hard won, and badly needed victory for millions of women, especially those who were told that they weren’t worthy of VAWA’s protections. It means that finally, after over 16 months of struggle, tribal women, the LGBT community, immigrants, and women on college campuses will have the tools and resources this life-saving bill provides.
“There is absolutely no reason that it should have taken this long for the House leadership to come around on a bill that had overwhelming bipartisan support. But passage today is a validation of what we’ve been saying since this bill expired in 2011 – VAWA has never been, and should never be, a partisan bill. That is why I applaud moderate Republican voices in the House who stood up to their leadership to demand a vote on the Senate bill.
“Throughout this process – often through tears – countless women had the courage to come forward and tell painful stories about why this bill was so vital to them. By stepping out of the shadows, they reinforced that they were more than statistics, and they forced those who stood in opposition to this bill to face up to the reality that who a person loves, where they live, or their immigration status should never determine whether they are protected from violence.
“I want to especially thank Deborah Parker of the Tulalip Tribe in my home state. Deborah has been by my side time and again in this effort and repeatedly told her deeply personal story of the violence and abuse women face on tribal lands to illustrate a tremendous unmet need. Along with Deborah, I know that advocates across the country are breathing a sigh of relief today knowing that we finally got this done.
“I’m proud to join the President, the Vice President, Senator Leahy, and the coalition of women’s groups, law enforcement, clergy members, educators, and concerned citizens who’ve repeatedly stood strong to make this moment possible. For nearly two decades VAWA has allowed women to escape lives afflicted by violence and abuse. It’s been one of the privileges of my career to stand strong over the past year and a half to ensure that VAWA’s protections are expanded to include more women.”
Apple Health for Kids offers Native American families a quality, free or low-cost insurance option
More kids and teens in Washington State qualify for health insurance through Apple Health for Kids than ever before. Apple Health for Kids, a free or low-cost health insurance program for kids and teens in Washington State, seeks to provide an affordable health insurance option to families across the state. Today marks the launch of a statewide campaign to enroll uninsured kids and teens in the Apple Health for Kids program.
With Apple Health for Kids, kids and teens under the age of 19 receive quality medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage. In addition to having access to a network of doctors, hospitals and clinics, families will have no copays or deductibles. New federal guidelines mean most families that make up to 300% of the federal poverty level qualify. Premiums range from free to $30 per child, depending upon a family’s household income. No family will pay more than two premiums. For example, a family of four that makes $5,700 per month likely qualifies for $30 per child, per month health insurance premiums.
About one third of the 83,000 uninsured children in Washington live in Pierce, King, Yakima, and Clark counties. While the Apple Health for Kids campaign will include statewide outreach, specifically reaching target audiences in those four counties will be a priority. Special attention will be given to American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Hispanic/Latino populations that currently have lower levels of enrollment. Several partners are assisting with outreach efforts, including Community-Minded Enterprises, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Yakima, Kauffman and Associates, Inc. and Desautel Hege Communications.
“More families than ever are looking for ways to save money, but still provide quality health care to their children, and Apple Health for Kids is the perfect solution,” said Jo Ann Kauffman, MPH, President and CEO of Kauffman and Associates, Inc. “Families, including those who use Indian Health Services, can easily enroll to have access to things like x-rays, immunizations, well-child checks and maternity care.”
The campaign is using an innovative, research-based model to promote easy enrollment and offer one-to-one support for people going through the enrollment process. A new website,myapplehealth.org, has been developed which simplifies the application and links enrollees with representatives who can help them fill out the forms and answer questions they may have. Phone interpreting is available in 240 languages.
Now through June, Apple Health for Kids will be promoted at special enrollment events as well as existing community events like Hoopfest. Employers and childcare providers will also receive information and materials to educate employees and parents about the program. It is important that all families in Washington State know about this quality, free or low-cost health insurance option, so advertising is part of the outreach plan as well.
Families with kids and teens should visit myapplehealth.org or call 1-855-900-3066 to learn more and see if they qualify.
About Apple Health for Kids
Apple Health for Kids (AHFK) was created in 2007 as part of the Cover All Kids law signed by Governor Gregoire in order to expand existing health care programs for children by making it affordable to all families. Since its creation, the program has made innovative changes to application and renewal processes to offer families a single, streamlined enrollment process and comprehensive benefits to all eligible applicants. AHFK has also undergone changes to expand eligibility to more of Washington State’s 83,000 uninsured children, now covering families making up to 300% of the federal poverty limit, regardless of immigration status.
The second Cobell settlement deadline is approaching on March 1. Indian class members must have submitted their applications for the second payments of the settlement, the trust administration class payments, by that date.
“Any claim forms must be postmarked by March 1, 2013,” according to a notice posted on indiantrust.com, the website established by the Cobell lawyers. Claim forms can be found on the site.
In December, historical accounting class payments of $1,000 started going out to beneficiaries who had registered their correct addresses with the federal government, the Cobell lawyers and/or the Garden City Group, the settlement administration company managing the two-part settlement payments process at the direction of the overseeing court.
Some of these payments were sent to wrong addresses, so it is important to contact the Garden City Group to be sure that correct information is in place for the second payment, officials with the National Congress of Americans (NCAI) said during a January conference call with tribal representatives regarding the process.
The number for the Garden City Group is 1-800-961-6109, and their e-mail is info@IndianTrust.com.
NCAI officials estimated that most beneficiaries would receive about $800 under this second payment process, but some could receive more. The calculation is based on the level of activity in beneficiaries’ Indian Money (IIM) accounts, held with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
The Garden City Group is expected to calculate the amount of the second payments, and the Cobell lawyers expect the payments to be sent by fall. Some $265 million of the $3.4 billion overall settlement has been released to date, according to the lawyers. Of that, $1.9 billion was released to the U.S. Department of the Interior to run a land-consolidation program over the next 10 years. Approximately $100 million was scheduled in to be divvied among the lawyers in the case. Some lawyers continue to battle over their share, according to court documents and press accounts. Lead lawyer Dennis Gingold left the case in December.
On December 17, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia appointed Judge Richard A. Levie to become a special master during the payments process. Levie will oversee appeals of payments and other issues surrounding them. Appeals questions should be directed to the Garden City Group.
NCAI Praises Passage of Protections for All Women; Tribal Courts Gain Jurisdiction over Non-Indian Domestic Violence Perpetrators
Bill represents major advance for public safety in Indian Country; Legislation headed to President for Signature
By Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Washington, DC – Today, in a historic vote the House of Representatives passed S.47, the Senate reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), sending the legislation with the tribal provisions supported by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law. NCAI is praising the efforts of the House and the Senate to reauthorize VAWA and the bipartisan support of the Senate version of the legislation in both chambers with resounding votes of 286 – 138 in the House and 78-22 vote in the Senate earlier this month.
“It is with a glad heart and soaring spirit that I celebrate the passage of VAWA. Today the drum of justice beats loud in Indian Country in celebration of the reauthorization of VAWA and we stand in unity with all of our partners and leaders who were unrelenting in support of protections for all women, including Native women,” said Juana Majel Dixon, First Vice President of NCAI, and co-chair of NCAI’s Task Force on Violence Against Women. Juana Majel serves as a Traditional Councilwoman Pauma Band of Mission Indians located within the state of California. “500 plus days is too long to not have a bill for all women in America. For an unimaginable length of time those who have terrorized our women in our most sacred places, in our relationships, in our homes, and on our land, have gone unprosecuted. Now that time has come to an end and justice and security will flourish in these specific instances. We celebrate the protections for all women included in VAWA, including those for Immigrant and LGBT women,” added Juana Majel.
“With this authority, comes a serious responsibility and tribal courts will administer justice with the same level of impartiality that any defendant is afforded in state and federal courts,” said Jefferson Keel, the President of NCAI and Lt. Governor of the Chickasaw Nation, speaking about implementation of the new law. “We have strong tribal courts systems that protect public safety. The law respects tribal sovereignty, and also requires that our courts respect the due process rights of all defendants. My hope is that this new law is rarely used. Our goal isn’t to put people in jail. It is to create an effective deterrent so that our people can lead safe lives in our communities and nations.”
The constitutionally sound tribal jurisdiction provisions in VAWA authorize tribal governments to prosecute non-Indian defendants involved in intimate relationships with Native women and who assault these victims on tribal land. Current federal laws do not authorize tribal law enforcement or tribal courts to pursue any form of prosecution or justice against these perpetrators.
“There were at least five things that came together: an enormous grassroots effort from Indian country; the coalition of the National Task Force to End Domestic Violence; statistics so we could finally show the problem; steadfast leadership from the Department of Justice; and incredible support from so many Members of Congress both Republicans and Democrats,” said Terri Henry, Council Member at Eastern Cherokee and Co-Chair of the NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women spoke of the large collective effort that led to the passage of the Senate version of VAWA. “We really want to thank everyone for their hard work. Now we are going to use this tool to protect Native women from violence.”
“Women and men – Native and non-Native, Senators and Representatives from all backgrounds, and tribal leaders from across Indian Country have all spoken that these injustices must not continue. We intend to keep speaking from our heart and with the law by our side,” added NCAI’s First Vice President Juana Majel Dixon. “We are thankful that there are strong leaders in both the House and Senate that have stood for the protections of Native women, regardless of party politics.”
“Today marks not the end of our efforts at NCAI to combat domestic violence issues that Indian Country faces but an important step along the way. We will remain as dedicated as we have been since we began addressing this issue as an organization. There have been many members of Congress who have stood with tribal nations throughout this effort and they have stayed true to the constitution, to the trust responsibility, and to the truth that tribal nations are the best to address our situations at the local level. Today we advance the protections tribal nations can provide all people, Native and non-Native,” said Jacqueline Pata, Executive Director of NCAI.
Findings show that 34% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be raped in their lifetimes* and 39% of American Indian and Alaska Native women will be subjected to violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes**. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 46% of people living on reservations in 2010 were non-Natives (single race) and 59% of American Indian women in 2010 were married to non-Native men***.
The NCAI Task Force on Violence Against Women was established in 2000 and has been working for thirteen years to protect the lives of Native American women and create more secure tribal communities
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. (2000). Findings from the National Violence against Women Survey.
** Centers for Disease Control. (2008). Adverse health conditions and health risk behaviors associated with intimate partner violence.
***US Census Bureau, Census 2010.
About The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):
Founded in 1944, the National Congress of American Indians is the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization in the country. NCAI advocates on behalf of tribal governments and communities, promoting strong tribal-federal government-to-government policies, and promoting a better understanding among the general public regarding American Indian and Alaska Native governments, people and rights. For more information visit www.ncai.org
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen awarded $7.5 million to early-career scientists engaged in cutting-edge research at the cellular level. The grants are aimed at research projects that are too risky to get funding elsewhere.
Suckjoon Jun was talking with students when the phone rang, so he cut off the call. The phone rang again. On the third try, Jun, a molecular biologist at the University of California, San Diego, picked up the receiver and found Paul Allen’s Seattle foundation on the line.
“I was absolutely astonished,” said Jun, who discovered he would be receiving a $1.6 million grant from the billionaire Microsoft co-founder.
When he applied for funding under the Allen Distinguished Investigators program, Jun figured he was a longshot. The previous winners were mostly seasoned veterans in biomedical research, and he was just starting his career.
But Allen and his foundation have revamped the initiative this year to focus on young scientists with big ideas. Of the five new research projects announced Thursday that will share in a total of $7.5 million, not one is led by tenured professors.
The goal is to provide a career boost for scientists with the potential to make major discoveries, Allen said in a statement.
“I’ve always been drawn to the big open questions of science,” he said. “But the pioneering scientists working to answer them can’t promise quick discoveries and often find it difficult to get funding from traditional sources.”
In addition to Jun, the grant winners are from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC-San Francisco, Stanford and Yale.
Jun will use his grant to study the way cells sense their own size and decide when to divide. “It sounds pretty simple, but we have no clue,” he said.
The research is still at a basic stage, but eventually may help explain the runaway cell replication that leads to cancer, Jun added.
Allen launched his distinguished-investigator program in 2010, the same year he pledged to give away the bulk of his estimated $15 billion fortune.
The program is small compared with Allen’s $500 million investment in the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science, his biggest philanthropic endeavor. Allen also has helped fund a telescope to search for extraterrestrial life and backed the development of a private spaceship.
The distinguished-investigator grants for 2013 all focus on fundamental explorations of cells and their properties, said Susan Coliton, the foundation’s vice president. “Breakthrough science was the key thing for us.”
Markus Covert, of Stanford University, will get $1.5 million over three years to build on his pioneering computer model that replicates the inner workings of a cell.
The main reason cures for cancer and many other diseases remain so elusive is their complexity, Covert said. “Cancer is not a one-gene problem, it’s hundreds of genes, it’s the environment and all kinds of other factors.”
Working with cells in silica, researchers may be able to tease apart those interactions and design new drugs or even engineer bacteria to do useful things, like produce biofuels.
The Allen grant will allow Covert and his colleagues to expand their model from the simplest bacteria to more complicated cells.
And there’s a good chance it won’t come out the way he envisions.
“What I work on tends to be high-risk, high-reward stuff,” Covert said. So it’s particularly gratifying to be recognized by Allen, whose early computer work fit the same mold.
“Here’s somebody who knows what it’s like to be right at the cutting edge and change the world,” Covert said. “So if he thinks it’s worth a shot, that makes me feel great.”
A coal train moves through Seattle en route to Vancouver, B.C. Efforts to bring coal terminals to Washington and Oregon have enlisted some lobbyists and public-relations firms long connected with environmental causes. Photo: Greg Gilbert / The Seattle Times
Several prominent local strategists with “green” reputations are now pushing a set of controversial proposals to make the Pacific Northwest the continent’s biggest coal exporter.
As executive director of Washington Conservation Voters, Bruce Gryniewski helped shape the organization into one of the state’s most influential environmental groups.
Five years after leaving for a consulting firm, Gryniewski has resurfaced as a player in one of the biggest environmental battles in the Pacific Northwest in decades.
Only now he’s working for the other side.
“Our firm has a passion for growing the Northwest economy,” said Gryniewski, explaining his work in support of a proposed new coal port in Longview. He added, “I don’t believe in this eco-McCarthyism view that if you work for coal, you can’t do anything good in the world.”
Gryniewski is among a group of local strategists with “green” reputations hired by coal companies to build support for the Longview facility and four other proposed ports in Washington and Oregon that would ship Rocky Mountain coal to Asia.
The proposals — which would bring hundreds of union-wage jobs and, at least temporarily, hundreds of millions of tons of coal to the Pacific Northwest — have cheered job-hungry workers but enraged environmentalists who are now hoping to use the debate to highlight the harmful effects of global warming.
As the proposals begin a yearslong approval process, the strategists are crafting advertisements, handling media relations, lobbying public officials and getting people to come to hearings or write letters to the editor.
Their firms were described in a recent report by the Sightline Institute, a prominent coal opponent. They include several that are well-known in Democratic circles in Seattle and Portland: Nyhus Communications, Edelman, Berk, ECONorthwest and Smith & Stark Strategic Solutions.
The unusual dynamic has caused a few awkward interactions between traditional allies now turned adversaries, some state lawmakers say. Others argue that the situation illustrates a divide between the union and environmental wings of the Democratic Party.
In interviews, representatives from several of the firms argued the new jobs for the region would outweigh negative consequences from the coal, which they said Asian countries would get from somewhere anyway.
“I think it’s an oversimplification to say that if you don’t meet that demand, it will disappear,” said Lauri Hennessey, a vice president at Edelman who has worked at the Environmental Protection Agency. “The more you dig into the whole complicated issue, I feel very, very proud about being involved.”
As for personal relationships, Hennessey said she believes “it’s very possible to disagree with someone and still respect them.”
But some environmental leaders said reconciliation will be difficult this time simply because of the stakes of the fight.
“This isn’t like being on different sides of a primary or something like that,” said Brendon Cechovic, who now serves in Gryniewski’s old role at Washington Conservation Voters. “This is a completely unprecedented proposal in our state’s history. This is a big deal.”
Port proposals
The “unprecedented proposal” is actually five separate proposals of coal-shipping plans. Each involves different companies and is operating on different timelines.
In Washington, Peabody Energy and SSA Marine want to build the Gateway Pacific Terminal at Cherry Point near Ferndale to ship 48 million tons each year, and Ambre Energy and Arch Coal are hoping to construct the Millennium Bulk Terminal in Longview to ship 44 million tons.
The other three, all smaller, would be in Oregon.
If all five are built, they would ship nearly 150 million tons of coal to China and other Asian countries — making the Pacific Northwest the largest exporter of the fossil fuel in North America.
There now are only two coal berths on the West Coast: in Alaska and southern British Columbia.
The scramble to increase exports stems from rising demand in Asia and declining American reliance on coal power.
But before construction, each proposal must pass a review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the state Department of Ecology and county governments.
Those agencies haven’t even decided the scope of the reviews.
Supporters hope to limit the reviews to the economic and environmental effects on the immediate areas. Opponents want to include factors such as how mile-long trains hauling the coal westward would affect life in towns along the route and how burning coal affects the Earth — which would offer a platform to call attention to harmful effects of climate change.
Public input is part of the process. So supporters are focused on getting as many people on board as possible.
Public relations
That’s the job of the communications firms.
Gryniewski’s firm, Gallatin Public Affairs, is doing public relations for the Longview project. The firm’s point person is Aaron Toso, a former spokesman for then-Gov. Chris Gregoire.
Hennessey’s firm, Edelman, is the voice behind the Alliance for Northwest Jobs and Exports, a coalition of pro-export unions.
Nyhus is involved with another coalition, Move Forward Washington.
“We’re proud of our environmental commitment — the work we’ve done for a variety of sustainable enterprises, from clean technology to green buildings,” said Roger Nyhus, who served as a spokesman for then-Gov. Gary Locke. “I don’t see that being inconsistent with the work that we’re doing here.”
Smith & Stark has done public relations for the project near Ferndale in Whatcom County. Gary Smith said he is personally involved with several environmental groups but doesn’t often represent them professionally.
And ECONorthwest and Berk, which traditionally analyze projects on behalf of environmental groups and municipal governments, each did an analysis of an export proposal paid for by the coal companies.
Strategic hiring
Opponents, who themselves are well-funded and organized, speculated that the coal companies intentionally hired strategists with green reputations.
“If you’ve fought shoulder to shoulder with someone for years on similar causes, it might make your voice carry more weight,” said state Rep. Jeff Morris, a Mount Vernon Democrat whose district is near Ferndale.
Indeed, Gryniewski’s bio on Gallatin’s website highlights his tenure at Washington Conservation Voters and notes that he brings “practical relationships and public policy knowledge to help business interests navigate the often-challenging political and regulatory environment in the Pacific Northwest.”
The coal companies disputed the opponents’ theory.
In a statement, Millennium CEO Ken Miller said his firm chose Gallatin because it is “a bipartisan firm with a successful track record working with brownfield-redevelopment sites and experience permitting large infrastructure projects.”
Regardless of the reason for the hires, state Rep. Reuven Carlyle said he is “deeply disappointed” in the traditionally green strategists now working for the coal companies.
But then the Seattle Democrat paused and said he doesn’t take it personally.
“It’s just one of those realities when hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake,” he said. “This is the gig, and the game we’re in.”
I’m wandering the aisles of Central Co-op, a natural foods market on Capitol Hill, checking its shelves for genetically engineered foods. Once you know what to look for, it turns out those ingredients are everywhere—even here, among the fake meats and packages covered in leafy art, smiling animals, and hand-lettering. They’re in the whole-grain bread, in the veggie burgers, in the peanut-free soy nut butter. You can’t always tell from friendly labels—”100% natural,” “multi-grain,” “fair trade.” But you may be able to tell soon.
Washington State will be voting in November on Initiative 522, which would require food made with genetically engineered ingredients (also known as genetically modified organisms, or GMOs) to be labeled as such at the retail level.
When I set out to research the initiative, I thought I’d end up with a clear and obvious answer about how I felt about it—and what the science says. I was wrong.
I was raised on organic produce, bulk-bin grains, and peanut butter you had to crank by hand; these food-labeling people are my people. But I still wanted to see hard science that backs up the squick factor of vegetables birthed in a petri dish. I wanted studies I could point to, something I could wave around and say, “Here! Here is incontrovertible proof that GMOs are evil! Their curse will last for generations and our grandkids will have four noses, and here, have some organic hummus.” But the smoking gun just isn’t there. Not that the anti-labeling side is all that convincing, either.
Genetically engineered food crops have been around since the 1990s, and they took off rapidly across the United States. Now certain American crops are almost universally GMO: more than 90 percent of soy and sugar beets, and 88 percent of corn, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Modifications are done at the genetic level (mainly by corporations that don’t exactly inspire trust, like Monsanto and Dow Chemical), often to make a crop resistant to a particular pest or herbicide. The FDA regularly approves new GMO plants—and soon, an animal: GMO salmon are on their way.
GMOs aren’t just in the processed food you grab in a stoned midnight run to Safeway. And while a 100 percent organic product can’t contain GMOs, lots of foods we think of as “natural” can and do.
For example, Gardenburger’s package is stamped with a cartoon cow and chicken embracing, and the message “There are no unimportant ingredients. If it’s in here, then it’s got a role to play.” That includes corn- and soy-based ingredients (and remember that nearly all US corn and soy is GMO), and when we e-mailed their parent company, the automated response we got back said that some of their products “do contain biotech ingredients.” In a form letter, the company explained: “It has become increasingly difficult to maintain non-biotech sourcing of the soy proteins.”
Franz Family Bakeries offers a “100% Natural, 100% Whole Grain” loaf of bread, touting its “premium Northwest grown & milled ingredients” and lack of high-fructose corn syrup. We asked Franz about GMOs in their bread, and they “do use cornmeal, soybean oil and canola oil in our products, and most of the corn, soybeans, and sources of canola oil are GMO, so most certainly these ingredients would be genetically modified.”
Even the crazily named I.M. Healthy Chunky SoyNut Butter, which announces on the label that it contains non-GMO soybeans, doesn’t guarantee that other ingredients in the same jar, such as corn-derived maltodextrin, aren’t genetically engineered. And the boxed gluten-free cake mix from Cherrybrook Kitchen contains some ingredients that “are not GMO-free,” the company says.
This isn’t to pick on these companies at all, or the groovy grocers that carry them; it’s just to point out how ubiquitous GMO ingredients are. And if I-522 passes this fall, we’ll be reminded wherever we shop how common they’ve become. Or, on the other hand, the measure could prompt more food producers to eradicate GMOs from their ingredients to avoid the GMO label altogether.
A vast majority of the American public supports labeling foods with GMO ingredients. A 2010 NPR/Thomson Reuters poll found that 93 percent of Americans were on board. Worldwide, more than 60 countries already label foods with GMO ingredients, including members of the European Union, China, Japan, and India.
Still, the opposition to labeling is fierce. In November, Proposition 37, which would’ve mandated labeling of GMO foods, lost on the California ballot after the opposition dumped more than $45 million into a campaign arguing that labeling GMOs would be deceptive, pointless, and expensive. The donor list looked like exactly what you’d expect: Monsanto, Dow AgroSciences, BASF Plant Science, Kraft Foods Global, Nestlé USA, ConAgra Foods.
Here in Washington, there’s already opposition to I-522. The Seattle Times came out strongly against it, saying that “there is no reliable evidence crops containing genetically modified organisms… pose any risks.” The Washington Association of Wheat Growers is opposed as well, saying that mandatory labeling of GMO foods “that are indistinguishable from foods produced through traditional methods would mislead consumers by falsely implying differences where none exist.”
When it comes to the science, people on each side promise they can debunk anything the other side claims to prove. Biotech researcher Dr. Martina Newell-McGloughlin gave compelling testimony at an I-522 hearing in Olympia, saying, “There is practically no domesticated plant or animal today that has not been genetically engineered over the last 10,000 years,” since we’ve been selectively breeding, grafting, and even irradiating foods forever. Today’s precise genetic engineering has been found by all major science and health organizations to be “as safe or safer than” conventional methods, she said. Further, she argued, GMO foods are actually “more thoroughly tested than any in the history of food,” subjected to years of research before they make it to market.
But George Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety, who helped draft I-522, says, “We’re essentially taking the science from the industry for safety,” because the FDA doesn’t do its own pre-market testing, instead signing off on testing done by Monsanto and other companies developing the biotech foods. Dr. Michael Hansen testified in favor of I-522 in Olympia; he works for Consumers Union, the public policy arm of Consumer Reports, and he points to his organization’s long-standing position in favor of mandatory pre-market testing as opposed to the current system of “voluntary safety consultations,” as Consumers Union describes it. In place of that, Hansen says, they support labeling so consumers can at least make informed choices.
Another commonly heard argument is that labeling would burden manufacturers and grocery stores. But initiative spokeswoman Trudy Bialic, who works for PCC Natural Markets, which is running the I-522 campaign, says that’s bogus. GMO labeling would be “no different from any of the other things we keep track of already,” she says. “It did not cost us to add country of origin labeling, it did not make food unaffordable when we added nutrition panels, [and] it did not create a lot of extra costs when we started labeling trans fats.”
I-522 is also written differently than Prop 37. It specifies who’s required to do the labeling—the manufacturers—whereas Prop 37 didn’t. And Prop 37 was roundly criticized as being catnip for tort lawyers, who could claim damages from companies that didn’t properly label. In Washington, I-522 doesn’t allow awards for damages, just a reimbursement of attorney’s fees. Kimbrell says it was “deliberately drafted narrowly” to disincentivize costly lawsuits.
In the end, a lot of this comes down to how hard the food-industry opposition is willing to fight I-522. And weirdly, it turns out that buying some of the hippie products at the co-op may still be supporting the GMO industry. In California, big food companies poured money into the anti-labeling campaign, leaving labeling supporters furious. Angry green websites called for boycotts of GMO-free Silk soy milk (owned by Dean Foods), Kashi cereals (owned by Kellogg’s), Odwalla juice (owned by Coca-Cola), and tons more, since all those larger parent companies wrote checks to fight labeling. Here, as of yet, no counter-campaign to I-522 has filed with the state.
