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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2012
Judge upholds city’s ban on medical pot gardens BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
A King County Superior Court judge upheld the city of Kent’s ban on medical marijuana collective gardens. Judge Jay White issued his ruling on a summary judgment mo-
tion by the city on Oct. 5 in court at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. “We won the entire case,” said Deputy City Attorney Pat Fitzpatrick during a phone interview. “I was pleased. We expected that result. But we have to acknowledge it’s a complicated matter.”
Steve Sarich, a medical marijuana supporter who filed the lawsuit against the city in June in an effort to prohibit the city from enforcing its ban on collective gardens, said he also expected the ruling. “We were disappointed but not surprised,” said Sarich during a phone interview. “And it’s not dis-
couraging. We were prepared for whatever judgment came down.” Sarich, one of several plaintiffs on the initial lawsuit filed after the Kent City Council passed in June its ban on medical marijuana collective gardens, said they would appeal within a few days to either the state Court of Appeals or the
state Supreme Court. “In all the case laws we cited they were not won instantly,” Sarich said. “They were all won in the Court of Appeals or Supreme Court. We could be in Supreme Court in as quickly as three [ more GARDENS page 4 ]
SKATE AMERICA COMES TO KENT
Businesses, ShoWare hope event makes a big impact
Mark Hohn holds a package of dead ‘zombie bees’ that he discovered at his Kent home. TRACEY COMPTON, Reporter
Kent man causes buzz with discovery of ‘zombie bees’
BY STEVE HUNTER shunter@kentreporter.com
Downtown businesses, Kent Station and the ShoWare Center each hope to capitalize on the anticipated large crowds Hilton HHonors Skate America brings to the city. The 2012 International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series Oct. 1921 at the ShoWare will draw 52 of the top international skaters and early projections of up to 15,000 fans. A complete “We see 15,000 people fan guide to coming to Kent as huge to Skate America our businesses,” said Barb Smith, executive director of the Kent Downtown Partnership (KDP). “It could be a huge financial boost.” The KDP is a nonprofit group that helps promote downtown businesses. Smith sees Skate America as a great opportunity to
BY TRACEY COMPTON
INSIDE
[ more SKATE AMERICA page 4 ]
tcompton@rentonreporter.com
Two-time defending Skate America champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White will kick off the season at the ShoWare showdown. COURTESY PHOTO
ICE DANCING CHAMPS LEAD STRONG LINEUP BY MARK KLAAS mklaas@kentreporter.com
Golden performances in the Skate America showcase have become somewhat routine for the Meryl Davis and Charlie White juggernaut. The national event often brings
out the best in the country’s most decorated ice dancing team, a titlewinning machine from Michigan that is poised to open the competitive figure skating season next weekend at the ShoWare Center. Technically sound and swift, the
reigning four-time U.S. national champions are shooting for a threepeat in the Hilton HHonors Skate America. “It’s going to be a good, early test,” said White, 24, who along with [ more DANCERS page 14 ]
After being the most recent man to report “zombie bee” sightings in Washington state, Kent’s Mark Hohn has received a slew of attention from throughout the world. First on the scene was the Seattle Times, followed by three local TV stations. Then the amateur beekeeper was visited
Kent schools capture international acclaim for video creations BY TRACEY COMPTON tcompton@renreporter.com
Three Kent schools have been recognized in the International Student Media Festival
by National Public Radio’s KUOW and also KJR radio. He found an article on London’s Daily Mail science page and also the original Times article translated into about six different languages. “So yeah, it was a pretty big deal,” Hohn said. “It made the Washington Post; it was on CNN.com and USA Today.” So what are these [ more BEES page 5 ]
for student-created video projects. Projects from Pine Tree Elementary School, Meeker Middle School and Kent Mountain View Academy will be among the honorees at the awards ceremony Nov. 1-3 in [ more AWARDS page 5 ]