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Coup puts Medina’s Tom in control of Senate Democrat Sen. Rodney Tom of Medina to be majority leader BY CARRIE RODRIGUEZ REPORTER NEWSPAPERS
Two Democratic state senators, including Sen. Rodney Tom of Medina, announced Monday they will join an unprecedented Republican-led Senate coalition that aims to split power between the two parties. The Majority Coalition Caucus proposes
to have six Democrat-led committees, six committees led by Republicans and three panels that are evenly split between the two parties. Those committees will have no more Rodney Tom than a one-vote majority. As part of the coalition’s arrangement, Sen. Steve Litzow, of Mercer Island, has been selected to serve as chairman of the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee
and the leader on education issues when legislators convene for the 2013 session. Litzow represents the 41st District, which includes part of Bellevue. Tom, who will serve as the coalition’s majority leader, said during a news conference in Olympia that “the public is hungry for us to come together, to work together in a collaborative manner and that’s exactly what this coalition is trying to accomplish. We want a cooperative relationship and making sure that we work across party lines.” Sen. Tim Sheldon, of Potlach, who is also
SEE SENATE, 11
Ex-Microsoft manager hopes to become pot entrepreneur
Bellevue kids get backpacks full of food Program provides enough groceries to last them a week BY SABRINA SQUIRES UW NEWS LAB
Every Thursday morning at 8:30, a group of community members gathers at the Bellevue School District warehouse to help solve the issue of hunger — one student at a time. With grocery bags in hand, volunteers grab snacks, a quart of milk, vegetables, canned foods, fruit cups, raisins — as well as breakfast and lunch items – until the bag is full of sufficient items to last a week, outside of the students’ meals at school. “I was committed to start, even if there were just a few kids,” said Jan Starr, founder of Backpack Meals for Kids. “I didn’t want to wait.”
a conservative Democrat, will serve as the body’s president pro tempore. The coalition currently has 25 Senate members and Tom hopes other Democrats will join. Democrats control the House and incoming governor Jay Inslee is a Democrat. The Senate coalition’s governing principles include promoting job growth in a vibrant economy, ensuring a world class education system and building a sustain-
BY CELINA KAREIVA BELLEVUE REPORTER
Jo Anne Barrett (left), Joan Burns, Kris Kennedy and Lisa Olson fill sacks with a week’s worth of food for needy students in the Bellevue School District. SABRINA SQUIRES, UW News Lab Starr got the idea after attending a meeting of the Bellevue Nourishing Network, an initiative for community members to join together and discuss social issues that need addressing. Starr, along with others, realized Bellevue had a problem and wanted
to fix it. Starr launched the program last March, initially packing bags for just 20 students. According to the Bellevue School District, 22 percent of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Although 4,000 students
in the district qualify for the program, the Backpack Meals for Kids program benefits around 50 students a week. Starr and her volunteers currently serve eight SEE BACKPACKS, 11
Jamen Shively is no one you’d expect to be peddling marijuana. Dressed sharply in a suit and tie, he moves his hands emotively as he discusses his company, Diego Pellicer, which will sell premium grade pot following the passage of Initiative 502 this November. “We’re bringing marijuana from the back alley bagging — who knows where it came from; who knows what it’s laced with, or what got in there accidentally,” said Shively, “to a premium category like a fine Cognac or Brandy.” Shively, a former corporate manager at Microsoft who now lives in Bellevue, says the legalization of marijuana last Thursday marks the beginning of a new era in Washington state. Supported by legal advisers and financial managers — among them Alan Valdes of the New York Stock Exchange — Shively hopes to open storefronts across the state, and eventually nation. “I think the writing is on the wall for the legalization of marijuana,” said Shively, who will market his product for SEE POT ENTREPRENEUR, 5
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2012-12-06 9:47:50 PM