Wednesday, February 11, 2015 | 75 cents
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Public parking problems at city justice center
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Bonney Lake council considers new ordinance By Ray Still Staff Writer
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Weather The forecast for today, Wednesday, calls for fog and highs near 60 with light winds. Overnight lows to 43. Thursday is a chance for rain and Friday calls for partly sunny and highs to 59 and lows to 43. Saturday and Sunday’s forecast calls for partly sunny with highs to 56 and lows to 43.
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Art too hot to touch
Terry White from the Bonney Lake Senior Center shapes her glass art at the Tacoma Glassblowing Studio. The seniors made their own unique glass art, which will be displayed at the senior center after Valentine’s Day. Photo by Ray Still
After an incident involving a private vehicle overstaying its welcome in Bonney Lake’s Justice and Municipal Center parking lot, the City Council planned to vote on an ordinance restricting the parking lot to city and library use only. A discussion of the ordinance took place during the Feb. 3 council workshop, and the ordinance was forwarded to the Feb. 10 meeting for a vote. City administrator Don Morrison said during the workshop that he was recently approached by a resident and asked about whether the city could tow the vehicle, which had remained in the same parking space for four days. W hen Mor r ison checked the city code, he found the city had no
authority to tow the vehicle. The vehicle was eventually moved, presumably by its owner, but the incident prompted Morrison to ask, “What do we do if people use the parking lot just for park and ride or residents use it for their extra cars?” The council’s current solution is to put up signs at both entrances of the parking lot alerting drivers of the new restriction, and that overnight parking would also be prohibited. As the ordinance is currently written, City Attorney Kathleen Haggard said the city would be able to ticket vehicles that are parked in the lot overnight. However, the ordinance would need to specifically identify the parking lot as a tow-away zone if the council wanted the ability to remove improperly parked vehicles.
Washington’s smoke signals: History of hemp By Rebecca Gourley Covington Reporter
W
ith the passage of I-502 in 2012, development of marijuana legislation and marijuana research has surged to unprecedented levels. In an attempt to clearly translate new laws and research, the Reporter and Courier-Herald will exam-
Wedding
ine these issues in a fourpart series. Part three of this series tackles the history of hemp and the causality of marijuana prohibition. Hemp is neither a drug nor a hallucinogen, but it’s still considered a controlled substance by the federal government. However, a combination of new federal and state laws passed in the last year could eliminate
Deadline: February 11 @ 5pm, Published: February 18 2015
PLANNING GUIDE
restrictions on growing hemp in Washington. In the early 1600s, hemp was used as legal tender in what is now Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, according to the Public Broadcasting Service Frontline website. The Virginia Assembly made it a requirement for farmers to grow hemp because of its versatility. That changed in 1970
when hemp was lumped with marijuana and put onto the Controlled Substances Act. Until February 2014, no one has been allowed to grow hemp in the U.S. because it was considered a Schedule I drug, alongside its cousin, pot. Before that happened, hemp was used to create rope, sails and clothing. In
SEE HEMP, PAGE 13
Deadline: February 18 @ Noon, Published: February 25
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