Wednesday, February 11, 2015 | 75 cents
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Nonprofit crew making strides at Expo Center
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Sports.................................Page 4 Views...................................Page 6 Obituaries.........................Page 8 Business.............................Page 12 Classified...........................Page 14
By Kevin Hanson Senior Writer
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A grand experiment is playing out at the Enumclaw Expo Center, one that could have long-term implications for the iconic venue that has boasted great successes in years gone by but fallen on hard times during the past decade. A nonprofit group has taken the reins of leadership, buoyed by the belief that a small, single-minded group can do what the city could not – that is, make the spacious grounds on the city’s eastern fringe a financial success. Enumclaw’s old-timers – in fact, anyone who was around two decades ago – will recall when the King County Fairgrounds was often the place to be. The annual fair brought crowds that jammed the midway, lined up for rides and turned out in big numbers for live entertainment. Summertime concerts were known to draw crowds in the tens of thousands. And few will forget when Lollapalooza came to town. A major development came when King County offered the venue to the city of Enumclaw, an offer that was snapped up. A second turning point was more
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White River’s Mason Hamilton won the 113-pound title at the SPSL 2A subregional wrestling tournament. See Page 4
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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Kevin Jones performs during the Wine and Chocolate Festival Saturday at the Enumclaw Expo Center. The festival featured two days of music, entertainment, wine tasting and chocolate sampling. Photo by Kevin Hanson.
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Smoke signals: exploring myths, facts With 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 newspapers are examining these issues in a series of articles spanning the next few weeks. Part one of this series – published Jan. 28 – addressed the issue of previous criminal convictions for possession of marijuana. Part two (Feb. 4) addressed one of crucial issues surrounding marijuana – is it addictive? This week’s installment looks at other facts and myths.
By Ray Still
The Courier-Herald
While most people gravitate toward the center of the marijuana issue and away from the extreme ends, pro-
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paganda and misinformation is still more easily accessible than trustworthy scientific research. Many questions about the long-term health effects of marijuana go unanswered and are subject to old biases and new assumptions from both sides. So, which facts are solid and which are just smoke?
Is marijuana smoke more carcinogenic than tobacco smoke?
Exactly how healthy, or unhealthy, smoking marijuana can be is still being debated by scientists and researchers. While medical marijuana has been prescribed for general pain and anxiety, the long-term health effects of the drug are relatively unknown. However, the chemical makeup of marijuana is less mys-
SEE MARIJUANA, PAGE 5
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