Two down, three to go
Lt. Ehren Watada has just been handed some good news. Kind of: Instead of the potential of a six-year sentence, the maximum he could face is four. That’s because the Army has dropped two charges of conduct unbecoming against the junior officer that were to be heard at his Feb. 5 Ft. Lewis court martial.
The charges were tossed aside in exchange for Watada agreeing to, beforehand, the veracity of statements he’d made to a pair of reporters, both of whom had been subpoenaed. Watada’s willingness to stick to his reported claims of the Iraq War’s illegality means the reporters won’t be called to testify.
Even so, Watada still faces two other counts of conduct unbecoming, along with one count of missing troop movement. Together, they carry a maximum penalty of four years in a military jail.
—Rosette Royale
Nuclear guilt
A Kitsap County jury has found the “Ground Zero 3” guilty of disorderly conduct after their arrests at separate Trident submarine protests in May and August of 2006.
The three members of Poulsbo’s Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action now face up to 180 days in jail and $2,000 in fines at a sentencing scheduled Feb. 22.
The protesters — Shirley Morrison of Seattle, CarolAnn Barrows of Bainbridge Island, and Brian Watson of Bremerton — were arrested for trying to block the entrance to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, which is home to nine Trident subs and more than 2,300 nuclear weapons.
The three argued that world law sanctions such protests, with the judge allowing interrnational law expert John Burroughs to testify on their behalf. But members of Ground Zero say the verdict won’t deter them: Another protest is planned on Mother’s Day, May 13.
“When we act in a nonviolent manner, and with honesty and purpose, we are never defeated,” says Ground Zero member Glen Milner. “Violence, including the violence of the state, will always fail.”
—Cydney Gillis
Renewal expired
RIP: Dead is the idea to use a state “community renewal” designation to spur economic development and land-use planning in the Rainier Valley.
In a Jan. 18 letter to Leslie Miller, president of the Southeast District Council, Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis noted that a neighborhood engagement process showed “there is not clear support” for the city declaring Southeast Seattle a blighted area, which would free up the locality to use eminent domain, among other tools, to turn things around.
Ceis’ letter notes that the big-picture issue is still valid: The “primary goal” is “ensuring that the economic benefits generated by public and private investments in the Rainier Valley are shared with current residents, businesses, and community institutions.”
Miller says the district council is moving on to other business. Given the fractious debate about the use of eminent domain, “I wasn’t surprised,” she says, at the city’s decision.
—Adam Hyla
For copy of actual issue, go to https://www.realchangenews.org/2007/01/31/jan-31-2007-entire-issue