Western Front - 2001 April 24

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The Western Front
Western Washington University Volume 116' Issue 6 Bellingham, Washington
Mercury
discovered
in Lake
Whatcom
perch, bass
By Joseph Terrell
THE WESTERN FRONT
The Washington State
Department of Health issued
an advisory April 12, warning
Whatcom County residents
that the methylmercury levels
in yellow perch and small-mouth
bass have reached
unsafe proportions for women
and children.
The advisory warned that
smallmouth bass taken out of
Lake Whatcom should not be
eaten.
In addition, the advisory
warned women of childbearing
age and children younger than
6 to limit the amount of yellow
perch they consume.
Mercury is a naturally occur­ring
metal that is expressed in
several forms. Methylmercury,
the most common compound
formed, combines with carbon
to make organic compounds.
It is produced by small
organisms in the water and the
soil.
Methylmercury is highly
toxic.
It can build up in predatory
fish such as tuna, and in this
case, bass and yellow perch
said, Washington Department
of Health employee David
McBride.
Mercury may be harmful to
young children, and its harm­ful
effects may be passed from
a mother to a developing fetus.
These effects may include
brain damage, mental retarda-
See WHATCOM, Page 4
FTAA protesters gather at Arch
Protesters portray the ownership that big bjusiness could have as a result of the FTAA.
ByKenJager
THE WESTERN FRONT
No rubber bullets. No tear gas.
No high-pressure water hoses. No
riots.
A protest amassing nearly 4,000
people at the Peace Arch in Blaine
caused the closure of the border at
the 1-5 crossing Saturday, as
Canadian and U.S. citizens rallied
against the Free Trade Area of the
Americas plan. But that was the
only inconvenience created by the
rally, quenching the fear of Blaine
residents that the protest would
get out of control.
More than 3,100 miles away in
Quebec City, 30,000 protesters
spoke out against the FTAA out­side
the Summit of the Americas
meeting. '
Police in Quebec used tear gas,
rubber bullets and high-pressure
water hoses to push back the pro­testers
after they tore down the
chain link fence that surrounded
the Quebec up-town area. The
fence was erected to keep people
out while the leaders mapped out
the framework of the controversial
free trade agreement.
The FTAA expands on the idea
of the North American Free Trade
Agreement. The newer free trade
plan opens trade to all countries in
the Western Hemisphere, exclud­ing
the communist-run country of
Political cartoonist spurs protest
By Nazkhatoon Riahi
THE WESTERN FRONT
He is short and clumsy. He wears thick framed
glasses, has buck teeth, speaks broken English and is
serving Uncle Sam a plate of "crispy, fried cat giz­zards."
He is the creation of political cartoonist
Patrick Oliphant and the subject of anger and frustra­tion
.by some who saw him in national newspapers
April 9, representing the American hostage situation
in China.
Oliphant spoke at the Mount Baker Theatre Sunday
to start his "Seven Presidents (Make That Eight): The
Art.of Pat Oliphant" exhibit at the Whatcom Museum
of History and Art.
Outside the theater, a dozen protesters, organized
by the Whatcom Human Rights Task Force, gathered
to give information to the entering audience about the
recent controversy, regarding Oliphant's stereotyping
of Asian-Americans.
Many of them wore signs that read "Boycott Bigotry"
and handed out fliers with Oliphant's cartoon.
Joe Deeny, vice chair of the WHRTF, organized the
See OLIPHANT, Page 6
Chris Fuller/ The Western Front
Oliphant demonstrates his ability.
Cuba. The nations'leaders agreed
upon a plan to implement the
FTAA in 2005. •
In Blaine and Douglas, British
Columbia, both northbound and
southbound lanes at the border
crossing were shut down by border
officials between 2 and 6:15 p.m.
The "No Way FTAA March at the
Arch" protest against the free
trade pact filled Peace Arch Park
and the road between the border
crossings. Police diverted traffic to
the truck crossing.
The 'March at the Arch" began
at about 2:15 p.m., with thousands
of people gathering on the Peace
Arch lawn, banging on drums,
cheering, singing and chanting.
Storm water
fee could be
overturned
By Tara Blakeman
THE WESTERN. FRONT
The Bellingham City Council
voted 6-1 Monday to ask the
courts if the ordinance imposing a
storm water fee can legally
appear on the November ballot.
The City Council chambers
overflowed with citizens demand­ing
attention for the pending
storm water referendum.
The proposed referendum elim­inates
the increased Storm and
Surface Water Utility Fee that
home and business owners pay
monthly. Representatives of
Eric Berto/ The Western Front
, . The only disturbance occurred
when eight Canadian citizens
would not remove themselves
from the roadway when the border
officials tried to re-open border to
traffic. They were arrested and
transported to Surrey, British
Columbia, where they face
charges of unlawful assembly on a
public highway.
"I can understand why they sat
down," said Dave Sansone rally
organizer and member of the
Colmena Collective, an anarchist
group in Bellingham. "Civil dis­obedience
acts as a strong state­ment
and they were standing up
See WATER, Page 4
See FTAA, Page 8
IN THIS ISSUE
Front to sponsor AS
election debate
Find details about the
upcoming AS election
debate Thursday.
r •
See information, Page 7.
Professor acts out
Deaf theater professor
Dawn Stoyanoff communi­cates
the art
of acting
through
American
Sign
Language.
See story, Page 12.
For news tips, call (360) 650-3162 or e-mail The Western Front at wfront@cc.wwu.edu http://westernfrontonline.com