Western Front - 2006 January 31

              THE WESTERN FRONT JANUARY 31,2006
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY An independent student newspaper serving the campus community since 1970. ISSUE 7, VOLUME 136
Legislature passes gay rights bill
BY PETER JENSEN
The Western Front
To the elation of gay rights
advocates statewide, the
Washington state Legislature
passed a bill Friday outlawing the
discrimination of gays and lesbians
in housing and employment.
The Senate passed the bill 25-
23 with the support of the majority
Democrats and a lone Republican,
Sen. Bill Finkbeiner of Kirkland.
The House of Representatives-passed
it 60-37 Jan. 20.
The bill, which lawmakers have
tried to pass in similar forms for 30
years, failed to pass in the Senate
last year by one vote.
Gov. Christine Gregoire will
sign the bill today and it will take
effect in June, 90 days after the
current legislative session ends.
"You just can't have the kinds
of discrimination we permitted in
prior generations," said Rep. Fred
Jarrett, R-Mercer Island.
Jarrett, who has a lesbian
daughter, was one of six Republican
representatives to support the bill
in the House. He said Finkbeiner,
as the only Republican senator
to support the bill, was the most
instrumental in its passage.
Finkbeiner voted against the bill
last year because he was the Senate
Minority Leader, Jarrett said.
After relinquishing the position at
the start of this year's legislative
session, he no longer had to vote
along party lines, he said.
"Last year, he voted with his
caucus," Jarrett said. "This year,
in my opinion, he voted with his
conscience."
The bill expands the Washington
Law Against Discrimination to
include sexual orientation. The
law protects Washington residents
from discrimination based on race,
gender, physical disability and
national origin.
Under the expanded law,
employers cannot fire or refuse
to hire people based on their
sexual orientation. It also prohibits
landlords from refusing rent to
people based on sexual orientation.
see LAW, page 3
SMOKING BAN
CHRIS JOSEPH TAYLOR / THE WESTERN FRONT
Casa Que Pasa, known for its world-famous Potato Burrito, allows customers to smoke in its bar
despite the Washington state smoking ban and is now facing a lawsuit from Whatcom County.
County sues Bellingham bar
BY MEGAN SWARTZ
The Western Front
Whatcom County is suing the
owner of Bellingham restaurant
and tequila bar Casa Que Pasa for
refusing to prohibit smoking inside of
his establishment — the first lawsuit
of its kind since the state's indoor
smoking ban.
The county is seeking a court order
in an effort to stop the owner, Abel
Jordan, 33, from allowing smoking
inside his business, said Randall
J. Watts, Whatcom County deputy
prosecuting attorney.
Watts said the county could seek a
maximum of $100 a day in fines from
the first complaint, Dec. 9, 2005, until
the court date. A county judge will set
the court date.
Jordan said he doesn't want to
release names, but he knows of a few
businesses that still allow smoking.
"I'm just the one being targeted for
it," Jordan said. "I am the only one
standing up against this law."
Jordan received a summons from
the county prosecutor's office on
Friday and has 20 days to agree to
appear in court or could face contempt
of court charges, Watts said.
The court will decide on the amount
of the penalty by determining the
amount fine per day and the date when
the violation first occurred, he said.
Initiative 901, the Washington
Clean Indoor Air Act, went into effect
Dec. 8, 2005, after two-thirds of
Whatcom County voters supported it.
The Whatcom County Health
Department received the first
complaint from a customer against
see BAN, page 3
Piping, peat bog
cause flooding
BY RIGIS VINCENTI
The Western Front
Washington state's winter
rainstorms have exposed
problems with pathway
drainage on Western's
campus this year.
Major pathways, such
as the pathway connecting
Carver Gym andRed Square,
are in need of repairs after a
27-day rain spell this winter,
said Rod Walker, temporary
supervisor for University
Outdoor Maintenance.
The department has
the funding to make the
repairs, but is waiting for
drier weather conditions
said William Managan,
the assistant director of
operations for Western's
facilities management
department, but he could
not give a specific date for
the repairs.
"We're in the process,
and a work order has been
sent out," Managan said.
He said problems such
as the flooding outside of
Carver Gym involve tree
roots growing into the aging
pipeline system, causing
them to crack and leak.
Western built many
of the pipes in the 1980s,
Walker said.
Campus facilities
see PUDDLES, page 3
JARED YOAKUM / THE WESTERN FRONT
Western students skirt past a puddle outside of
Red Square Monday. Western built many of its
around Red Square on a peat bog.
WINNING FORMULA
Students in Western's Vehicle Re­search
Institute work to complete
its latest formula car.
FEATURES, PAGE 6
STREAK SNAPPED
Women's water polo wins its
first game in three years.
SPORTS, PAGE 8
www.westernfrontonline.com
NACHO WAY
Dining halls ignore appeals for
better vegetarian and vegan op­tions.
OPINIONS, PAGE 13
WEATHER
Wednesday: Rainy
Hi: 47 Low: 38
Thursday: Cloudy
Hi: 48 Low: 37