Western Front - 2005 January 13

              THE WESTERN FRONT
WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY An independent student newspaper serving the campus community since 1970.
JANUARY 13, 2006
ISSUE 3, VOLUME 136
Downtown business
defies smoking ban
CHRIS JOSEPH TAYLOR / THE WESTERN FRONT
Casa Que Pasa manager Chris Adams said that business has increased since the smoking ban was introduced.
"We have also had people call up and ask us if they can help pay for any fines we might encounter because
they believe in what we are doing here," Adams said.
Owner says law restricts customers' rights
BY MEGAN LUM
AND CHARLIE RANLETT
The Western Front
Two signs taped in the window next to
the front door announce that smoking is
not allowed at Casa Que Pasa, a downtown
Bellingham restaurant arid bar on Railroad
Avenue.
Underneath the signs, Whatcom County
Health Departmentposted a notice to inform
customers that although the business posted
No Smoking signs, the restaurant is still in
violation of the law.
Casa Que Pasa owner Abel Jordan is
continuing to allow smoking in defiance of
the ban.
"I don't feel that the smokers that come
into the smoking section should have any
less choice than my other customers,"
Jordan said. "I've always allowed smoking
in Casa Que Pasa, but only 25 percent of
the restaurant is smoking — only half of
the bar, and that's in the back in a well-ventilated
area."
Initiative 901 came into effect Dec. 8,
2005. A revision of the Clean Indoor Air
Act, the initiative prohibits smoking in
all public establishments including bars,
restaurants, taverns and non-tribal casinos.
The initiative also bans smoking within
25 feet of any door, window or vent
connected to any establishment the law
affects. .
"Service workers deserve the same
levels of protection as everyone else," said
see BAR, page 3
Professor s
daughter
remembered
BY JUSTIN MORROW
The Western Front
Abigail Stout died Jan. 7 following an accident
on North Lake Whatcom Trail that left her with
severe head trauma. She died at St. Joseph's
Hospital, despite efforts by the St. Joseph's team
of professionals who respond to trauma calls and
the Whatcom County District No. 4 Emergency
Medical Team.
Community members will gather at 2 p.m.
today at Garden Street United Methodist Church
to celebrate the life of the 5-year-old daughter
of Western communication assistant professor
Karen Stout and her husband J.B. Stout.
Karen Stout said Abigail was a unique and
fascinating girl. She said her daughter loved
music, art, taking center stage and jamming with
her musician parents.
"She was a showboat, the ultimate performer,"
she said.
Abigail already wrote a song titled "Standing."
The song will play
Memorial
service
at her funeral when
the pallbearers carry
her casket out of
the funeral hall,
Karen Stout said.
Abigail heard a Red
Hot Chili Peppers-styled
funk riff her
father played, and
improvised the
lyrics to "Standing"
on the spot.
A verse from
her song, "Butterfly
with beautiful wings
but only one side,"
is elegant despite
her young age, Karen Stout said.
"So many of our songs we played together
have more meaning now," she said. "Some make
Time: 2p.m.
Date: Today
Place: Garden
Street United
Methodist
Church, 1326
N. Garden St.
see MEMORIAL, page 6
Interiirf facility to relieve overcrowded county jail
BY MOLLY MALONEY
The Western Front
In order to alleviate an
overcrowded jail system,
Whatcom County began
construction on an interim
jail work center, a minimum-security
facility which is
scheduled to open in October.
The existing maximum-security
Whatcom County Jail
on Grand Avenue in downtown
Bellingham now holds more
than 250 inmates in a facility
designed for 148, said Greg
DePaul, the administrative
lieutenant for the Whatcom
County Sheriff's Corrections
Division and the operational
lieutenant for the interim jail.
"When you start putting
two or three people in (jail
cells) built for one, stress in the
facility goes up," said Mark
Raymond, Whatcom County
Jail Operational Lieutenant.
"It creates tensions and there
are more fights amongst
inmates and disputes between
officers and inmates."
Bellingham Municipal
Court Judicial Administrator
Linda Storck said the court
has 2,500 to 3,000 warrants
on file, and the interim jail
will allow the enforcement of
court rulings on offenders.
Along with overcrowding,
the existing jail is
uninhabitable, said Wendy
Jones, the Whatcom County
chief of corrections. She said
the structural engineer who
inspected the current jail three
years ago was amazed the
building was still standing.
She said the building lacks
a working fire alarm system
and other parts of the electrical
system randomly shut-down.
"My nightmare as the
chief is that I'm going to get
a phone call in the middle of
the night telling me we've had
a bad electrical fire at the jail
and I have upwards of 200
dead inmates," she said.
Offenders charged with
felonies have priority in the
jail before offenders with
misdemeanor charges.
see SECURITY, page 5
CHRIS HUBER / THE WESTERN FRONT
Due to overcrowding, three female inmates at
the Whatcom County Jail share a cell meant
for only one.
TRADING PLACES
Say goodbye to frozen tun­dra
and hello to warm, sandy
beaches Brett Favre.
SPORTS, PAGE 12
HORROR SHOW
Black Eyes and Neckties show
at the Viking Union Multipur­pose
Room.
ACCENT, PAGE 8
COLUMNIST ENLISTS
"America's Army" sways a young
and impressionable columnist into
joining its army brethren.
OPINIONS, PAGE 14
WEATHER
Saturday: Rainy
Hi: 46Low: 36
Sunday: Rainy
Hi: 44 Low: 38
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