Western Front - 1999 October 8

              - r r
•lld FRIDAY, October 8,1999
The Western Front
Western Washington University Volume 107 Issue 4 Bellingham, Washington
1-695 will
close bus
routes
By Jenni Odekirk
THE WESTERN FRONT
The neighborhood bus service
of Bellingham residents will be
slashed by more than half or
eliminated if Initiative 695
passes, said Richard Walsh,
Whatcom Transportation
Authority general manager.
If passed, 1-695, in addition
to lowering vehi­cle
tab fees to
$30, will repeal
Motor
Excise
Travel
And
Excise
Clean
Gov. Locke visits Western, awards money
High school graduates awarded $1,125 in scholarships
By JJ Jensen
THE WESTERN FRONT
Gov^ Gary Locke delivered a
heart-felt speech on the impor­tance
of hard work and dedica­tion
in high school and how the
state plans to reward it before
a standing-room only audience
of several hundred, Tuesday
afternoon, in the Viking Union
Main Lounge.
New this year, 2,300 gradu­ates
of Washington high
schools in the top 10 percent of
their graduating classes were
rewarded with $1,125
Washington Promise
Scholarships.
With 200 students who
recieved the scholarships,
Western represents the second
greatest number of recipients
at colleges and universities in
the state.
Locke said the scholarships
target middle-income families
because students from high-income
families can usually
afford college tuition while low-income
families can usually
JJ Jensen/ The Western Front
Morse, Locke shake hands.
Richard
Walsh
the
Vehicle
Tax, the
Trailer
Camper
Tax, the
Air Excise Tax
and require vot­ers
to approve
any state, county or city tax
increases. 1-695 would take
effect Jan. 1, 2000.
The MVET, which con­tributes
to Washington state's
road construction, ferry system
and public transportation,
among other state, and county
programs, funds about 46 per­cent,
$5.7 million, of WTA's
budget.
The service reduction is part
of a contingency plan, passed
unanimously by WTA's board of
trustees Wednesday morning,
which details how WTA would
operate under 1-695.
"Board members aren't
happy about the situation but
appreciate that the community
needs to know about the service
reduction before the Nov. 2 elec­tion,"
Walsh said.
The contingency plan calls
See WTA, page 4
Group calls for public ownership of watershed
By Kristin Bigsby
THE WESTERN FRONT
Part one of a two-part series
After gathering more than
5,400 signatures in favor of pro­tecting
the Lake Whatcom water­shed
from suspected environ­mental
disaster, founders of the
Bellingham Drinking Water
Initiative are butting heads with
the city of Bellingham.
The initiative proposes to pro­tect
the city's drinking water by
purchasing property and placing
the property under public owner­ship
and management as a
forested watershed.
Four million dollars would be
raised through a monthly sur­charge
on county water bills to
fund the initiative-proposed land
acquisition.
"Vancouver, (British-
Columbia), Seattle, Tacoma,
Bremerton, Portland, San
Francisco and many other major
West Coast cities have concluded
that public watershed ownership
is the best way to control and
protect a drinking water supply,"
said Tim Paxton, co-founder of
the initiative, in a press release
last week.
The Bellingham City Council
supports the idea of protecting
and preserving high-quality
water in the county, Mayor Mark
Asmundson said.
"Everyone on the city council is
in agreement with the objectives
of the initiative," Asmundson
said. "Public ownership of land in
the watershed is an adopted goal
of the city council."
But the wording of the initia­tive
steps over legal boundaries,
Asmundson said.
City Attorney Dawn Sturwold
said that water fates cannot be
set by initiatives.
Late last month, the city coun­cil
asked Sturwold to take the
initiative to the Washington "
State Supreme Court for a
declaratory judgment.
JJ Jensen/ The Western Front
Gary Hougen put his boat on a trailer after a day of fishing
in Lake Whatcom, which is the city's watershed.
The court is investigating the
legality and language of the ini­tiative.
Both sides have agreed to an
expedited hearing before the gen­eral
election.
"It's not a hostile lawsuit,"
Asmundson said. "It's, 'Judge,
just tell us, is this legal or not?'"
If the initiative is declared
unlawful, it will still appear on
the Nov. 2 ballot. If this occurs,
the city council said the initiative
will be treated as an advisory
measure.
"People can collect signatures
IN THIS ISSUE
Men's soccer
masterminds game
A close game for men's
soccer Thursday when the
team played Master's
College.
See story, page 9
Farmers Market protest
Art and poli­tics
combine
for a spirited
display
against
World Trade
Organization
issues in the Bellingham
Farmers Market last
Saturday.
See story, page 7.
See WHATCOM, page 4