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Horrific problem! Meth addiction and link to identity fraud Rob McKenna
whisked through town recently on his way to an important meeting in
Prosser. He stopped long enough, though, to describe what’s happening
in the largest law firm in the state – the Washington Attorney
General’s offices.
The former King County councilman is eager to discuss identity
fraud and theft and how it is connected with the growing spread of
methamphetamine addiction throughout the Northwest. More and more of the
500 lawyers in his office are concentrating on that very connection.
McKenna described the use and production of meth as the fastest
growing and most dangerous problem the U.S. faces today. “It’s an
horrific problem. Meth is extremely addictive.” …and it poses a
danger of horrific proportions.
He noted the heavy toll on children. Nearly 80 per cent of the
termination of parental custody rights involve parents addicted to meth
or active in its manufacture. The state spent more than $8 million last
year cleaning up 1,350 meth labs or dumps.
To coordinate efforts to curb the impact of meth, McKenna and
others were assembling an advisory panel – sort of a summit, if you
will – of educators, investigators, prosecutors and legislators to
address the multitude of issues surrounding the spread of meth-related
crimes. Washington, he said, ranks eighth in the nation in cases of
financial fraud with 5,600 cases reported to the Federal Trade
Commission. Most cases were found to be the work of drug-addicted
perpetrators. Super
leader
Earlier this week school supporters gathered at the Northshore
School District administrative offices to toast superintendent Dr.
Karen Forys. A reception was held to honor her selection for a 2005
Educational and Leadership Award presented by the Coca Cola Corporation
in recognition of her participation in and contributions to the
Educational Research and Development Institute.
Dr. Forys participates twice yearly in the Institute’s
conferences in which school superintendents and representatives of large
corporations from throughout the U.S. gather to discuss challenges
facing the nation’s public schools. A significant stipend accompanied
the award and Dr. Forys contributed those funds to the Northshore
Scholarship Foundation’s campaign to increase scholarship values for
2006. Hybrid
hummers
With gasoline prices shooting through the sunroof again, we’re
hearing more talk about allowing hybrid autos with a single
driver being able to use the high occupancy vehicle lanes on Puget
Sound’s beleaguered freeway system.
Our family has had a Prius for nearly five years. It is something
special to pump a mere eight or nine gallons to fill this little hummer
up and know that it will perform over the next 375 miles or so at
between 46 and 52 miles per gallon (not to mention emit a lot less
carbon into the warming atmosphere). This foreign-made hybrid has
maneuvered up and down Interstate 405 and circled the Northshore
hometown for nearly 60,000 miles. It has plenty of soup (power) and is
comfortable to boot. Fewer and fewer motorists at the local filling
station now ask me how it works so there must be hope that hybrids are
catching on.
But there appears a ways to go for some consumers -- while
walking the main thoroughfare in Woodinville with friends the other day,
a fuel-devouring Hummer “stretch limo” guzzled by. How much longer
will U.S. automakers continue to come up with such grotesque symbols of
wealth and waste?
You have to wonder if the driver of that stretch Hummer might not
have voted to roll back the 9-cent gas tax on this week’s statewide
election initiative ballot. He’ll probably be among those still fuming
over the bumper-to-bumper traffic snarl on 405, wasting far more than
the 9 cents a gallon on his next fare. No
limit on schools
Scott Harris of the Kenmore-based Leadership Institute of Seattle
checked in after the last issue with a question about our report on
financial opportunities offered by the Northshore Scholarship
Foundation, now in its 22nd year supporting local high school
graduates. Wrote Scott:
“The article seems to indicate that scholarships are only given
to students attending Cascadia Community College and to UW-Bothell. Is
this true or can students attend other schools?”
Sorry, Scott, if we left that impression. The Foundation will
place seven scholarships at UW-Bothell and two at Cascadia Community
College in 2006 but the balance of the more than 80 scholarships will go
to graduates of Bothell, Inglemoor, Woodinville high schools and
Secondary Academy for Success.
Recipients of 2005 scholarships awarded at the annual recognition
breakfast last spring are now attending schools from Massachusetts, to
Florida, to Iowa, to Arizona and, of course, our own state of
Washington. They involve public and private institutions. The variety of
scholarships offered is more “field-of-study” specific than focused
on any particular college or university or trade or technical school. Candidates for 2006 scholarships will find an application form and instructions on the Foundation website at www.ns-scholarship.org with all scholarship opportunities posted online by the end of November. Applicants will have until the end of February, 2006, to turn in their applications.
Hugo
and Mayor-for-Life Terry Jarvis (425) 482-4076
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The Previous Columns
for October 26, 2005
for October 12, 2005 for
September 21, 2005 for
September 7, 2005 for
August 17, 2005 for
August 3, 2005 for
July 20, 2005 July
6, 2005 June
18, 2005 June
4, 2005 May
18, 2005 May
4, 2005 April
20, 2005 April
6, 2005 March
16, 2005 March
2, 2005 February
16, 2005 February
2, 2005 January
19, 2005 January
5, 2005 December
15, 2004 December
1, 2004 Nov.
17, 2004 November
3, 2004 |
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