Liz Jones

Stories

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  A Cross-Country Holiday Tradition

  To many people, the holidays are about family tradition. Tradition is what brings Barry Ford and his wife, Shirley Babilya, to Seattle every December. They drive their RV across country from Iowa to do a job they love in the town where Ford grew up.

  Dec 19, 2012 at 12:00 am

• Border Patrol To Stop Acting As Interpreters For Local Police

  When a police officer needs to question someone in Spanish, or any other language, they can no longer use US Border Patrol agents as interpreters. This change in federal policy comes after a group of attorneys and the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) in Seattle filed a complaint earlier this year.

  Dec 14, 2012 at 12:00 am
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  Married At Last

  Wedding bells rang throughout Washington state Sunday as hundreds of same-sex couples said “I do.” December 9 was the first day gay couples could legally marry here, after voters upheld the state’s marriage equality law in the November election.Seattle City Hall hosted a flurry of weddings for about 140 couples Sunday. Among them were Seattle couple Danielle Yung and Robin Wyss, who entered City Hall holding hands and wearing matching white tuxedos. Their wedding party included about a dozen friends who also attended the brides’ commitment ceremony five years ago.Yung jokes that this one is their “shotgun wedding.” She’s five months pregnant. “The baby was squirming all around this morning,” Yung said. “I think maybe she knew that something was going on.” Yung says she’s thrilled they’ll be able to have this baby as a legally married couple. It’s a marriage she once thought would never be possible. “When I came out when I was 14, one of the things that was hardest for me at that time was just this feeling that I’d never be able to get married," said Yung. "I had this kind of regret and sadness about that. Eighteen years later, here we are. It’s just so fabulous.”The wedding party is soon escorted away to one of the five stages set up for ceremonies. Wyss and Yung meet privately with a local judge to go over their vows. Then, it’s time.The women stand together in front of friends and family to exchange their vows. Half-way through, cheering erupts from across the room where Seattle couple Corianton Hale and Keith Bacon just tied the knot. The city is running ceremonies back-to-back, five at a time, all day long.The judge continues with Wyss and Yung’s ceremony, then she concludes, “I now pronounce you married.”Friends cheer, hug and pass around tissues, then everyone heads to a reception area. Wyss beams, “It was more emotional than I thought it would be. It’s an important day for us. It’s a story we’ll be able to tell our grandkids.”This is also a second wedding for Hale and Bacon. After a ceremony this summer, Hale says he did notice a change in their relationship.   “It surprised me how much we just kind of locked in to a deeper understanding of one another,” Hale said. “It sounds silly that doing the vows changed things, but it really did.” He expects this official marriage will reinforce that even more. As each ceremony wraps up, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn greets many of the couples. He says he jumped at the chance for City Hall to be a backdrop for this historic day. “It just says that the city stands behind these couples and behind this right,” McGinn said. "It’s also just a message to the rest of the country.”McGinn’s wife, Peggy, is at his side for the morning ceremonies. Her eyes are red and wet with tears. “It’s ridiculous, why we made them wait so long – I have no idea,” said Peggy McGinn. “I’m just happy for them.”Outside City Hall, each couple is announced before they walk down the Grand Staircase about a half a block long. A huge crowd spills out from the plaza, along the stairs and into the street. Strangers give out flowers. They toss rice and shout for the newlyweds to kiss.Some people came from as far as Vancouver, B.C. Many don’t even know any of the couples. But they say they wanted to be here to show their support, like Seattle resident Ellen Daffron. “I wanted to part of this celebration,” Daffron said. “I wanted to be witness to the front-edge of history being made in our city and our state.”Robin Wyss, Danielle Yung and their baby-on-the-way make the long exit down the stairs. They’re overwhelmed with the turnout. Wyss says it feels like a royal wedding.“There were just so many people here,” Yung said. “All the flowers, the screaming and clapping, people driving by honking their horns - it’s great fun.” 

  Dec 09, 2012 at 7:10 pm
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  Gay Marriage Now Legal In Washington

  Gay and lesbian couples across Washington woke up to a new reality today: Same-sex marriage is now legal in this state. Hundreds of couples lined up in downtown Seattle Wednesday night to be among the first to receive marriage licenses. The honor of “first couple” went to Jane Abbott Lightly and Pete-e Peterson, ages 77 and 85.“I never thought this day would come, but here it is," said Peterson. After 35 years together, Lightly and Peterson plan to make it an official marriage this Sunday."The public recognition of a personal commitment is really wonderful," Lightly said. "That’s something that gets lost along the way and it's really important. It means a lot."In King County, Executive Dow Constantine signed licenses for the first group of couples. He made his remarks to the crowd after everyone counted down together to midnight. “What we’re doing here today is bringing us one step closer to living up to the founding ideals of this country – that all people are created equal and they have the right to the pursuit of happiness,” Constantine said.This celebration comes after gay marriage opponents challenged the state's marriage equality law with Referendum 74. In November, voters upheld the law by nearly a seven-point margin.“That is such a change," said Dan Savage, Seattle author and longtime gay-rights advocate. "It's such a sea change, such a one-eighty. There aren’t words for how far we’ve come and how fast.” Savage and his partner, Terry Miller, were also among the first to get a license.Outside the King County Administration Building, a church choir entertained the hundreds of people still waiting their turn. Some faced wait times of four or five hours. Volunteers handed out free coffee.People inched forward in line, many holding flowers or champagne. Kim Hardy was toward the front and says a man just started handing out champagne to everyone in line until he ran out.As couples left the building, licenses in hand, a cheering crowd greeted them. The whole night left Tacoma resident Teri Bednarski overcome and overjoyed. "When we see him signing, all the sudden you just start shaking. This is real. This is it."People in line said they wanted to spend this historic night with others who shared their fight for equal rights. And many of them are about to share another big day on Sunday. That’s the first day same-sex couples can use these licenses to officially say “I do.” 

  Dec 06, 2012 at 8:18 am
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  Countdown To Midnight Marriage Licenses

  The countdown is on. At 12:01 on December 6, King County will start handing out marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Hundreds are expected to show up for this historic, once-in-a-lifetime event. County staffers are working around the clock to pull off an unprecedented, all-night operation.Outside the King County Administration Building in downtown Seattle, white party tents wrap around the plaza."We’ve got tents to keep the rain off, heaters to keep them warm and lights so they can see what’s going on," says Cameron Satterfield, a spokesman for the King County Recorder's Office.The plaza is being set up for several hundred couples who are expected to start lining up here at 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night. Managers with clipboards scurry around. Electricians hang the overhead lights. A truckload of Porta Potties arrives. "We don’t normally plan parties in government," Satterfield says. "That just doesn’t happen, but this is probably the closest we'll get. I can’t remember anything like this happening before and I probably will not have anything like this ever again."The Recorder’s Office is breaking with normal operations to open at midnight tonight. That’s when Washington’s new same-sex marriage law takes effect. Then, the office will stay open for 18 ½ hours straight to hand out marriage licenses. It will also be open for extended hours on December 7 and 8. It’s a gesture to gay couples who’ve waited years to tie the knot, so that they won’t need to wait a minute longer."We’ve got hundreds or thousands of people who’ve waited all their lives to get married and to fulfill a dream that -- " Satterfield pauses as his voice chokes up. "To be able to be a small part of that special day is really a privilege for all of us."Inside the Recorder's Office, workers hook up more computers, printers and cash registers to handle the overflow crowd."It’s going to be quite an event," says Jon Scherer, Manager of the Recorder's Office.  He says he hasn't had to pull an all-nighter in many years, let alone several in a row. Scherer and his team have worked for weeks to get all the paperwork, equipment and staff ready to go. He points to the the new gender-neutral forms that let couples pick a term: bride, groom or spouse. He says he’s happy to take on this unique challenge.“We handle a lot of day-to-day transactions -- real estate, public records and marriage licenses, obviously, says Scherer. "But it’s not often our office is touched by something as big and monumental as this and I’m really proud to be a part of it.”Another woman in his office, Thea Thach, is slightly more apprehensive about the big night. Thach jokes, "I’m like, oh my gosh, am I going to be able to stay awake?  I’m going to need a lot of Red Bull.”She likely won’t be the only one. Wisely, the two coffee shops in the county building also plan to stay open through the night.

  Dec 05, 2012 at 11:48 am
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  A Very Long Engagement

  What’s the opposite of a shotgun wedding? Try a 15-year engagement.  Seattle couple Kate Schubert and Liz Newman joke they’ve waited that long for the right to get married in their home state.  The wait is almost over. On December 6, same-sex marriage will be legal in Washington.  Now, Kate and Liz are eager to take the next step.They tease each other about the engagement but the truth is their commitment to each other was settled long ago. "I think we’ve always considered it the equivalent to marriage," Schubert says. Newman agrees.The couple started living together 15 years ago, two years after they met. They raised two children at their home in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood. As we talk in their living room, the women settle in on the couch. Their hands instinctively reach for each other.Their “official” engagement started this past February. Kate and Liz were in Olympia to see Governor Gregoire sign the gay marriage law passed by the Legislature."When she finished signing, I did the one knee, will you marry me proposal at that moment," Schubert says. Newman says it was the easiest answer she'd ever given in her life.However, they knew the engagement would drag on a bit longer as gay marriage opponents soon challenged the state law with Referendum 74. That meant Kate and Liz would need permission from Washington voters to get married.Gay marriage laws had never survived a statewide vote. That is, until last month. Washington made history with a 'yes' vote, along with Maine and Maryland. “It’s a big step and it's an historic step," Schubert says. "By getting married we’re going to be showing our support for that and saying ‘Yes, this really does matter. It really is important.'"She says now that they have this opportunity, they're going to take it.  The church is booked for April.Struggle For AcceptanceSchubert and Newman raised two children together from Schubert's previous marriage. Their son, Doug, and daughter, Kooper, are in their 20s. They moved out of their childhood home in Wallingford years ago but still come by often. Doug and Kooper currently live in Seattle.On this afternoon, Kooper came to drop off her cat for a few days and Doug gave her a ride. As they chat in the kitchen, Doug and Kooper fire off questions to their parents about the upcoming wedding, such as 'what will everyone wear?' The ribbing ensues."I think I want to be a vision in white — off-white," Newman says. "Far off-white," Schubert teases. Doug asks his mom if she plans to wear a tux. Newman raises an eyebrow and says the wedding attire is "in committee right now."Questions come up about wedding rings, a honeymoon and if the kids will give the moms away.  Nothing is decided yet. The reality seems to be setting in for Schubert and Newman — this is all really happening.Doug and Kooper both plan to stand up with them at the ceremony. They’re proud to do it. Yet they admit, growing up, it was sometimes tough to “come out” about their gay parents. They both say it was difficult for them to talk about their family life at school. "For years, I would introduce Liz as a family friend," Doug says.Kooper points out they were in middle school when her mom and Newman got together. "We just had no concept of whether or not it was OK or if other kids would be OK with it, so we just kept it a secret.”Then, a pivotal moment came when the kids were in high school. Doug wrote a poem about his moms’ relationship. He was asked to read it at the all-school assembly. He went for it.“It was incredibly well-received," Doug says. "It was a huge weight off my back. I had people coming up to me in the halls congratulating me.” Then, he realized one small problem: Doug and Kooper went to the same school. They’d kept this family secret for years. Doug forgot to clue-in his sister about this big reveal.“I was mortified," Kooper says.  Doug tells her he still feels guilty, after all these years. Kooper leans toward him on the couch, bumping his shoulder.  "Don't," she says. "You did me a favor.”Kooper and Doug have heard critics say gay marriage is bad for children and that they need a mother and a father. In this case, they do have a mother and father, plus two step-moms. They see that as benefit of their non-traditional family. They say any hardship they’ve felt came from outside their home."That was the hard part growing up — feeling like our family wasn’t accepted by other people," says Kooper. "So hopefully with gay marriage passing in more and more states across the country, less children will have to feel that way.”To Schubert and Newman, the idea that gay marriage harms is an insult. They proudly point out Doug recently finished six years active duty in the Navy. Kooper made the dean’s list at college.Next Comes MarriageAs they hug goodbye, the kids tease each other about silly Christmas ornaments on the tree. They  all make plans for dinner next week.When the house is quiet again, the conversation turns back to the wedding.  Some couples might get cold feet before they walk down the aisle, but Schubert and Newman can't imagine that happening."We’ve  shared a life together for 15 years and during that time we’ve buried four parents," Newman says. "We almost buried one of our children. We’ve raised two children. We've gotten through things that have historically separated many couples."They don’t expect married life to bring major changes. However, they can’t wait to finally stand with their friends and family and say “I do” and “We’re married” and “This is my wife.” 

  Dec 04, 2012 at 5:56 pm
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  Seattle Paves Way For New Car-Sharing Service

  Maybe you’ve heard of the car-sharing service, Zipcar. It’s like a club where members can borrow cars for a set fee. On Monday, the Seattle City Council is expected to approve another similar car-sharing service to launch in the city next year.The newcomer is car2go.  If you think they’re headed for a turf war with well-establish Zipcar, think again says Carrie Dolwick. “All the different models of car-sharing are really complimentary for people that are trying to spend less money on gas and car maintenance and scaling back on cars or vehicles,” Dolwick says. "The more car-sharing options we have in Seattle, the better."Dolwick is the policy director for Transportation Choices Coalition, a Seattle-based nonprofitthat lobbies for more alternatives to car commutes such as biking, walking and car sharing.Zipcar and car2go each target a different need. Zipcars come in various sizes and styles:  from cargo vans to Mini Coopers. Car2go’s entire fleet is electric, two-seater Smart Cars. The cars can go about 80 miles on a full charge.  Dolwick has lobbied in Olympia for car-sharing services and says she sees plenty of demand for this type of thing. She points to Zipcar’s growth around the Seattle area. “They’ve gone south and they’ve gone west in Seattle, and they’re opening in Tacoma now,” Dolwick says. “And so, you know, their original model was ‘keep it near the urban center’ but they’ve seen the demand grow.”Under the deal, car2go would buy special parking permits from the city for up to 350 cars. The permits would allow drivers to park at meters and in residential zones for up to 72 hours. No need for drivers to feed the meter – that cost is built into car2go’s service.You may wonder if that means you’ll end up circling around even more to find street parking in busy areas. The city plans to keep a close eye on how that shakes out. If approved, the car2go service is expected to roll out in Seattle early next year 

  Dec 04, 2012 at 6:31 am
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  Gay Wedding Chapel At Seattle City Hall

  On the first day same-sex couples can get married in Washington state, Seattle City Hall will serve as a wedding chapel.   Mayor Mike McGinn's office is playing the role of planner. On Monday, it posted the itinerary for a historic wedding ceremony on Dec. 9. On that Sunday, the city is inviting couples to tie the knot in City Hall’s grand lobby.  Some local artists are handling decorations, and local judges have volunteered to oversee the vows.Like any good wedding planner, the Mayor’s Office has given couples a rundown of what to expect. Yes, family and friends are welcome.  You can bring your own cake or photographer. And don’t worry; volunteers will be on hand to be witnesses or help with wardrobe emergencies.The city says it’s received an outpouring from caterers, photographers and other volunteers to help with the event. Couples who want to participate need to get marriage licenses on Dec. 6, three days before the big day.  They also need to RSVP on the city’s website, starting Tuesday morning.The weddings are scheduled to start at noon but the Mayor’s Office says it may move up the time if there’s a lot of demand.Other locations around Seattle are hosting similar wedding events on Dec. 9. The swanky Four Seasons Hotel downtown is offering deluxe wedding packages for $1,000. The city’s event is free.

  Nov 26, 2012 at 5:54 pm
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  Applicants Ready To Keep Tabs On Seattle Police

  Seattle city officials will soon begin sifting through applications for police watchdogs.  Last month, the city put out a call for citizens to serve on a new community police commission.  It’s being created as part of an agreement with the US Department of Justice  to reform the Seattle Police Department.Nearly a hundred people applied to serve on the volunteer panel by the November 21 deadline. Next, Seattle officials will start winnowing the list to just 15 people.Bruce Harrell heads the Seattle City Council’s public safety committee. He has high expectations for this oversight panel. “If we can make this work," Harrell says, "then this will get us at the heart of using reasonable force and biased policing, in terms of how to prevent it.”A Department of Justice report earlier this year blasted SPD’s use of excessive force, especially against minorities and people who are mentally ill.The mayor will make the final nominations for the commission, but the council will have some input along the way. Harrell says the goal is to enlist a diverse group of people of different races, ages and backgrounds. He also wants to see at least one member who has had a confrontation with the police and even possibly a criminal record.“One demographic I’ve made it clear that I would like is a person that’s actually experienced what they would perceive as unreasonable force," Harrell says.  "We’ll have people that will be very supportive of the police department – hopefully all of them will be – but we want people who actually have some life experiences in this regard.”Harrell says the group’s task is to help ensure SPD makes changes related to use of force and biased policing. He expects a big part of the job will be to listen to the public and represent their concerns. The commission will also include two members from Seattle police unions.The mayor’s nominations are due to the City Council in early January.

  Nov 26, 2012 at 10:37 am

• Jason Puracal Still Fighting 22-Year Drug Sentence

  Tacoma resident Jason Puracal says his fight against the Nicaraguan justice system is still not over. Puracal was recently exonerated of drug charges in Nicaragua and returned to the Northwest. Now, Nicaraguan prosecutors are appealing his case to that country’s high court.

  Nov 23, 2012 at 12:00 am