Top Stories Seattle

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Seven legislators and an aide have been told to pay back up to $18 each for box lunches they ate at a discussion of marijuana laws.

The Legislative Ethics Board threw out a complaint against state Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and others who invited travel writer Rick Steves to the Capitol in October to talk about several topics, including marijuana. But legislative administrative leaders said the lawmakers who ate the free lunches should pay the state the value of the food because it could be considered part of the $90 a day spending allowance they receive.

Steves, who supports decriminalizing marijuana possession, says travel can help people learn about how other cultures address social problems, which in turn can help Americans create better public policies on health care, drug laws and other issues. The lunches were provided by the American Civil Liberties Union, which also wants pot decriminalized.

Activist Rob Kavanaugh of Lacey filed the complaint with the board, saying about $50 of public money was spent on posters publicizing the talk and that Steves gave out copies of a travel book he wrote. The board dismissed that complaint, ruling that the free books cost less than a $50 exemption in the state’s ethics law. It did not rule on the lunch issue.

The Olympian newspaper reported that House and Senate administrative leaders said they took the unusual step of demanding the lunch money because Kavanaugh had complained so vigorously.

It amounts to $18 each for two senators and a Senate staffer and $9.50 each for five representatives. House counsel Tim Sekerak said the House conducted a lengthy and formal investigation of the cost of the box lunch, which included a sandwich, drink and cookie, before deciding on the lower charge.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, one of her aides, and Sen. Jim Kastama, D-Puyallup, paid the $18. House members who got nicked are Democrats Ruth Kagi of Lake Forest Park, Mary Helen Roberts of Edmonds, Deborah Eddy of Kirkland, Mary Lou Dickerson of Seattle and Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim.

“I think the whole thing has gotten blown out of proportion,” Kohl-Welles, D-Seattle, told The Olympian newspaper on Friday. She said senators and staff had checked with legal advisers about ethics-law implications beforehand.

“We got permission to do this. There are lunches provided all the time on campus, almost daily, and it has never come up as far as I know,” she said.

“It’s not an ethics issue with the ethics law. It’s a matter of them being reimbursed for something they’re not entitled to,” Secretary of the Senate Tom Hoemann said last month of the then-pending reimbursements.

Haugen said it’s important to have citizens watching to be sure lawmakers toe the ethical line.

“I never mind paying my own way,” she said. “Just send us the bill.”

Kavanaugh said Friday that he will appeal the board’s decision because it did not address the lunch issue.

Last week, the Senate passed a measure that would allow people with debilitating or terminal illnesses to more easily obtain medical marijuana. The bill now goes to the House.

Is it censorship or sensitivity?

That’s the question surrounding an adaptation of “Snow White in the Black Forest,” which debuts Friday at Kirkland’s Robert Frost Elementary School.

The fourth- through sixth-grade play has been staged twice before at the school without complaint, but this year objections from the principal and teachers sparked weeks of controversy about how far schools should go to shield children from certain words and ideas.

Some parents are upset that Principal Sue Anne Sullivan asked the play’s directors to remove parts of the script that violate the schools’ human-dignity and anti-bullying policies. Cuts included the name of the character “DimWitty,” making the “crazy gesture” – rotating the index finger near the ear, and lines of a song about being proud of being curvy.

“Our concern was that in certain instances, the specific nature and/or degree of put-downs for humorous purposes was excessive or inappropriate,” said Sullivan, stressing that the objections had come from several teachers.

The play, adapted from the fairy tale by Seattle director Lani Brockman, is being directed by actors from Studio East, a Kirkland storybook-theater company with a community-outreach arm that works with schools in the Lake Washington district.

“Snow White” was Brockman’s second choice for this year’s Robert Frost play. The first play she proposed, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” was scrapped five days before auditions because the school had demanded too many changes.

Andrea Duffield, 40, whose fourth-grade daughter has a role in the play, led the campaign against the school’s edits.

“I think what they did crossed the line and should be considered censorship,” said Duffield, who has a background in therapy and teaching.

Parent John Stubb, 44, also objected to the editing:

“Obviously we have to protect our kids against things like pornography or swearing in the plays, but this is too far. It’s the wussification of America,” Stubb grumbled.

“We’re not doing these kids a favor by hyper-protection,” he said. “Children are going to have to deal with things as they grow up.”

Not all parents opposed the changes. But objections from Duffield and others roused the interest of the National Coalition Against Censorship.

The New York-based coalition, which provides resources to organizations fighting censorship, believes the school acted unconstitutionally, said Executive Director Joan Bertin, pointing to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. But district spokeswoman Kathryn Reith said the decisions do not apply.

In 12 years of working in 17 Lake Washington schools, including nine years at Robert Frost, Studio East has never encountered a problem like this, said technical director Marty Eagleson. But Sullivan said her school has had complaints about content in past Studio East plays.

Studio East has staged “The Emperor’s New Clothes” at seven other district schools and “Snow White” at Robert Frost twice before, Eagleson said.

“We were surprised,” said Eagleson, calling the requested changes excessive. “Bad people do bad things and say bad things. That’s how you recognize them as villains.”

School officials offended Studio East by demanding quick changes, said Debbie Nelson, the parent who handled communication among school officials, parents and Studio East. She called the process “agonizing.”

Everybody involved agreed that the most important consideration is the children’s education.

School officials think their actions protected the kids. The district is proactive about its human-dignity policy and thinks it is important to eliminate name-calling and bullying from all aspects of school, said Traci Pierce, the district’s chief schools officer.

“We need to make sure that students aren’t getting one message in school and another in the play,” said Pierce, adding that the play will be performed in front of a school assembly on Friday.

Bertin, of the National Coalition Against Censorship, argues that kids read books and know the difference between fantasy and reality.

Tom Drummond, a North Seattle Community College instructor in early-childhood development, said children are sometimes not trusted enough.

While he declined to comment specifically on the “Snow White” situation, he said that children see worse on television.

“Often the ways we’re teaching children are very overprotective rather than trusting them to be competent and think these things through,” he said.

The district has no policy about appropriate content in school plays, but will soon craft one, Pierce said.

“We really need to make sure that we’re consistent school to school,” she said. “That kind of dialogue, about what is OK and what is not OK, that’s what we need to have a conversation about.”

Is it censorship or sensitivity?

That’s the question surrounding an adaptation of “Snow White in the Black Forest,” which debuts Friday at Kirkland’s Robert Frost Elementary School.

The fourth- through sixth-grade play has been staged twice before at the school without complaint, but this year objections from the principal and teachers sparked weeks of controversy about how far schools should go to shield children from certain words and ideas.

Some parents are upset that Principal Sue Anne Sullivan asked the play’s directors to remove parts of the script that violate the schools’ human-dignity and anti-bullying policies. Cuts included the name of the character “DimWitty,” making the “crazy gesture” – rotating the index finger near the ear, and lines of a song about being proud of being curvy.

“Our concern was that in certain instances, the specific nature and/or degree of put-downs for humorous purposes was excessive or inappropriate,” said Sullivan, stressing that the objections had come from several teachers.

The play, adapted from the fairy tale by Seattle director Lani Brockman, is being directed by actors from Studio East, a Kirkland storybook-theater company with a community-outreach arm that works with schools in the Lake Washington district.

“Snow White” was Brockman’s second choice for this year’s Robert Frost play. The first play she proposed, “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” was scrapped five days before auditions because the school had demanded too many changes.

Andrea Duffield, 40, whose fourth-grade daughter has a role in the play, led the campaign against the school’s edits.

“I think what they did crossed the line and should be considered censorship,” said Duffield, who has a background in therapy and teaching.

Parent John Stubb, 44, also objected to the editing:

“Obviously we have to protect our kids against things like pornography or swearing in the plays, but this is too far. It’s the wussification of America,” Stubb grumbled.

“We’re not doing these kids a favor by hyper-protection,” he said. “Children are going to have to deal with things as they grow up.”

Not all parents opposed the changes. But objections from Duffield and others roused the interest of the National Coalition Against Censorship.

The New York-based coalition, which provides resources to organizations fighting censorship, believes the school acted unconstitutionally, said Executive Director Joan Bertin, pointing to recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. But district spokeswoman Kathryn Reith said the decisions do not apply.

In 12 years of working in 17 Lake Washington schools, including nine years at Robert Frost, Studio East has never encountered a problem like this, said technical director Marty Eagleson. But Sullivan said her school has had complaints about content in past Studio East plays.

Studio East has staged “The Emperor’s New Clothes” at seven other district schools and “Snow White” at Robert Frost twice before, Eagleson said.

“We were surprised,” said Eagleson, calling the requested changes excessive. “Bad people do bad things and say bad things. That’s how you recognize them as villains.”

School officials offended Studio East by demanding quick changes, said Debbie Nelson, the parent who handled communication among school officials, parents and Studio East. She called the process “agonizing.”

Everybody involved agreed that the most important consideration is the children’s education.

School officials think their actions protected the kids. The district is proactive about its human-dignity policy and thinks it is important to eliminate name-calling and bullying from all aspects of school, said Traci Pierce, the district’s chief schools officer.

“We need to make sure that students aren’t getting one message in school and another in the play,” said Pierce, adding that the play will be performed in front of a school assembly on Friday.

Bertin, of the National Coalition Against Censorship, argues that kids read books and know the difference between fantasy and reality.

Tom Drummond, a North Seattle Community College instructor in early-childhood development, said children are sometimes not trusted enough.

While he declined to comment specifically on the “Snow White” situation, he said that children see worse on television.

“Often the ways we’re teaching children are very overprotective rather than trusting them to be competent and think these things through,” he said.

The district has no policy about appropriate content in school plays, but will soon craft one, Pierce said.

“We really need to make sure that we’re consistent school to school,” she said. “That kind of dialogue, about what is OK and what is not OK, that’s what we need to have a conversation about.”