PUT UP YOUR NUKES

PUT UP YOUR NUKES
Judge may override Washington state voters on Hanford initiative

An initiative on the Washington state ballot last month, which would prevent
more waste from being dumped at the federal Hanford nuclear site in the
state, will go before a federal judge today. Were there Diebold machines
involved? A flurry of recounts? No. In fact, voters approved the measure
by a greater than 2-to-1 ratio. So why the court time for what seems to be
an open-and-shut case? The federal government was unhappy with the outcome
of the election. The Justice Department argues that the measure is
unconstitutional, and "efforts to comply with the draconian provisions of
[the initiative] will cost millions of dollars." State officials say they
plan to defend the voters' decision to require cleanup of the
586-square-mile site -- considered the most contaminated in the nation --
before any additional waste is stored there.

straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Shannon Dininny,
Associated Press, 01 Dec 2004


straight to the source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Shannon Dininny,
Associated Press, 01 Dec 2004