Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | News | AAN.org

Seattle's Program for Handling Injured Workers is in a World of Hurtnew

Employers complain that Washington's workers'-comp system is generous to the point of crippling employers. They believe rates are being raised to support ever-expanding benefits that are too easily obtained, and a bloated bureaucracy.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 01-25-2010 | Business & Labor

Tags: Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, workers' comp, logging

Why Slavic Immigrants are the Most Visible Face of Opposition to Gay Marriage in Washingtonnew

To them, the issue isn't just about homosexuality. The bigger fear is that the government will start dictating how they practice their religion, in an echo of the oppression they experienced at the hands of communists.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 12-14-2009 | LGBT

Tags: Gay Rights, immigrants, Seattle, gay marriage, Eastern Europe

Will Ron Sims Be Able to Deliver What Seattle Housing Advocates Want?new

Local housing and community-development groups are attaching a boatload of hopes to Ron Sims' appointment as Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, at a time when the federal government is already operating deep in the red.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 02-10-2009 | Housing & Development

Tags: HUD, Seattle, housing & development, Ron Sims

Rural King County Residents Fight Environmental Restrictions Imposed by Seattleitesnew

A recent ruling, if it stands, could serve as a new barbed-wire fence keeping the urban politicians, and their green agendas, out of the rural landowners' backyards. But, in the eyes of some King County politicians, that would come at a severe environmental cost.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 09-09-2008 | Housing & Development

Tags: environment, Seattle, housing & development, land-use policy

Religious Discrimination at the Best Western?new

A Muslim employee sues after being fired for wearing a head scarf.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 09-08-2008 | Religion

Tags: religion, Muslims, Seattle, Best Western, workplace discrimination

Allan Parmelee, the Inmate Who Won't Shut Upnew

Parmelee spends his days in a cell, carefully hand-printing lawsuits, motions, records requests, and legal appeals on a pad of lined paper. Known to fellow inmates as the "jailhouse attorney," he's filed dozens of lawsuits in state and federal courts.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 07-07-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: prison, Washington, lawsuits, Department of Corrections, inmates, crime & justice, Allan Parmelee, jailhouse lawyer

How to Stiff Immigrant Workers in Constructionnew

Because he called his workers "business partners," Contractor Shawn Campbell was able to avoid over $1 million in payments to the state workers' compensation fund and keep his employees working up to 46 hours a week with no overtime, a judge found. He slid through undetected for more than two years, until a disgruntled employee blew the whistle.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 05-12-2008 | Business & Labor

Tags: immigrants, exploitation, labor, construction, business & labor

The Sad Irony of Washington's Mental Health Systemnew

Only by killing Michael Robb did Samson Berhe finally become subject to the mental health treatment he has seemingly needed for years.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 05-05-2008 | Science

Tags: mental health, crime, treatment, mental illness, Health & Science

Inmates Have No Right to Starve to Deathnew

Washington's State Supreme Court won't allow convict to "let nature take its course."

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 04-21-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: prison, Charles McNabb, starvation, crime & justice

Communist States Aren't the Only Ones Denying Jury Trialsnew

In Washington, juveniles have no right to one.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 03-31-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: crime & justice

A Payday Lending Exec Wants You to Rethink His Biznew

With targeted philanthropy, and close attention to ethics, Moneytree CEO Dennis Bassford is achieving the unthinkable: overcoming prejudice against the payday lending industry.

Seattle Weekly | Laura Onstot | 03-18-2008 | Business & Labor

Tags: business & labor