Bill Is Dead

Despite efforts by Olympia Democrats, a bill to save a state-backed loan program that helped women- and minority-run businesses died this week.

The $50-million "Linked Deposit" program officially ends on June 30. Sen. Adam Kline (D-Rainier Valley) had tried to extend the program (heck, he even tried to expand it by another $25 million). His proposals never made it out of the Senate Rules Committee.

An estimated 230 businesses run by minorities and women have benefited from the loan program. PHIL CAMPBELL


Star Bucked

Starbucks was ready for the party crashers. At its February 14 Benaroya Hall shareholders meeting, security bounced two activists who accused the company of paying coffee growers an "unlivable" wage. ["Stir it Up," Feb 10.] Both protesters, Deborah James and Medea Benjamin, were legitimate Starbucks shareholders.

Benjamin made it inside the building, and even managed to ask Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Orin Smith whether the company could buy its coffee from alternative suppliers. Leaving the meeting hall, Benjamin saw James blocked at the front door. When Benjamin tried to help, she also was removed.

"It is our protocol," says Alan Gulick, Starbucks' public affairs director, "that when our shareholders leave the auditorium and the building, we do not permit re-entry. Ms. Benjamin was allowed a chance to ask her question." PHIL CAMPBELL


Monorailed

Seattleites aren't the only losers thanks to Friday's Sound Transit Board vote against $50,000 in Monorail funding. Other prominent losers include the proposal's advocate, King County Council Member Greg Nickels (who better think twice about his mayoral bid if he doesn't even have enough clout to raise a few dollars for the Monorail); County Executive Ron Sims, who reportedly stepped out for a bathroom break during the controversial vote; and Richard McIver, who -- as Seattle's representative on the board -- not only voted no, but failed to take responsibility for it, blaming his decision on heavy lobbying from city council colleagues like Jan Drago and transportation guru Heidi Wills. JOSH FEIT


Racist Seattle

A recent study conducted by ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) shows that blacks in Seattle are having an increasingly harder time getting home loans than whites. Citywide, in 1995 blacks were 1.99 times more likely to be rejected for government-backed home loans than whites. By 1998, that ratio had gone up to 2.36. The ratio for private loans went up from 2 to 2.4 in the same time period. Seattle is on par with the national average for private loans, but falls behind when it comes to public loans. ALLIE HOLLY-GOTTLIEB