Bellingham
Immigrant-rights advocates held a public meeting in Bellingham Wednesday, August 16, to hear testimony from people they say have been left out of the immigration debate. Organized in response to hearings by the U.S. House in early August, the "counterhearing" drew roughly 125 people. "A country can have secure borders and it doesn't mean building a wall around the country â it means having good economic and foreign policies," says organizer Pramila Jayapal.The point of the hearing, Jayapal says, was to reframe the immigration debate away from homeland security issues and focus on the impact of proposed House and Senate legislation on immigrants' lives. The audience heckled Representative Rick Larsen (D-2), who voted for the enforcement-heavy House bill last spring. Although he supported the House legislation, Larsen said America should "err on the side of asylum" for immigrants, adding that he did not support turning illegal immigration into a felony. SARAH MIRK
Balloonatics
Ashley Miller, the recent University of Washington grad The Stranger profiled last month after she and friend Kevin Mock lobbed water balloons at annoying Lyndon LaRouche campaigners on University Way ["Striking Back," July 27], has been charged by the city with three counts of misdemeanor assault and one count of property damage because of the incident. Miller says that last week, a Seattle detective showed up at her house to ask her why she had committed a "hate crime." According to Miller, the detective compared her LaRouchie-
soaking water-balloon antics to gay bashing. "Some people are taking themselves way too seriouslyâit was water balloons," says Miller, who has since obtained a public defender. Mock has not been charged. SARAH MIRK
