TACOMA – Halting an Air Force nurse’s discharge for her relationship with a civilian woman would rightly cripple the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gay service members, civil liberties lawyers said Friday.
Lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union, pointing to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling striking down a Texas sodomy law, are asking a federal judge here to reinstate former Air Force Reserve Maj. Margaret Witt.
Witt, 42, of Spokane was forced out of her job as a military nurse in late 2004 after an Air Force investigation into her long-term relationship with a civilian woman. She had been assigned to a medical evacuation squadron at McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma.
The Pentagon has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibits the military from inquiring about the sex lives of service members but requires discharges of those who openly acknowledge being gay.
Associated Press
Arlington: Paul Allen adds 3 WW II planes
Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen has added three World War II-era planes to his collection of antique aircraft and will display them this summer, his venture capital and investment firm, Vulcan Inc., says.
Two planes, the Republic P-47D Thunderbolt and the Messerschmitt Bf 109E-3, have been restored to virtually original factory condition and went on display Thursday at Allen’s Flying Heritage Collection at the Arlington Airport.
A third plane, the Hawker Hurricane Mk. XIIB, is expected to go on display later this summer.
Guided tours of Allen’s collection cost $20 for general admission.
Associated Press
Puyallup: Police chief’s remarks violated rules
The city’s police chief violated department rules when he made “boorish” and “patently offensive” remarks to city employees, according to a report by a Seattle lawyer who investigated complaints from other officers.
An investigation of Police Chief Robin James was ordered in May by city manager Jim Bacon after police department employees filed a grievance.
Attorney Michael Bolasina concluded there was either no support or insufficient evidence to uphold those allegations. However, James did make comments that are “unacceptable in any workplace,” Bolasina wrote in a June 28 report to Bacon.
Associated Press
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