Local News

A visit with Washington State’s Attorney General

By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews

On Tues., Feb. 24, Washington State’s Attorney General Rob McKenna spent a day with the Jewish community. He visited several Jewish day schools, where he spoke to students at the Northwest Yeshiva High School, the Menachem Mendel Seattle Cheder, and, pictured here, at the Seattle Jewish Community School. He ate lunch with residents at the Summit at First Hill Jewish assisted living community as well.
McKenna told the students about his office’s efforts to ensure the safety of kids in the state.
“One of the issues we’re really concerned about in our office is making the Internet safe,” he told 4th and 5th graders at SJCS. That includes protecting them from financial scams, predators and even users in the students’ own age group that may use the Internet for bullying.
“If they figure out you’re a kid, they can find you pretty fast,” McKenna said.
McKenna talked about other priorities for the attorney general’s office, which is also involved in elder abuse issues, anti-smoking initiatives and has been working to stop the spread of methamphetamine abuse. He said the office is currently working its way through 20,000 legal cases.
“I get to help people every day, that’s my favorite part,” McKenna said. “It’s a very good feeling to know we make a difference.”
He would not say whether he planned to run for governor in 2012, though he noted that Gov. Christine Gregoire held his office prior to becoming governor.