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Posted: 1/10/2006 5:51:14 PM EDT

County's logo may be changed to honor MLK

By Keith Ervin
Seattle Times staff reporter

King County's logo may be changed soon to honor the man after whom the county is named: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

An ordinance proposed by County Councilman Larry Gossett, D-Seattle, would change the county symbol from a crown to a likeness of King. The council will vote sometime after the King holiday Monday.

The County Council in 1986 changed the county's namesake from Alabama slaveholder and U.S. Vice President William Rufus DeVane King to civil-rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King. The state Legislature last year adopted the change.

"It is fitting that in the year we will celebrate 20 years as Martin Luther King Jr. County, we will finally begin the process that will lead us to a logo that displays his image," Gossett said in a written statement.

The County Council put off action on the logo ordinance last month to give Gossett time to talk with representatives of the King family. The ordinance would authorize the use of King's image in governmental activities but not in any commercial ventures the county might engage in. A logo has not yet been designed.

King's estate owns rights to use of the image, but County Council attorney Jim Brewer said Washington state law exempts governmental uses of celebrity images from royalty claims by their estates.

Commercial use of King's likeness may be another matter. County Councilwomen Jane Hague, R-Bellevue, and Kathy Lambert, R-Woodinville, have expressed concern that the King estate might seek royalties if the county used King's likeness in such "entrepreneurial" activities as hosting concerts or Cirque du Soleil at Marymoor Park.

County Council members have discussed with Brewer in closed session whether the county might have to pay royalties for some activities at pools, parks and the Enumclaw fairgrounds.

Gossett said Monday he had contacted attorneys and intellectual-property representatives of the King family, who told him they would seek direction from King's widow, Coretta Scott King, who was ill.

A council staff report estimated it would cost $597,305 to replace the existing logo on buildings and vehicles over five years. Replacing the logo on stationery and business cards wouldn't add any cost because those would be replaced as they are routinely replenished.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or [email protected]

Posted: 1/10/2006 6:00:28 PM EDT

[#1]

Posted: 1/10/2006 7:54:26 PM EDT

[#2]

Quoted:

+87

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:06:17 PM EDT

[#3]

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:12:31 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:
photos.sleestak.net/albums/userpics/10001/burgerking.JPG

Now this would be both funny and disturbing

Posted: 1/10/2006 8:43:19 PM EDT

[#5]

How they must hate the fact that the cunty was named after a slave owner. So was George Washington.

Posted: 1/11/2006 6:49:52 AM EDT

[#6]

Reason number 2693 why I will never live in MLKing County.

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:23:45 AM EDT

[#7]

I could absolutely live happily if I never heard this mentioned again.

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:57:35 AM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
I could absolutely live happily if I never heard this mentioned again.

Bump.

Posted: 1/11/2006 8:57:55 AM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
Quoted:
I could absolutely live happily if I never heard this mentioned again.

Bump.

Is King County really named after MLK? I would have thought it was older than that. Much older.

Posted: 1/11/2006 10:21:51 AM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
Is King County really named after MLK? I would have thought it was older than that. Much older.

R.I.F.

Posted: 1/11/2006 10:23:50 AM EDT

[#11]

Posted: 1/11/2006 10:24:30 AM EDT

[#12]

Quoted:
Quoted:
Is King County really named after MLK? I would have thought it was older than that. Much older.

R.I.F.

? Which means?

Posted: 1/11/2006 10:26:26 AM EDT

[#13]

King, William Rufus Devane

King, William Rufus Devane, 1786–1853, U.S. Senator from Alabama (1819–44, 1848–52), b. Sampson co., N.C. A Democratic Congressman from North Carolina (1811–16), he settled (1818) in Alabama and became one of its first Senators. King resigned in 1844 to become minister to France; he successfully urged France to refrain from joining England in a protest against U.S. annexation of Texas. Later he again entered (1848) the Senate. Elected (1852) Vice President under Franklin Pierce, he died in Alabama soon after taking the oath of office.

Posted: 1/11/2006 4:16:19 PM EDT

[#14]

" "It is fitting that in the year we will celebrate 20 years as Martin Luther King Jr. County, we will finally begin the process that will lead us to a logo that displays his image," Gossett said in a written statement. "

WTF? Is this revisionist history or what? "20 years as Martin Luther King Jr. County"

April 23, 2005 Seatle Times Editorial

"In 1986, King County Councilman Larry Gossett and then-Councilman Ron Sims had a dream to rename the county after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Logically, it was simply a change in county ordinance — done the same year Congress established King's birthday anniversary as a national holiday. Politically, it launched a protracted battle that ended this week when Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill renaming King County in honor of Dr. King. "

It hasn't even been a year yet. Gossett needs to give up whatever it is he's smoking.

ETA: From the Wikipedia: In honor of his inauguration as Vice President, the newly formed Washington Territory named King County for him, as well as Pierce County after President Pierce, in hopes of gaining speedy admission to the Union by currying favor with the new administration (Washington did not become a state until 1889). King County still exists, but the county council in 1986 passed a resolution "setting forth the historical basis for the "renaming" of King County in honor of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." In May 2005, Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire signed legislation formalizing the prior resolution officially designating King County's name to be in honor of Reverend Dr. King. This has caused some backlash in the community due to allegations of significant financial liabilities for royalty fees now owed to Reverend Dr. King's family estate.

Some historians have speculated that King may have been gay, and that he had a long-term intimate relationship with James Buchanan (it is not disputed that the two lived together for a time in Washington, D.C.). It is also said that King's detractors in the Senate referred to him as "Miss Nancy." The theory is controversial and a source of debate among Buchanan and King historians. Historian and author James W. Loewen is one of the theory's better-known proponents.

Posted: 1/11/2006 4:41:53 PM EDT

[#15]

Quoted:
photos.sleestak.net/albums/userpics/10001/burgerking.JPG

Posted: 1/11/2006 6:18:31 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
WTF? Is this revisionist history or what? "20 years as Martin Luther King Jr. County"

The County Council in 1986 changed the county's namesake from Alabama slaveholder and U.S. Vice President William Rufus DeVane King to civil-rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King. The state Legislature last year adopted the change.

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:27:38 PM EDT

[#17]

"Some historians have speculated that King may have been gay, and that he had a long-term intimate relationship with James Buchanan (it is not disputed that the two lived together for a time in Washington, D.C.). It is also said that King's detractors in the Senate referred to him as "Miss Nancy." The theory is controversial and a source of debate among Buchanan and King historians. Historian and author James W. Loewen is one of the theory's better-known proponents."

Well............that certainly explains a thing or two....

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:40:53 PM EDT

[#18]

Quoted:
"Some historians have speculated that King may have been gay, and that he had a long-term intimate relationship with James Buchanan (it is not disputed that the two lived together for a time in Washington, D.C.). It is also said that King's detractors in the Senate referred to him as "Miss Nancy." The theory is controversial and a source of debate among Buchanan and King historians. Historian and author James W. Loewen is one of the theory's better-known proponents."

Well............that certainly explains a thing or two....

And I rub that in the face of every libtard I can . They picked a skirt chaser over a pole smoker!

And I know none of you guys prefer it still be named after the pole smoker..............Do you?

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:45:14 PM EDT

[#19]

Quoted:
Quoted:
WTF? Is this revisionist history or what? "20 years as Martin Luther King Jr. County"

The County Council in 1986 changed the county's namesake from Alabama slaveholder and U.S. Vice President William Rufus DeVane King to civil-rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martin Luther King. The state Legislature last year adopted the change.

By the same logic Cedar county is a done deal. CG signed a bill that basically modified the Washington Constitution. Counties did not have the ability to change the name of the county until then.

Posted: 1/11/2006 7:54:39 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
"Some historians have speculated that King may have been gay, and that he had a long-term intimate relationship with James Buchanan (it is not disputed that the two lived together for a time in Washington, D.C.). It is also said that King's detractors in the Senate referred to him as "Miss Nancy." The theory is controversial and a source of debate among Buchanan and King historians. Historian and author James W. Loewen is one of the theory's better-known proponents."

Well............that certainly explains a thing or two....

It also explains why 1Gunrunner is following it with such great interest...

Posted: 1/11/2006 8:41:07 PM EDT

[#21]

The King vs The King of the Undead

http://www.bubbahotep.com/images/store/largemini.jpg

Posted: 1/11/2006 8:56:51 PM EDT

[#22]

When they got done remodeling the lobby of the King County Superior Court, I was surprised to see they'd installed a big old mural of MLK - on the floor. Seems like a weird way to honor a man, letting all those people walk all over him.

'Course, it's not the first time King County has made a weird decision.

Posted: 1/12/2006 9:22:52 AM EDT

[#23]

Seems like all the MLK streets/drives/boulevards in Anytown USA are crime-riddled slum zones. Don't know why, but it seems to always go that way. Not sure what this might forshadow for the county.