The president of the University of Washington and a state senator from Seattle voiced confidence that the Washington Legislature will appropriate funds to rebuild UW’s Center for Urban Horticulture and its library, heavily damaged May 21 in a late-night arson fire.
The radical ecological group Earth Liberation Front claimed responsibility June 1 for the blaze and for another fire, at the Jefferson Poplar Farms in Clatskanie, Oregon. An ELF news release said the Seattle fire was set to destroy the office of Toby Bradshaw, an associate professor and geneticist who “continues to unleash mutant genes into the environment,” the Seattle Times reported June 2.
An hour later, UW President Richard McCormick told a crowd in front of the burned building that “the people of Washington will not be deterred by the ravages of the arson witnessed here.” Sen. Ken Jacobsen (D-Seattle) said he was sure that the Legislature would provide $5.4 million to rebuild Merrill Hall, home of the Elisabeth C. Miller Horticulture Library.
The library’s 8,000-book general collection and several specialized collections sustained heavy smoke damage.
Posted June 11, 2001.