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J UNE 27, 2012
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 26
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
PRIDE
Health
Care
Workers
New Seattle resolution
mandates training,
better conditions
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
T
Thousands marched under sunny skies down 4th Avenue at Seattle Pride 2012, Sunday, June 24. Washington Gov.
Chris Gregoire was a parade Grand Marshall, and Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn marched with a 300-strong group of
marriage equality activists agitating to defend the state’s new law from a ballot-measure challenge in November.
Next Governor Faces Shortfall
Budget realities may test Inslee and McKenna on their campaigns
By Mike Baker
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) —
Washington’s next governor is
projected to start the job with a
growing budget. That extra rev-
enue may not be enough to ful-
fill the state’s education funding
obligations.
A forecast released this past
week said state revenue will
grow by about 3.5 percent per
year for the two-year cycle
beginning in July 2013. But
many of those gains will be con-
sumed by other growth in state
government, such as the
resumption of cost-of-living
adjustments for teachers, med-
ical care cost increases and gen-
eral growth in reliance on state
services.
Gov. Chris Gregoire’s budget
director estimated that political
leaders will face a relatively flat
budget, maybe a $100 million
surplus to a $100 million short-
fall.
Those are challenging fore-
casts for the state’s top guberna-
torial candidates, who have both
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claimed that the state can imme-
diately begin providing much
more money toward the state’s
education system without rais-
ing taxes. Democratic Rep.
Ross Hunter said the obliga-
tions, triggered by a state
Supreme Court ruling, would be
about $1 billion in the next
budget cycle and higher in
future years.
Gregoire has said revenue
needs to be considered, and
Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, a
top budget writer, said he does-
n’t see $1 billion that can be cut
from the budget and put into
education. State government
staffing levels, for example,
already shrunk by 7.2 percent
between 2009 and 2011.
``We have a structural prob-
lem in how we fund state servic-
es,’’ Murray said, emphasizing
that new revenue has to be part
of the discussion.
It’s not part of the discussion
in the governor’s race. Demo-
cratic candidate Jay Inslee said
the state can fulfill education
funding obligations by growing
See CAMPAIGN page 2
his week Seattle became the first city
in the country to pass a City Council
resolution that addresses our coun-
try’s care crisis and supports both the people
who need care and the workers who provide
the care.
Over 100 caregivers, seniors and commu-
nity members packed City Hall on Monday
afternoon to show their support for the Car-
ing Across Generations Resolution.
“As a caregiver myself and a baby
boomer, I am a perfect example,” said
Sylvia Liang, caregiver and SEIU 775 NW
member.
“When I need care someday, I want my
caregiver to make a living wage, with access
to quality health benefits, and to have a
bright future ahead of them.”
Fourteen other cities are engaging in sim-
ilar local efforts and will be using the organ-
izing efforts that took place in Seattle as a
model to move their campaigns forward.
Councilmember Nick Licata was credited
by organizers for taking a leadership role in
sponsoring and passing the new resolution.
“This is an issue that goes to the heart of
what our democracy is about, creating a
society where everyone has the opportunity
to strive for happiness and a stable life,” he
said.
Licata recently “walked a day in a care-
giver’s shoes,” which he said built his
understanding of the challenges and strug-
gles that caregivers and clients face on a
daily basis.
And that struggle is huge. Seattle is wit-
nessing both a demographic shift and jobs
crisis. Every 8 seconds, a person in this
country turns 65. Twelve million people,
including the elderly and the disabled,
require support from a care worker.
However, there are currently only 3 mil-
lion care workers, creating a critical gap in
our nation’s ability to care for its citizens.
And those who do work in the care industry
face harsh conditions and limited protec-
tions under the law.
See WORKERS on page 2
Sadness, Anxiety Plague Military Kids
New program provides them with mental health services at school
By Debbie Cafazzo
The Tacoma News Tribune
Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. (AP)
— Kids can build an imaginary world inside
Raquel Shoch’s office at an elementary
school on Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
The clinical social worker keeps a table-
top sandbox filled with plastic soldiers and
other miniature toys.
``Play is their world,’’ Shoch explains. ``It
allows them to bring their guard down, to
emote through play.’’
Many of the military kids Shoch sees at
Carter Lake Elementary School have a lot of
emotions bubbling beneath the surface.
Feelings of sadness and anxiety - feelings
all kids experience - can be amplified for
children whose parents have gone away on
multiple military deployments, experts say.
And life does not suddenly return to nor-
mal after a homecoming celebration. When
soldiers return from tours of duty, it can dis-
rupt household routines and family relation-
ships that changed while they were gone.
For the past two school years, kids at
Carter Lake and five other schools at JBLM
have taken advantage of a program called
See SERVICES on page 4