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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (May 22, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM M AY 22, 2013 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 33 25 CENTS For The Skanner news alerts Text "NEWS" to 503-715-0890 or scan this QR code C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW DIXIE’S FIGHT Report: What a Waste! Homes in foreclosure are destroying our community wealth PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED T Surrounded by supporters at a press conference outside her home in Seattle's Central District, cancer survivor Dixie Mitchell talks about her struggle with foreclosure. Mitchell obtained a mortgage modification two years ago, but her monthly mortgage payments still take up two-thirds of her fixed income. Republican Legislators Push For 30 Bills Senate Democrats say they’re playing politics with state budget By Rachel La Corte and Mike Baker The Associated Press OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — As lawmakers wrap up their first week of a special legisla- tive session, Senate majority leaders have asked that more than 30 bills be considered as part of the budget discussions. A list of 33 measures, obtained by The Associated Press on Friday, was submitted during a private meeting Thurs- day, including bills dealing with changes to the workers’ com- pensation system, education bills and other bills tied to the budget, including funding for state parks and higher educa- tion. Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler declined to comment on the list Friday. Senate Minority Leader Ed Murray, D-Seattle, said that focusing on so many bills dur- ing a special session “is not a good faith effort in compro- mise.” Murray noted that his caucus would still like to see several INDEX News .....................2,3,6 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................4 Bids/Classifieds............7 Democratic priority bills passed, including new rules related to abortion insurance and financial aid for young immigrants, but said his caucus has not presented a similar list as the majority, saying the focus needs to be on the budget. “I don’t believe the budget should be taken hostage to any particular bill,’’ he said. ``That goes for both sides.’’ Senate Majority Leader Rod- ney Tom, the Democratic leader of the predominantly Republi- can majority in the Senate, did not return a call seeking com- ment. Washington lawmakers returned to the Capitol on Mon- day for a special legislative ses- sion to address a projected budget deficit of more than $1.2 billion for the next two-year budget, plus a court-ordered increase in funding for the state’s education system. Budget writers in the House and Senate have been meeting since the regular session adjourned on April 28, and reg- See OLYMPIA on page 3 he foreclosure crisis continues to destroy wealth on a large scale across the U.S. and here in Seattle. Due to historical inequities and predatory banking practices, the most devastating impact has been felt in communities of color. The fore- closure rate for majority communities of color is more than twice as high as it is for segregated white communities (11 per 1,000 and 5 per 1,000 respectively). This among the key findings of a new study, “Wasted Wealth: The Foreclosure Epidemic, a Generational Crisis for Com- munities of Color,” released today by Wash- ington Community Action Network, Alliance for a Just Society and the Seattle King County NAACP. The Wasted Wealth report analyzes 2012 foreclosure data to cal- culate lost wealth, examines the ongoing threat of foreclosures-in-waiting, and explores the economic impacts of principal reduction. Citywide, communities in Seattle lost $289 million in wealth due to the foreclo- sure crisis in 2012, or $900 per household. However, communities with higher concen- trations of people of color saw more wealth lost per household: $1,400 per household for majority-people of color communities and only $600 in segregated white commu- nities. Even communities with only above average people of color population saw over one-and-a-half times the amount of wealth lost per household than segregated white communities. Among recent borrowers, nearly 8 percent of both African Americans and Latinos have been foreclosed upon, compared to 4.5 per- cent of Whites. Data also shows that the Latino community in the Seattle area was one of the hardest hit. From 2005-2009 Lati- no households saw a 66 percent drop in household wealth. The report found there were over 48,000 underwater mortgages in Seattle on the books in 2012 and another $805 million in wealth at stake if a share of these mortgages See HOMES on page 3 Care Transitions: Whose Job is it Anyway? Conference seeks to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions H ow can we decrease avoidable hos- pital admissions that significantly add to the cost of health care? That is the topic of an upcoming half-day confer- ence, “Care Transitions: Whose Job Is It Anyway?” on Thursday, May 30, 2013, 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Valley Medical Cen- ter’s Medical Arts Center Auditorium (4033 Talbot Rd S, 1st floor, Renton). Register online by May 22. The conference is coordinated by Aging and Disability Services—the Area Agency on Aging for King County—in collabora- tion with Valley Medical Center and Qualis Health, the Quality Improvement Organiza- tion for Washington and Idaho. Participants will include south King County community leaders, policymakers, hospital and home health care administrators, discharge plan- ners, nurses, physicians, pharmacists, social service providers, and health care con- sumers. “Care Transitions: Whose Job Is It Any- way?” continues a community conversation that began last year when health care and human services professionals and others met to discuss new ways to work together to decrease avoidable hospital admissions. See CARE on page 3
