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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2013)
WWW . THESKANNER . COM J UNE 5, 2013 S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON V OLUME XXXV, N O . 35 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 Kidney Health Fest CIRCUS KID Come down for free services, family fun events, good food O they will be able to pay for an academic year of tuition and mandatory fees at the state’s most expensive college or uni- versity with 100 GET units. Tuition and fees at less expen- sive schools cost fewer units and housing is extra. People who already have GET accounts for their children or others will have one more month to buy GET units at this year’s price of $172, which translates into $17,200 for a year of tuition and state mandat- n Saturday, June 22, Northwest Kid- ney Centers holds its 11th annual Kidney Health Fest for African American Families, featuring free health screenings, education, entertainment and healthy food made by local celebrity chefs. The free event runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Van Asselt Elementary (formerly the African American Academy), 8311 Beacon Ave. S., in Seattle, on Metro bus line 106. About 750 people attended last year. “Everyone is welcome to attend the Fest, have fun and learn about kidney disease and healthy living – and it’s completely free!” said Dr. Bessie Young, a Seattle kidney spe- cialist who has chaired the community organizing committee since the Fest began. “Bring your friends and family and make a day of it. People of every age can have fun while they learn how to keep their families healthy.” One in seven American adults has kidney disease. In the African American communi- ty, the number increases four-fold. Although African Americans make up 12 percent of the U.S. population, 35 percent of individu- als with kidney failure on dialysis are African American. In addition, African American men are 10 to 14 times more likely to develop kidney failure due to high blood pressure than Cau- casian men in the same age group. At the event, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., partic- ipants can receive a free kidney health screening and private consultation with a doctor about the results. The screening includes a finger stick for a blood sample, urinalysis, blood pressure and weight check. Diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity all contribute to the current epidemic of kid- ney disease. Dr. Jonathan Himmelfarb, director of the Kidney Research Institute in Seattle, will be among the speakers. Himmelfarb is an inter- national authority who can explain up-to- the-minute science in terms lay people can understand. He will talk about the reasons why kidney disease is more common in See TUITION on page 3 See KIDNEY on page 3 PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED The Dearborn Elementary School S.C.A.T.S. (Seattle Cirque & Acrobat TeamS) perform at the 21st Annual Beacon Hill Festival Saturday, June 1, at Jefferson Park and Community Center. The annual event included a lot of fun activities for kids, live music and dance performances, community information tables and food. Prepaid College Tuition Going Up Parents investing in price stabilization plan save by thinking ahead By Donna Gordon Blankinship The Associated Press SEATTLE (AP) Despite speculation to the contrary, the price for Washington’s prepaid tuition program will be going up again this fall, according to offi- cials with the Guaranteed Edu- cation Tuition program. The committee that sets the price for GET units won’t meet until mid-August, but agency spokeswoman Susan Martensen told The Associated Press a price increase is all but certain. “We have every indication from the state actuary that next year’s unit price will be higher,’’ she said. “It looks like we won’t see a large tuition jump next year as we have seen in the past few years, but tuition both next year and over the long term is still projected to rise.’’ State Actuary Matt Smith said on Thursday that he can’t pre- dict what the GET committee will decide in August, but agreed that all indications are that an increase in the unit price INDEX News .....................3,6,7 Calendar ....................2 Opinion .......................4 A&E .......................2,5,8 Bids/Classifieds............7 is likely this fall. Since the program started in 1998, unit prices have never gone down; they’ve always gone up. Meanwhile, Smith says a long-term plan to reform the GET program and improve its financial picture seems to be working. Washington’s prepaid tuition program is a state-run 529 col- lege savings plan with a twist. Investors are guaranteed that no matter what happens to the stock market or state tuition, Police Retrain Drug-Sniffing Dog Force Consequences of legalization continue in ‘desensitization’ efforts By Manuel Valdes The Associated Press BREMERTON, WA (AP) When Dusty, a 19-month-old black Labrador, walked past a pipe full of marijuana during a recent police search of a house, he was doing exactly what his handler hoped. The newest drug-sniffing dog on the police force in Bremerton, near Seattle, is one of a few police dogs in Washington state that are not trained to point out pot during searches. Other police departments are con- sidering or in the midst of re-training their dogs to ignore pot as well, part of the new reality in a state where voters last fall legal- ized marijuana use. “We wanted to train our dog on what was truly illegal substances, that would be hero- in, methamphetamine and cocaine,’’ said Dusty’s handler, Officer Duke Roessel, who added that Dusty nabbed five pounds of meth during that recent search. Police departments in Bremerton, Belle- vue and Seattle, as well as the Washington State Patrol, have either put the dogs through pot desensitization training or plan not to train them for marijuana detection. See SNIFF on page 3
