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J UNE 12, 2013
S EATTLE , W ASHINGTON
V OLUME XXXV, N O . 36
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C HALLENGING P EOPLE TO S HAPE A B ETTER F UTURE N OW
Jobs for
At Risk
Youth
FURRY
RACE
New arts programs
aim to reduce youth
violence and poverty
T
PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED
King 5 Television anchor Joyce Taylor
and her dog Quincy and King 5
Producer Aaron Day with his dog Vito
were among the over 1000 runners and
walkers who participated in the 14th
Annual Furry 5k Fun Run and Walk
Sunday, June 9, at Seward Park. Over
$125,000 was raised for the Seattle
Animal Shelter's Help the Animals Fund.
For more see Furry 5k Fun Run and Walk
on page 6.
Health Benefit Exchange Rolls
$1.6 million will fund new network in health care services
T
he Washington Health
Benefit Exchange today
announced the selection
of Public Health – Seattle &
King County to provide in-per-
son assistance as part of the
Washington Healthplanfinder
Customer Support Program.
Washington Healthplanfinder is
a new way for people to find,
compare and enroll in health
insurance in Washington start-
ing Oct. 1, 2013.
Beginning January 1, 2014,
about 180,000 uninsured King
County residents will be newly
eligible for affordable health
coverage through the expansion
of the Medicaid program.
Washington Healthplanfinder.
Public Health – Seattle & King
County will receive $1.6 million
from the Washington Health
Benefit Exchange to build and
oversee a network of partners
who can give residents impartial
information to help them deter-
mine which health insurance
option best fits their needs and
help them enroll.
“Our goal is nothing less than
the full enrollment of those
INDEX
News .....................2,3,6
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uninsured who will become eli-
gible for health insurance next
year,” said King County Execu-
tive Dow Constantine. “We are
launching a ‘Get Covered King
County’ initiative to create a
‘culture of coverage’ in King
County.”
“We are excited to partner
with such knowledgeable and
trusted organizations that are
experts at reaching people in
their
communities,”
said
Richard Onizuka, Ph.D, CEO of
the Washington Health Benefit
Exchange. “Their work will
connect hundreds of thousands
of people with quality health
coverage – many for the first
time.”
Public Health is one of 10
organizations statewide, includ-
ing public health agencies,
coalitions, regional health net-
works, and community organi-
zations, chosen to help residents
enroll in a qualified health plan
starting Oct. 1, 2013. Lead
organizations will share nearly
$6 million in total grants funds
from the Exchange.
See HEALTH on page 3
his week Mayor Mike McGinn
announced a new program that pro-
vides work opportunities for at-risk
youth in collaboration with arts organiza-
tions and the Seattle Youth Violence Pre-
vention Initiative.
Work Readiness Arts is a program provid-
ing out-of-school programming that links
arts learning and work experiences for up to
70 Seattle youth ages 14 to 18.
Arts organizations interested in participat-
ing in this program are encouraged to sub-
mit proposals by June 28.
This is in addition to summer work oppor-
tunities targeting at-risk kids offered by
SYVPI, the Seattle Parks Department, and
the Human Services Department. The
mayor’s 2013-14 budget funds 450 new
slots in the SYVPI program, 225 of which
will be filled this year.
“Seattle’s at-risk youth need our help to
get work experience and a path to prosperi-
ty,” said McGinn. “By funding these addi-
tional opportunities we can help reduce
youth violence and strike a blow against
poverty in our communities.”
“It’s important that we provide positive
opportunities for at-risk young people in our
community to help prevent violence like we
saw at the beginning of last summer,” said
Interim Police Chief Jim Pugel. “Having a
summer job in the arts can help keep kids
off the street and out of trouble, as well as
inspiring them creatively.”
The Seattle Youth Violence Prevention
Initiative was established after an increase
in gun violence in 2008. The Initiative pro-
vides youth enrolled in the program with
activities, mentoring, case management,
employment services, and other targeted
support. In 2012, the demand for SYVPI
services was so high that the Initiative had a
waiting list of youth and enrollment was
capped at 1,050 due to limited capacity and
services. In earlier years, enrollment had
reached a one time high of 1,600 because no
one wanted to turn youth away. Without suf-
See YOUTH on page 3
Somali Attack on Yachters in Court
Three men charged with piracy, murder of Seattle residents
By Brock Vergakis
The Associated Press
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Defense attor-
neys for three Somalis charged with mur-
dering four American yachters in a pirate
hijacking said Thursday there’s no physical
evidence proving their clients fired the shots
that killed the Americans during a moment
of chaos as U.S. Navy warships and special
forces circled nearby off the coast of Africa.
The attorneys also suggested during open-
ing statements in federal court that the other
11 men who have already pleaded guilty to
piracy in the case have a vested interest in
testifying against their clients, noting that
they agreed to testify in exchange for the
possibility of a reduced sentence. The 11 are
currently serving mandatory life sentences.
The yacht’s owners, Jean and Scott Adam
of Marina del Rey, Calif., and their friends,
Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay of Seattle,
were shot to death in February 2011 after
they were taken hostage at sea several hun-
dred miles south of Oman. They were the
first Americans to be killed during a wave of
pirate attacks that have plagued the Gulf of
Aden and Indian Ocean in recent years,
See HIJACK on page 7