Local News
Transplant
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There was no cure.
My only hope was a
lung transplant
day that I am given for granted. I feel a
tremendous responsibility to my donor and
my donor’s family for this wonderful gift of
life.
I am fortunate to be alive and I want to
make the most of it. There are no words for
how grateful I am for the support I have
received, and the greatest gift; the gift of
life.
Currently, there are more than 120,000
people waiting on the national transplant
list. For more information on organ dona-
tion, or to register to be an organ, eye and
tissue donor visit www.lcnw.org
BY THE NUMBERS
African Americans make up 13 percent of
the U.S. population and 14 percent of all
organ donors, but they account for nearly 35
percent of all patients nationwide waiting
for kidney transplants.
Minorities comprise 56 percent of indi-
viduals on the national organ transplant
waiting list and 32 percent of living and
deceased organ donors, while making up 36
percent of the U.S. population.
• Many of the conditions leading to the
need for a transplant — such as diabetes and
hypertension — occur with greater frequen-
cy among minority populations.
PHOTO COURTESY OF WWW.LCNW.ORG
therapy appointments, moved in with me
and made all my meals; literally, put her life
“on hold” for mine.
Since my transplant my life has changed
in a number of ways. I appreciate my fam-
ily and friends more. I am closer to my
family. I do not get upset over the small
crises that occur in life. I do not take each
Robin Prentice, right, with her mother Dee. Prentice is alive today because of a
lung transplant.
Enough
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“It’s an awful, awful feeling to lose a child
especially to senseless violence,” she said.
“The pain never ends, but the violence can.”
Lucy Mashia whose son Leonard James
Irving Jr. was killed in 2011, said she was
there to make it stop.
“They’ve got so bold they’re kicking
doors in and murdering women,” Mashia
said. “These are cowards. Men don’t shoot
innocent people. These people are cowards
and they are holding our community
hostage. People are not speaking up and
telling what they know.
“My son’s murder has not been solved
and we know who did it. Tell me how that
works. The whole community knows who
killed my son but nobody wants to come
forward.
They’re
allowing
those
cowards...to hold them hostage.”
Ronisha Harris, who lost her brother
Durieul in a shooting outside the Fontaine
Bleau nightclub in November 2013, also
spoke of her frustration that none of the
many witnesses had been brave enough to
speak out. But she also said she was frus-
trated that witnesses had no protection.
Harris called for authorities and the commu-
nity to give witnesses more protection so
they can come forward safely.
“There’s a difference between snitching
and telling what you know,” she said. “So
• Joining walking groups to engage with the
community: Connected and Eleven:45
• How to remember the lost loved ones
through events and through supporting
families through holidays
‘The whole community knows who killed my son
but nobody wants to come forward’
let me explain something: When you tell
what you know and our officials don’t pro-
tect you, then you decide not to tell.”
Harris says the shooter made a rap video
celebrating the murder but police can do
nothing about it.
The meeting broke into groups to address:
• Counseling to deal with trauma in fami-
lies of victims (and perpetrators)
• Creating a “speakers bureau” of family
members to tell their stories
• Creating a media campaign to encourage
witnesses to come forward
• Working with witnesses and supporting
them as they testify
The groups began work at the meeting.
The witness support group is looking at
ways to give practical help to those whose
lives may be in danger. More help is need-
ed. To join the campaign call the Office of
Youth Violence Prevention at 503-823-
4180.
Royal Harris, brother to Ronisha and
Durieul, said if George Zimmerman could
raise hundreds of thousands in a month, it
should be possible to crowd-fund witness
support money to help a family resettle in
safety.
Edwards said it’s up to us to change the
culture of silence about crime. It starts with
Metro estimates the cost of the reduced
fair is between $7 million to $9 million a
year in lost ticket revenues and administra-
tive overhead; officials estimate fares have
increased 100 percent since 2008.
public transportation to get to training class-
es, meet with case managers, find and get to
jobs and health care appointments, as well
as other important appointments,” said
Mahnaz Kourourian Eshetu, executive
bullying and with parents telling children
not to be a telltale when somebody beats
them up or steals from them, she said. The
message that children need to toughen up
silences them and devalues their feelings,
she said.
“What are we saying? Do we not deserve
to have our feelings be heard?”
And the 100 witnesses who saw who
killed Durieul Harris would not be “snitch-
ing” if they turned the shooter in.
“Snitching is: both of you all go into a
store and you’re stealing something. You’re
going to tell on him, and he’s going to tell
on you so you can get less time. That’s not
what this meeting about. This is about peo-
ple sitting here hurting. And we’re walking
around being traumatized because of a
street code, retaliation.
“It’s about being accountable and having
closure. And we’re not throwing anyone
away. I believe in Restorative Justice, but
it’s about accountability and what we do to
address this.
“How can it become historic. How can it
become courageous to speak the truth?”
Transit
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County residents for health insurance under
the Affordable Care Act.”
Public Health is expected to build a net-
work of third-party nonprofit groups to help
churn out the sign-up and verification
process for commuters who apply for the
program – about 45,000 to 100,000 com-
muters are thought to be eligible.
King County Executive Dow Constantine
rolled out the new plan this week, as a spate
of road construction closures has Metro
scrambling to pull together alternate transit
routes for commuters.
“It has taken us a little over two years of
hard work by the Executive, the Council,
human service agencies, and the members
of both task forces to get us to this point,”
said Councilor Larry Gossett, who spon-
sored the move and helped shepherd it to
passage. “I am proud that Martin Luther
King Jr. County will be one of the first
major transit agencies in the country to
implement a low-income fare.”
The reduced fare was first proposed by
the Low-Income Fare Options Advisory
Committee in mid-2013 and was officially
adopted in February as a counterpart to the
fare hikes Metro put into effect to head off
a 17 percent service cut.
‘Martin Luther King Jr. County will be one of the
first major transit agencies in the country to
implement a low-income fare’
In building out the plan, members of the
Low-income fare Implementation Task
Force flagged the number of workers
pushed to the suburban edges, who rely on
public transportation to get to higher-paying
jobs in the city center.
“Rising housing costs are leading many
families to locate in lower-cost locations
that may be farther away from where they
work,” said Mike Heinisch, executive direc-
tor of South King Council of Human
Services. “Providing a low-income fare is
one way we can help keep the region more
affordable for working families and ensure
equal access to economic opportunity.”
“As a social service agency, we work with
people who are in dire need of affordable
director of Refugee Women’s Alliance.
“The efforts of our County Executive and
County staff to make the discounted transit
fare widely available to people who need it
the most is admirable and will have a posi-
tive effect on the County’s economy while
creating stronger communities. It was an
honor to serve on this task force.”
Road Work Ahead
King County Metro Transit warns riders
to prepare for upcoming transit delays and
reroutes on State Route 99 and Aurora
Avenue North as the state closes sections of
the roadway for construction 10 p.m. Fri-
day, Aug. 22 through 5 a.m. Wednesday,
Aug. 27.
Seventeen routes will be directly affected
by either delays, reroutes or both during the
construction closures. Riders can go online
to see reroute information for five Aurora
Avenue North bus routes. Riders on another
12 bus routes should prepare for delays as
buses travel to and from downtown Seattle
on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
Because of potential widespread traffic
delays, most bus riders using transit service
into Seattle should prepare for possible
weekday commute delays Monday and
Tuesday, Aug. 25 and 26, as traffic shifts
from SR 99 to Interstate 5 and other city
streets.
Weekend buses to be rerouted (10 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 22 through 5 a.m. Monday,
Aug. 25): Routes 120, 125 and RapidRide C
and D lines will be rerouted 10 p.m. Friday,
Aug. 22 until 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 25.
Weekend, weekday buses to be rerouted
(10 p.m. Aug. 22 through 5 a.m. Wednes-
day, Aug. 27): Routes 5 local and express,
16, 26 express, 28 express & RapidRide E
Line will be rerouted, with spillover system
delays due to traffic. Service on Aurora
Avenue North will remain on regular route
until Aloha Street in both directions, with
reroutes to and from Belltown. Service
delays will be monitored by Metro.
August 20, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
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