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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 10, 2018)
January 10, 2018 The Skanner Portland Page 5 News Events & Announcements Community Calendar 2018 cont’d from pg 4 MONDAY, JANUARY 15 30TH ANNUAL DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BIRTHDAY CELEBRA- TION: City of Tacoma’s annual celebration to honor the legacy of Dr. King, performances by Tacoma High School students, key- note speaker, community service awards, community outreach fair in the lobby. 10 a.m. – 1 p.m., Greater Tacoma and Trade Cen- ter, 1500 Broadway St., Tacoma. BATES ANNUAL MARCH FOR MLK: Community march to support the ideas of Martin Luther King, Jr. 10 a.m. – 11 a.m., Starts at Yakima Ave. and ends at the Tacoma Convention Center, Tacoma. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 17 PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED SEATTLE’S 18TH ANNUAL DIVERSITY EMPLOYMENT DAY CAREER FAIR: This is the largest and best diversity and inclusion recruit- ing event in the United States. This event is free and open to the public 18 years of age and older. 20+ Employers recruiting, hundreds of jobs and positions. 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Seattle Center Pavillion, 305 Harrison St. Troop 008 Gets New Gear The boys and scout leaders of Rainier Valley’s Troop 008, a unit of the Thunderbird District (South Seattle) of the Boys Scouts of America try on some of the gear that was donated to them by Outdoor Research, a local outdoor gear and clothing company. Outdoor Research was impressed with Troop 008’s goal of getting more youth of color outdoors and presented the boys and their leaders with a variety of clothing and gear at a brief ceremony January 5th at Rainier Beach Community Center. Briefs cont’d from pg 4 Center and parking. The Voting Center Express is open January 8 to Election Day, January 23. Normal office hours are 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM Monday - Friday. Extended open hours for the January 23 Special Elec- tion are listed below. The Voting Center Express will be closed Jan. 15 in observance of the birthday of Mar- tin Luther King Jr. The Voting Center Express will offer extended open hours: • 10: a.m. – 2 p.m., Saturday, January 20 • 8 a.m. – 6 p.m., Monday, January 22 • 7 a.m. – 8 p.m., Tuesday, January 23 (Election Day) Ballots can only be accepted at the Voting Center Express during open hours. The nearest 24-hour of- ficial ballot drop box site is in the parking lot at the Gresham Library at 385 NW Miller Avenue. To find other Multnomah County official ballot drop sites, go online to bit.ly/MultCoDropSites. Multnomah County Elections provides an inter- preter, free of charge to anyone who needs help vot- ing in a language other than English. Additional vot- ing and elections information in nine languages is online at multco.us/education-and-outreach. Voted ballots must be received by 8:00 PM on Tues- day, January 23. Voters are encouraged to return ballots promptly because of the possibility of inclem- ent winter weather. For more information about the January 23 Special Election or the Voting Center Ex- press, please visit www.mcelections.org. Seattle News Briefs Volunteers Needed to Advise on Development Plans for Seattle University and Swedish First Hill Here’s your chance to advise the City on the devel- opment plans of either Seattle University or Swedish First Hill campus. Seattle Department of Neighbor- hoods is seeking interested community members from surrounding neighborhoods to participate on one of the Standing Advisory Committees (SAC) for these two institutions. Each committee provides feed- back on projects planned and under development by the institution or school to ensure it complies with its Master Plan. The Master Plan describes zoning rules, long range planning of the property, and transporta- tion planning. Community members who have experience in neighborhood organizing and issues, land use and zoning, architecture or landscape architecture, eco- nomic development, building development, educa- tional services, or just an interest in their neighbor- hood’s future are encouraged to apply. The committees meet in the evenings on the insti- tution’s campus one to four times a year. Committee members serve a two-year renewable term. If you are interested in serving on one of these committees, send a letter of interest by either e-mail or regular mail by Friday, January 19 to: Maureen Sheehan E-mail: Maureen.Sheehan@seattle.gov Mailing Address: Seattle Department of Neighborhoods P.O. Box 94649 Seattle, WA 98124-4649 For more information contact Richard Fink, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, at 206-386-1948. The City of Seattle is committed to promoting di- versity in its boards and committees; women, young adults, senior citizens, persons with disabilities, sex- ual and gender minorities, persons of color, and im- migrants are highly encouraged to apply. The Major Institutions and Schools Program pro- vides a way for neighbors of Seattle’s hospitals, uni- versities, and colleges to be directly involved in the development plans for those institutions to ensure neighborhood concerns are considered when those plans are made. It is a program of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods. Washington DOH Passes Groundbreaking Rule Creating a New Gender Option for Birth Certificates Rule creates gender marker “X” for those who iden- tify as a gender that is not exclusively male or female On Monday, the Washington State Department of Health passed a new rule that simplifies the process for a person to change the gender listed on their birth certificate. The rule also creates a gender marker X, which represents a gender that is not exclusively male or female (such as nonbinary, intersex, agender, genderfluid, genderqueer, transgender, Two Spirit, and others). Washington is one of only three states and Wash- ington D.C. to acknowledge people outside the gender binary on government documents. Gender equity and transgender rights advocates — including Gen- der Justice League, Legal Voice, Pride Foundation, and Ingersoll Gender Center — praised the DOH for taking steps to recognize all Washingtonians as who they are. Currently, state law requires either a court order or a doctor’s letter if a person needs to change the gender listed on their birth certificate. Even then, the gender options are restricted to male and female. Un- der the new rule, adults will have the right to self-at- test to the gender marker change, without a court or- der or doctor’s letter. However, minors will still need a statement from an approved health care provider, and a parent or legal guardian will need to complete the application. The alternative to the binary designations applies SATURDAY, JANUARY 20 SEATTLE’S WOMXN’S MARCH 2.0: This march takes place on the first anniversary of the Womxn’s March. 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Cal An- derson Park, 1635 11th Ave. only to minors and adults who apply to update their birth certificates. The gender marker options for newborns will still be male and female and undetermined. Further, the process for updating gender markers on other state identification—such as a driver license or ID card— remains unchanged. More information can be found at https://www.doh. wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/BirthDeath- MarriageandDivorce/RuleMaking. Kreidler Proposes Bill to Stabilize Health Insurance Market, Reduce Premium Costs Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is propos- ing legislation to help provide stability and confi- dence that over 300,000 people are able to maintain coverage in Washington’s individual health insur- ance market. Kreidler’s proposed reinsurance program would encourage more health plan options in the 2019 indi- vidual market and lower premium increases by up to 10 percent. Reinsurance provides health insurers partial reim- bursement for high-cost medical claims that exceed a certain threshold. These type of claims typically in- volve extremely serious health issues, such as cancer, complications from diabetes and pre-mature births, among others. The legislation (HB 2355/SB 6062 www.leg.wa.gov) has two prime co-sponsors: Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-49th District in Vancouver (SB 6062), and Rep. Ei- leen Cody, D-34th District in Seattle. 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