Latest news with #Proposition1
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
EvergreenHealth Seeks First-Ever Levy Lid Lift to Expand Access to Care and Plan for Future Needs
KIRKLAND, Wash., May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- This August, voters in King County Public Hospital District #2 will be asked to consider Proposition 1, EvergreenHealth's first-ever Levy Lid Lift request since the hospital opened in 1972. If approved, the measure would support enhanced access to care, expand services and help the public hospital district prepare for the future health care needs of its growing Eastside community. Currently, district residents pay $0.14 per $1,000 of assessed home value toward the EvergreenHealth levy. If approved, the Levy Lid Lift would add $0.36, bringing the total to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value. 'As the Eastside grows, so do the health care needs of our community,' said Ettore Palazzo, MD, Chief Executive Officer. 'Proposition 1 would allow EvergreenHealth to invest in primary, urgent and specialty care, advanced diagnostics and outpatient behavioral health—ensuring more people have timely access to the care they need, closer to home.' Why now?EvergreenHealth has never asked to increase its levy funding—until now. When EvergreenHealth opened in 1972, it had 76 beds and served 22,000 residents. Today, it serves a population of more than 330,000 and has grown into a comprehensive health system offering nearly 400 beds, two Emergency Departments, eight Urgent Cares, 12 Primary Care practices, over 40 Specialty Care practices, Home Health and Hospice services and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). What Would the Levy Lid Lift Fund?If approved, Proposition 1 would: Expand access to care by increasing capacity for primary, urgent, specialty, and outpatient behavioral health services Recruit and retain providers to improve appointment availability Invest in advanced diagnostic technology and infrastructure to meet current and future demand Support programs for seniors and youth, including wellness classes and behavioral health 'These investments are about ensuring that our hospital district can continue to meet the needs of our growing community—not just today, but well into the future,' said Chris Bredeson, Chief Operating and Strategy Officer. Learn MoreTo learn more about the proposed levy lid lift, explore frequently asked questions, and access educational resources, visit: Election Day is August 5. Register to vote by July is a community-owned hospital system serving more than one million residents in King and Snohomish counties. Since 1972, EvergreenHealth has evolved beyond the hospital into a network of primary care practices, urgent care centers, specialty clinics, extensive home care and hospice services and 24/7 emergency care in Kirkland, Monroe and Redmond. As a public hospital district, EvergreenHealth actively provides equal access to high-quality, high-value care, partnering with local organizations to perform outreach and offer health education to address our community's needs. The hospital system is recognized as one of Healthgrades America's 50 Best™ Hospitals in clinical excellence and holds a 5-Star Overall Rating from the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). Learn more at Cody MillerEvergreenHealth425.899.1871Cotmiller@ Kristi HerriottFirmani + Associates Inc.206.466.2702Kristi@ in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
To address homelessness, we need affordable housing and addiction treatment
'California has spent billions on homelessness. Audit shows we haven't been tracking it | Opinion,' ( April 11, 2024) An audit done in 2024 revealed that the state spent $24 billion over five years to solve our homelessness crisis. Sacramento Homeless Union President Crystal Sanchez said recently that a real solution to homelessness is more affordable housing. Proposition 1, passed last year, and CARE Court, established by Gov. Gavin Newsom, aim to address other root causes of homelessness by compelling treatment for mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism. Both these solutions are paramount to addressing the scourge of homelessness we see around us. We need shelter and jobs. We also cannot accept non-treatment of mental illness, drug addiction and alcoholism as merely 'lifestyle choices.' Our society can have standards, allow for quirky eccentricities and honor those who flaunt convention without okaying behavior that adversely affects everyone. Leslie Shaw Klinger Modesto 'Trump's Medicaid cuts versus California's healthcare stance,' ( May 15) In the Republican's so-called 'big beautiful bill,' Medicaid is the biggest loser, and 13.7 million Americans will lose their health care. We, the people, get no tax on tips and overtime. Meanwhile, the rich will pay less taxes thanks to President Donald Trump. This alone would increase our national deficit. The nation's credit rating just got downgraded, and our interest rates and borrowing costs have increased. This bill would just make everything worse. Elected officials making decisions for the rest of us are only benefitting the rich and defrauding every other American. It's much easier to please Trump and the Republican party than represent us — the majority who aren't rich enough to help officials get elected. Diane Kroeze Modesto 'Rooftop solar subsidies raise electricity costs in California,' ( May 16) California has long established rooftop solar as a cornerstone of its energy and climate goals. Rooftop solar is a key tool in providing affordable housing for all, allowing middle class families to maintain control over their energy bills. Assembly Bill 942, however, threatens to inject chaos into the housing market. Under the bill, new homeowners purchasing properties with existing solar installations would have their contracts retroactively changed to the less favorable Net Energy Metering 3.0. This would diminish the value of homes with solar panels to buyers and create unnecessary friction in the home sale. For homebuilders, this is particularly problematic. AB 942 will create new housing market risks, exacerbating housing costs. While AB 942 claims to address energy 'affordability,' it will have the opposite effect. California should be doing everything we can to help homebuyers enter into affordable and energy resilient homes. AB 942 undermines that goal. Chris Ochoa Senior counsel, California Building Industry Association 'Prison closure, Ozempic limit, cap-and-what? 5 takeaways from Gavin Newsom's budget,' ( May 16) It would be a mistake for Gov. Gavin Newsom to restrict Medi-Cal coverage of weight loss drugs, like Zepbound and Wegovy. Medi-Cal will continue GLP-1 coverage for diabetics, meaning California won't offer overweight Medi-Cal patients access to GLP-1 drugs to help them avoid becoming diabetic, but it will pay for these treatments once they put on so much weight that they develop the disease. This is illogical. GLP-1 drugs will save Medi-Cal money. It is common sense that a person who is not obese or diabetic will need less medical care over time. Hank Naughton Clinton, Mass.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dehumanization of homeless population causes violence against it, homeless advocate says
May 22—Violence is no stranger to Spokane's homeless population. Besides Thursday's murder sentencing of Aaron R. Holder, a judge sentenced Steven P. White, 48, last month to 30 years in prison for fatally stabbing 44-year-old Shan Anderson, who was lying on the ground possibly sleeping, more than a dozen times in 2023 in downtown Spokane. Last month, three teenagers brutally attacked a homeless man on the ground outside the downtown Spokane Public Library, leaving the man with skull fractures and brain bleeding, according to court documents. About 30 minutes later, one of the teens threw an electric scooter at a man sleeping in a sleeping bag on Sprague Avenue and Wall Street, court records show. Donald Whitehead, executive director at National Coalition for the Homeless, described attacks on homeless people as a "crime of opportunity." Homeless people often don't have ties to the larger community and are not connected to their relatives, so the crimes may go unnoticed or may not be adjudicated in the same manner, he said. Whitehead said the homeless population is more susceptible to violence because communities push to dissolve encampments, forcing them into isolated locations where they are more prone to be victims of violence. Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson that municipalities can criminalize sleeping outdoors on public property because it does not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Last month, the Spokane City Council voted to not move forward with reinstating Proposition 1, the voter-approved anti-homeless camping law that the Washington Supreme Court had recently struck down. Proposition 1 banned camping within 1,000 feet of parks, schools and licensed day care facilities, making violations a misdemeanor offense. The state Supreme Court argued the proposition had gone outside the legal bounds for a local initiative, though it did not make a ruling on the merits of the law, leaving it open for the City Council to reinstate the law, according to previous Spokesman-Review reporting. Whitehead said many people who attack homeless people view them as less human, a narrative that has ramped up in certain states and led to more attacks on the homeless population. Oregon has one of the highest levels of crimes against unsheltered people, Whitehead said, and attributed it to the negative publicity around the Grants Pass v. Johnson case, noting the direct correlation between dehumanizing homeless people and the violence that's perpetrated upon them. The Oregonian reported in February 2024 that a growing number of homeless people were being shot and killed in Portland. Five of the 15 homicides at that point in the year in the city involved a homeless person, the publication reported. Whitehead said he expects the homeless population and violence against it to dramatically increase if President Donald Trump's budget proposal and the reconciliation bill, the latter of which cleared the House this week, are approved. Trump proposed dramatic cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That includes eliminating HUD's rental assistance program, including Section 8 vouchers, and allowing states to make their own rental assistance programs instead. The plan would include a two-year cap on rental assistance for able-bodied adults. Whitehead said the cuts to HUD will make it much harder to get people out of homelessness. The reconciliation bill proposes several changes to Medicaid, including work requirements for able-bodied adults. Whitehead said medical expenses are one of the reasons people can't afford housing. The "cascading list of changes" will have negative effects, he said. "People will die because of these changes," Whitehead said.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Alameda Health System secures over $77m for care units
The Alameda Health System (AHS) in the US has secured over $77m in funding to enhance its behavioural health infrastructure. This investment will fund the construction of a ten-bed inpatient medical detox and psychiatric care unit at San Leandro Hospital, as well as two units with 20 beds dedicated to geriatric psychiatric healthcare at St Rose Hospital. The funding comes from the California Department of Health Care Services' (DHCS) Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, via Proposition 1. St Rose Hospital board chair and AHS chief operating officer Mark Fratzke said: 'This is a transformative investment for Alameda Health System and the East Bay community. It strengthens our ability to care for those in the most vulnerable moments of their lives and ensures that people can get the mental and behavioural health care they need close to home. 'We are proud to be recognised as a critical component of California's efforts to modernise and expand mental and behavioural health care. This funding will advance our mission of caring, healing, teaching, and serving all.' In Alameda County, mental and behavioural health ranks among the top five priority health needs, as highlighted in the Alameda County Health Care Service's Community Health Needs Assessment for 2022-2025. The funding will allow the health system to address a care gap and broaden its capacity to cater to patients with intricate behavioural health requirements. AHS is one of 124 sponsor organisations to receive a share of the $3.3bn in competitive funding awards from the DHCS' Proposition 1 Bond BHCIP Round 1. These awards are part of a broader effort to establish a behavioural health system in California, ensuring timely access to various levels of care, from crisis stabilisation to long-term treatment. The state's commitment to reducing mental health crises and supporting community-based solutions underscores the importance of these investments for the sustainability and accessibility of behavioural care services. "Alameda Health System secures over $77m for care units" was originally created and published by Hospital Management, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
LA business owner plays ‘Baby Shark' on repeat to deter homeless encampments
In downtown Los Angeles, a business owner resorted to an unconventional method to prevent homeless people from camping near his property: playing the children's song 'Baby Shark' continuously through a loudspeaker aimed at the encampment. Tracy, who lives in a nearby encampment at the corner of West 11th and Main streets, described the experience to NBC4 Los Angeles, saying, 'They played 'Baby Shark' all night long. They're doing everything they can to make us move or drive us crazy. But it's doing the latter. It's driving people crazy.' She added that the persistent noise had kept her and others awake throughout the night. 'This is ridiculous. We can't get any sleep. We can't get housing. We can't eat. And now they're trying to drive us crazy with children's music,' Tracy said. Also read: 'No jobs in USA for international students': Founder says honeymoon period is over Shalom Styles, owner of Styles Barber Lounge located nearby, defended the decision, emphasising that business owners are simply trying to survive in challenging circumstances. 'It's not always about being kind, because when people are taking away from business, and all the stores are going out of business, we're still here surviving, trying to put up for our family,' Styles told the outlet. The situation unfolds against the backdrop of California Governor Gavin Newsom's ambitious plan to tackle the state's homeless crisis. Last week, Newsom unveiled details of a multi-billion-dollar initiative designed to prompt cities and counties into immediate action. On Monday, Newsom introduced a model ordinance urging local governments to 'immediately address dangerous and unhealthy encampments and connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter and services.' 'There's nothing compassionate about letting people die on the streets,' the governor said in a news release. The proposed ordinance is supported in part by $3.3 billion in new funding from Proposition 1, with Newsom's office stressing the urgency for local authorities to respond swiftly. In addition to financial support, Newsom is encouraging municipalities to exercise their legal authority—affirmed by the US Supreme Court—to manage homeless encampments effectively. 'The Governor is calling on every local government to adopt and implement local policies without delay,' his office stated. Newsom's administration has actively held communities accountable when state laws addressing homelessness are ignored. For example, in 2024, the state sued the City of Norwalk over its unlawful ban on homeless shelters. While national homelessness increased by nearly 7% last year, California's rise was a comparatively modest 0.45%, lower than that of 44 other states. 'Governor Newsom is the first governor to actively address this issue in our state, and he is reversing a crisis that was decades in the making,' Newsom's office said. Also read: 'Real Engineering' YouTuber says 'won't praise India again' after incorrect map controversy
