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A happy Thanksgiving |Salvation Army gets the turkeys for its 600 families [7]
Carco’s new tenant | Puget Sound Access is moving to Renton’s Carco Theatre, plans on FRIDAY, NOV. 23, 2012 making improvements [3]
A home For the
holidays Yesihak Hassen and his son Jawhar sit in the living room of their new townhouse. The family is able to own the home through the efforts of Habitat for Humanity of East King County. adam mcfadden, Renton Reporter
Habitat for Humanity gives family ‘an extra life’ By ADAM McFADDEN amcfadden@rentonreporter.com
When Yesihak Hassen was spending 15 days in the jungle trying to escape the violence in his homeland of Ethiopia, he never could have imagined where he would be 26 years later. “I feel like I’m living an extra life now,” Hassan said from his new home in Renton.
Hassen and his family moved into their home through Habitat for Humanity of East King County in early November, just in time to have family over for the holidays. “I’ve just been calling everybody and saying come on down,” he said. Hassen met his wife Hannan in Sudan and they moved to Washington in 1993 with the International Rescue Committee. They have four children, Sofia (18),
Rukeya (13), Firdaus (9), and Jawhar (4). Hannan’s mother Rugeya also lives with the family. Before getting their new home, the seven lived in a three-bedroom, onebathroom apartment in Seattle. “It was really hard with one bathroom,” Hassen said. “We knocked into each other all the time. Now with three, there’s no problem at all.” [ more Habitat page 9 ]
All-league teams | Read about all of Renton’s standout athletes from the fall season [12]
City Council nearing finale of budget OK By DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com
The Renton City Council is nearing completion of its deliberations for the $457 million city budget for 2013 and 2014. Monday, the public will have a chance to comment on the budget at the council’s meeting at 7 p.m. at its council chambers. Mayor Denis Law presented his budget proposal to the council in October. It came with a $10 million revenue shortfall that will mean staff cuts, some rate increases and other cost-saving measures. One possible new source of revenue is a $600 charge for patient transport by city fire crews to a hospital. The charge, which would be billed to an insurance carrier and not the patient, would raise about $325,000 a year for the general fund, under city estimates. Firefighters filled the City Council chambers Monday to raise objections to the new charge, pointing out transport is a service they now provide for free and the money wouldn’t necessarily go to fire services. “It will not do anything for the fire department,” said Mark dos Remedios, who is president of the Renton IAFF Local 864. But Jay Covington, the city’s chief administrative officer, points out that the fire department is funded from the general fund, which is supported by a number of revenue sources. That’s an advantage for the fire department, if one particular source falls short of forecast. The council is expected to finalize the budget on Dec. 3. The council meets on the seventh floor of City Hall.
Future of UW/Valley Med alliance could go before judge A King County Superior Court judge could decide the future of the strategic alliance between UW Medicine and the owner of Valley Medical Center next month.
A hearing is tentatively set for Dec. 28 before Judge Michael C. Hayden on UW Medicine’s motion to summarily dismiss a lawsuit filed in early October by the commissioners of Public Hospital District No. 1, which owns the medical center. The hospital district’s lawsuit maintains
Your Residential Specialists
that the elected district commissioners could not delegate their legislative responsibilities for a public institution to unelected decision makers. Hospital district attorneys now have until the end of next week to prepare a response to the UW Medicine’s filings with the judge.
Dr. Paul Joos, president of the hospital commission, said he expects it’s more likely the lawsuit will be resolved in late January or February. Joos said this week the commission has been “stonewalled” by the University of [ more alliance page 15]
206-949-1696 info@marciemaxwell.com 696186
By DEAN A. RADFORD dradford@rentonreporter.com