The SouthEast Seattle Senior Center has sent the University Sunrise Rotary Club a very nice letter (see below) of appreciation for the $5,000 donation that our Foundation made to them. It was presented to them by Steve Barton on May 13, 2021. It will be used for an elevator modernization, an important, but costly, project in a center for seniors.
The $5,000 was a culmination of Past President Barton’s donations of $2500 (from the Club’s annual President’s Dinner proceeds) and a grant from the foundation of $2,500.
Tim Burgess served 10 years at Seattle City Hall as a member of the City Council and as the city’s 55th Mayor. He was first elected city-wide in 2007 and won re-election in 2011 and 2015.
Tim Burgess
Tim was the lead architect of the Seattle Preschool Program for the city’s three-and four-year old children, one of only three municipal government facilitated preschool programs in the United States to meet all ten national quality standards. Tim led the effort in 2011 to double the size of the city’s Families and Education Levy so school-based health clinics could be located in every middle school and high school. Tim developed the Seattle Retirement Savings Plan for workers without an employer-offered plan, making Seattle the first city in the nation to create a such a mandatory plan. Under his leadership, Seattle became the fourth major U.S. city to fully fund the Nurse Family Partnership, a home visitation program for low-income families that The New York Times calls America’s best anti-poverty program. Tim also persuaded his colleagues to adopt an excise tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition with the revenues dedicated to gun violence prevention and research. In his time at City Hall, he was a consistent and staunch advocate for criminal justice and police reform, economic growth policies, and tourism promotion.
Key Points Summary by Michelle Lee
The Seattle city government appears not to have a plan for unsheltered living. Encampment in public places blocks uses of public spaces such as parks, sidewalks and sports fields and harms business recovery.
To guide the city government, Tim, some neighborhood and business groups have formed Compassion Seattle, a citizen initiative planning to put a charter amendment on the King County election ballot this November. They will need 45,000 signatures to make sure the initiative is certified although only 33,060 signatures are required.
The charter amendment will ask the city to:
To make available mental health and substance use disorder treatment services and to create a behavioral health rapid-response capability as an alternative to police response in some situations
The city will spend the money but the services will be provided by King County which has mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, but not yet the behavioral health rapid-response capability yet.
To create 2,000 new units of emergency housing within 12 months
Emergency housing includes enhanced shelters, mini houses and hotel/motel rooms. Different from regular shelters, lockers, on site treatment services and housing referral are available at enhanced shelters.
To remove encampments with public health or safety risks or obstruct access to or use of public spaces
Removal is not a quick fix. Outreach professionals are needed to build and nurture relationship, persuade the individuals to move and accept services. However, if the encampments endanger safety, public health and use of public space, immediate removal is required.
To establish a dedicated fund in city treasury for these purposes and to accept outside contributions from public, businesses, philanthropy and other government entities
To require 12% of the city’s general fund be allocated to human services program, including homelessness
Today 11% is allocated to human services, the additional 1% equals to approximately $18 million. Expected cost for the new behavioral services is $5-16 million depends on number of people sign up.
To invest in, support and cooperate with the new Regional Homelessness Authority
The Regional Homelessness Authority was established 2 years ago, the new chief executive has been recently hired.
Charter amendment sunsets in six years (December 2027)
If the measures in Charter amendment do not work in 6 years, it is time to try something else. If there is no sunset clause, the City constitution will be changed forever unless it is voted again.
The charter amendment is currently pending at the court for some legal issues. Tim would like to collect signatures from as many people as possible once it is cleared.
Thanks to Club Member Michael Bronsdon for making this program possible.
Sunday, June 6, 2021, 5:00 PM, at the Seattle Yacht Club (1807 E. Hamlin Street, Seattle, WA 98112 — 206-325-1000)
Business casual attire appropriate. No blue jeans per SYC dress code.
RSVPrequired (to Nancy Bittner 206-595-9620) by Monday, May 24th!
If you have not already been called, please call or text Nancy if you plan to attend. She will need to know what choice you would like for your dinner entree, either beef, fish, or vegetarian.
Cost – Payment – Money Q&A’s
Dinner is $65/person. Payment by credit card or check the night of the event.
CASH is needed to purchase “script” if you wish to purchase wine, beer, hard alcohol, or soft drink prior to dinner. Wine will be provided with dinner. CASH will also be needed to purchase raffle tickets which are $5 each or 5 for $20.
HOW CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE?
We would appreciate every member to procure or buy a gift card or donate a nice bottle of wine (or scotch) for the raffle. You decide the amount that works for you. As in every fundraising event, including this one, there will be a RAISE THE PADDLE component. Please put some thought into this and give what fits into your budget. (Last year we raised a record $11,000 in this category & that was virtually! Let’s see if we can beat that this year!)
The most important thing of all is to HAVE FUN in the fellowship of Rotary!
Despite the pandemic and the financial challenges it has presented to many, I want to thank you for the continuing focus on supporting The Rotary Foundation. At the end of April, our district ranked number 1 in Zone 27 in overall giving, just over one million dollars! For those of you not familiar, Zone 27 encompasses the Rotary districts in most of Washington, all of Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Utah, and Wyoming, and the northern portions of California, Nevada and Colorado.
In addition, at the end of April our district ranked 43rd of all Rotary districts in the world in Annual Fund giving per capita, at $171.14. The Annual Fund is critical because the dollars given to the Annual Fund support our district and global grant projects. EREY, “Every Rotarian Every Year” is a special recognition given to clubs with 100% of their member contributing at least $25 to the Annual Fund. We already have 4 clubs who have achieved EREY status, Duvall, Kirkland, Lake Union Neighborhood and Seattle Northeast – Thank You. And many more clubs are close – see below for an update as of May 8.
Our ability to continue to fund projects through district and global grants depends on our members continuing support of The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund. Please continue to encourage your members to donate so we can close out this Rotary year strong. To this end, I invite all of you (and anyone else interested from your clubs) to join me on Tuesday, May 18th at 4pm for a Zoom (see logon information below) call for a more comprehensive look at our Foundation giving and discussion on ending the year strong. Details are below and a calendar notice is attached. I will be sending the presentation afterwards if you cannot join live. Again, thank you for your continuing support of The Rotary Foundation.
The Annual column is Annual Fund per Capita giving. This is the total amount of giving to The Rotary Foundation Annual Fund divided by the number of members your club had as of July 1, 2020 (it’s pretty close to being an average dollar contribution per member depending on your club’s current membership number). Data is as of May 8, 2021.
Zoom Call, D5030 Rotary Foundation Giving Update/Closing Out the Year Strong
The Club collected 566 pounds of food and $500 in donations for the University Food Bank last weekend. A quarter of the Club volunteered to spend two hours each outside of the University Village QFC on Saturday.
Thanks to all involved and to Isaac McNally for organizing this!
Imagine an imminent America where citizens are bombarded with personalized political messages from every smart device – yet information is so suspect, nobody can tell what the truth is.
The coronavirus pandemic provided a foretaste of an infuriating, dystopian future. From the start Americans fought over the most basic facts of the crisis, from death tolls to quack cures to the wisdom of stay-at-home orders. The splintered digital infosphere bred confusion and delusion, some of it fatal. Now think of our campaigns and elections. The digital information age means more than hyper-targeted, just-for-you messages from insurance companies and presidential candidates alike. It means oceans of disinformation engineered to sow false beliefs or simply disorient.
Big Data is on the way to fueling information environments so fine-tuned, no two of us hold the same view of reality, and no two voters hear the same pitch. Already, citizens don’t know who to trust or what to believe – about COVID-19 or anything else. If we ask nothing more of tech providers or digital citizens, the fog will continue to thicken. Irritation will merge into despair and then numbness… and democracy teeters.
Digital pioneer Cyrus Krohn knows the territory, and in Bombarded: How to Fight Back Against the Online Assault on Democracy, Krohn locates the roots of our blooming political chaos. But he goes beyond recounting 25 years of destabilizing Internet shock waves and rolls out a provocative action plan for rescuing the American system of campaigns and elections while there is still time.
Bombarded was recently selected as a finalist for INDIE “Book of the Year” by Foreword Reviews.
You can get the book on Amazon here. Learn more about the book here.
Key Points Summary by Michelle Lee
After interning at the White House, working on CNN’s Larry King Live and Crossfire, Cyrus has insights about social media and privacy.
In 1996, Bill Gates predicated the media on paper would be out. Nowadays, we have social media instead. Contrary to the clean broadcast debate such as Crossfire, there is no single source of truth or no reliable narrator on social media.
Regarding privacy, our consumer purchase habit and financial well-being collected as 3000 attributes, can be easily bought. This was what Cambridge Analytica bought for about 300 million Americans from Facebook. Technology is being built, data are being harvested and used for political campaigns.
There are two major laws tech companies follow – CCPA from California and GDPR from EU. Washington State tried to pass a state privacy law in 3 attempts but failed. Cyrus would like to see a Federal Data Privacy Act. It would be difficult for businesses if there are 50 from the states.
Cyrus also thinks that government and civic education should be added back to the curriculum. So that people will know how our government functions and be active and viable participants. Lastly, he encourages us to participate in local journalism, attending school boards and city councils meetings, write and publish the facts, as most of the local newspapers are lost and people use social media for local news.
Chris Davis, MD, is a lifelong ER doctor. At age 74, he was not allowed to be back in the ER by his wife during Covid. He pivoted to write a book detailing the most memorable 30 cases in his 35-year career.
In the 1970s, demand for ER services was rising nationally, however, there was not sufficient ER doctor training which covering 32 fields. Before ER, Chris interned at the Air Force. He was trained emergency medicine at John Hopkins with a lot of work, a crushing budget, a poor community to serve and 20 hours on/20 hours off schedule.
ER doctors need to do critical and sometimes simple procedures, such as raising patient’s legs up, in the first 10 minutes to save lives.
While other doctors have linear relationship with their patients, have scheduled appointments and treat specific ailments. ER doctors have non-linear relationship. They have only 45 second to build relationship by saying things like “Mr. Jones, I understand you have a terrible day today” “you and I are in this together”
When Chris could not find a diagnosis for a patient, he would encourage him/her to come back and give his telephone number to call if needed.
ER doctors face fear, exhaustion, life and death chaotic environment. They usually have military experience, the right spouse and a supportive family. They are also comfortable with uncertainties and can make quick decisions. One third of their working hours will be at night and on holidays. Whoever wants this kind of life has to be satisfied that he/she makes a big difference in patients’ lives and be settled with that satisfaction. He/she may not see their patients again not to mention any appreciation received.
Although ER doctors are the ones who burnout or died from Covid, applications for medical school has gone up 50% and ER is a popular residency. Some of the ER doctors may not come back but 80%/core group of ER doctors who have military experience will survive.
In fact, Chris’ son is currently enrolled in Washington State University to be an ER doctor after 10-year military service.
“Might have been” “could have been” doubts happened in Chris’ early career years. This book also helps Chris to cope with that emotion.
No one schedules an appointment with an Emergency Room Doctor. You meet one when life doesn’t go as planned. Survival requires immediate dependence and trust in a stranger in a white coat. As soon as the imminent danger has passed— they are off to the next case. Many patients don’t realize that their stories stay with those that served them. Patients have the most to teach about humility and humanity. “Compassion Amidst the Chaos” is brimming with the tension, anguish, exhaustion, relief, gratitude, and compassion that are all part of a typical day at work in the ER. Travel with Dr. Chris Davis through the cases he remembers most from his 35-year career as an emergency medicine doctor.
Dr. Christopher Davis has cared for over 100,000 patients during his 35-year career as an emergency medicine doctor. He has taught medical students, nurses, paramedics, and doctors in the Washington DC area, the Pacific Northwest, and as guest faculty in Laos, Bhutan, Cambodia and Uganda. Dr. Davis earned his BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1968, his MD from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1972 and completed his 1 year internship there. In 1973, he started a 3 year position as a US Air Force Flight Surgeon. He recounts two stories in this book that earned him the Air Force Flight Surgeon of the Year award and the US Meritorious Service Medal. After his residencies at John Hopkins in Emergency Medicine and at Georgetown in Internal Medicine, he proceeded to teach and practice Emergency Medicine in Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia from 1980 to 1996. He then taught and practiced in the state of Washington from 1996 to 2019.
My grandfather once told me that a smart person knows what they don’t know and is willing to admit it in order to get proper advice. So why are 40% of the Mariners so stupid as to refuse to get vaccinated?
