All Posts in "The Senior Scene"

Election decisions and ballots due Nov. 7

This year’s general election is almost at the finish line.

Nov. 7 is the day when ballots must be deposited in official dropboxes by 8 p.m. or postmarked for mailing in order to be counted in the results of voting on a variety of local and countywide candidates and issues.

Ballots and voter guides were mailed in October to registered voters by county election departments.

In Pierce County, voters are deciding countywide races for Tacoma Port Commission, plus localized races for:

  • City councils (Tacoma, University Place, Puyallup, Lakewood, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Buckley, DuPont, Eatonville, Gig Harbor, Auburn, Edgewood, Fife, Fircrest, Milton, Orting, Ruston, Steilacoom, Roy, and Wilkeson).
  • School boards in 17 school districts—Steilacoom, Yelm, Puyallup, Tacoma, Carbonado, University Place, Sumner-Bonney Lake, Dieringer, Orting, Clover Park, Peninsula, Franklin Pierce, Bethel, Eatonville, White River, Fife, and Auburn.
  • County Council.
  • Commissioners in 12 fire districts (Central Pierce, East Pierce, Graham, South Pierce, West Pierce, Gig Harbor, Browns Point, Riverside, Key Peninsula, Orting, Anderson Island, and Valley Regional), four park districts (Anderson Island, Key Peninsula, Metro Tacoma, and Peninsula), three water districts (Lakewood, McKenna, and Valley), and Wollochet Harbor Sewer District.

Also being decided are ballot measures in the cities of Edgewood (law enforcement and roads), Puyallup (public safety facilities), Tacoma (rental housing regulations), and Ruston (public safety and other services), in the Peninsula Metro Parks District (levy), and in the Valley Regional Fire Authority (bond funding) and Steilacoom School District (capital projects and technology).

King County has countywide races for assessor, elections director, and Seattle Port Commissioner, plus four contests for County Council, and races for council seats or mayor in Federal Way, Auburn, Burien, Des Moines, Enumclaw, SeaTac, and Normandy Park, among others.

Ballot measures in King County include school funding proposals in the Enumclaw and Kent school districts

More information on the election is available from the county election departments—King at 206-296-8683 and elections@kingcounty.gov, Pierce at 253-798-8683 and elections@piercecounty.gov.

The Senior Scene by — October 25, 2023 in News
Make room for family

COMMENTARY

By Christina Clem

AARP surveys consistently find that older adults want to remain in their current homes and communities for as long as possible. There are some new developments at the community level that will help provide additional housing choices for older adults, and recommendations for how to make any home safer for us and our loved ones. 

This past state legislative session, new housing bills were passed that will open the market to new housing options that have been difficult to find in the past.  Legislation to reduce barriers to building accessory dwelling units (ADU) or “mother-in-law” spaces, gives homeowners the ability to adapt their property to meet their current and future needs.  ADUs can fill many roles, like providing a place for an aging parent to live instead of a nursing home. They can also be used as living quarters for a caregiver or a relative who requires care, or for an adult child who may need to return home after college. ADUs can also provide a steady income stream for homeowners on a fixed income.

In addition to easing the path to ADU construction, new “Missing Middle” legislation will allow for smaller housing units and multi-family housing, like duplexes, fourplexes, and cottage courts.  These more modest-size homes can be tucked into existing neighborhoods and provide more options for folks, including empty-nesters and older adults who want to downsize and stay in their community. Creating more affordable housing for low-income and moderate-income levels is critical to achieving the state’s housing goals. This may also help family members who would like to live closer to loved ones who would benefit from having support nearby.

Most houses and apartments aren’t designed to meet the physical changes that occur as we age and are generally not designed for people with disabilities. But there are plenty of tips to make them safer. Adapting a home for aging involves making modifications and adjustments to accommodate the changing needs of elderly individuals. AARP has a program called HomeFit, which includes a room-to-room guide with more than 100 tips and suggestions to make a home more livable for the long run. It includes several no-cost to low-cost ideas, along with projects that will require a handyman or contractor. Here is a list of modifications that are doable regardless of housing type (single-family house, apartment, mobile home, etc.) or ownership status (owner, renter). 

  • Eliminate tripping hazards. Secure rugs and carpets to the floor or remove them altogether to prevent tripping. Keep the floor clutter-free and cords out of the way. 
  • Lever-style door handles. Replace doorknobs with lever-style handles, which are easier to use for individuals with limited hand strength or dexterity.
  • Bathroom modifications. Install grab bars near the toilet and in the shower or bathtub to prevent slips and falls. Place non-slip mats inside the bathtub or shower to prevent slipping while bathing.
  • Proper lighting. Improve lighting throughout the home to reduce tripping hazards. Use brighter bulbs, add task lighting, and consider motion-sensor lights in key areas.

You can learn more about housing options for caregivers and other tips to aid in your caregiving at www.aarp.org/caregiverswa.

Christina Clem is a communications analyst for AARP Washington.

The Senior Scene by — October 17, 2023 in Lifestyle, Home, Adventures
A new skill-set at 78

By Cynthia Hammer

Some things are meant to be. COVID came along. I received a memoir from a friend in Australia and thought, Heck, during COVID isolation, why don’t I write my memoir? So I did.

I had never written a book, so I took free online writing courses. Learning how to write dialogue, the importance of simple, concise, and straightforward language was fun and challenging, and the value of description. My writing kept improving, and that was satisfying.

I shared my writing with friends, who said it was good and informative. They encouraged me, but I also learned that friends typically say that, so I hired a professional—a developmental editor. He cost as much as a college course, but working with him was like taking one.

I had written 55,000 words. His first action was to discard 15,000 of them, restructure my memoir to read like a hero’s journey, and have me write 15,000 new ones to fill in the journey’s gap. Then, it was on to submit book proposals.

Could I find a publisher for my book, even though I was a first-time author in a challenging market? I read that only 2 to 3 percent of authors find a publisher, which was intimidating information. But COVID made submitting proposals easier. Instead of mailing out proposal copies to numerous agents and publishing companies, they now accept proposals submitted as e-mail attachments. I spent days researching where to send my proposal. I set up a form to track who I e-mailed and the status of my submission. I sent out over 50 e-mails and got at most five replies, all negative.

Just when I was about to give up and consider self-publishing my book, I got a call. A publishing company was interested! Oh, wondrous joy! They liked my writing! They were willing to take a chance on a first-time, 78-year-old author. My book, “Living with Inattentive ADHD,” was released on Aug. 29, 2023 in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Australia. You can ask for it at your favorite bookstore.

Writing a book and getting it published was my first acquired skill set. But there is more. While writing my memoir, I learned that my late-in-life diagnosis of the inattentive type of ADHD continued to be a problem for others, so I thought, Why don’t I start a non-profit with a mission that children with inattentive ADHD are diagnosed by age 8 and adults with inattentive ADHD are readily and correctly diagnosed when they seek help? The non-profit is called the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, and its website is www.iadhd.org.  

Once I set up the website, I completed the paperwork to establish a non-profit and created the board of directors. Then, I focused on educating about inattentive ADHD by writing blogs, publishing online articles, creating a presence on social media, and creating and posting videos on YouTube, and on and on.

My work continues. My days are exciting, challenging, full, and fun.

What could be better when you get ready to celebrate your 80th birthday?

Cynthia Hammer is author of “Living With Inattentive ADHD” and executive director of the Inattentive ADHD Coalition, a non-profit organization based in Tacoma. Hammer, who has lived in Tacoma for 45 years, was diagnosed with ADHD in 1992 when she was 49 and later became an advocate of raising awareness of the disorder among adults and children.

The Senior Scene by — October 17, 2023 in Spotlight

A minimum wage of $18.99 per hour for people working in unincorporated parts King County is being considered by the County Council.

Similar to Seattle when the city first enacted a minimum wage, the proposal would require the full $18.99 per hour only for the largest employers, with smaller businesses required to pay $2 and $3 less per hour in the first year, based on the number of employees and annual revenue. Over time, however, the lower tiers would rise so eventually all businesses would pay the same minimum.

If approved, the new county minimum wage would take effect on Jan. 1, 2024, followed by inflation-based annual percentage increases annually each year.

“Workers in unincorporated King County are always left out of policies that increase the minimum wage in neighboring cities,” said Councilman Girmay Zahilay, a proponent of the proposed increase. “That means someone working in Skyway (an unincorporated part of the county) could be paid several dollars less per hour” than if they worked in the nearby cities of Seattle or Tukwila.

“Our proposal to increase the minimum wage in unincorporated King County would be a big step toward investing in the workers and economy of every corner of our region,” he said.

The Senior Scene by — October 17, 2023 in News