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cypressnewspress.com
VOLUME 2, NO. 5
Californians Can Soon Vote on Death Special Topics and Screenwith Dignity by nick kipley ings At The Having once failed in the Senior Center polls, voters in the State of California will soon be able to decide again whether or not a For February patient of a terminal disease can electively end his or her own life under new, “Death With Dignity,” legislature. The measure, which has seen various revisions from the time it has been up for debate in 1992, 2005, and 2007, is gaining in support after 29-year-old Brittany Maynard, a California resident, moved to Portland in order to electively end her life, which she succeeded in doing on the 1st of November, last year. Oregon, Washington and Vermont have voted into their state legislation the right for a patient of an end-stage terminal disease to take a deliberate overdose of a heavy sedativehypnotic—typically a mixture of barbiturates—slip into a coma and die peacefully. Maynard had been diagnosed with a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer whose prognosis indicated irreversible physical and mental scarring if she were to undergo even the most successful treatment. Even
defendant, who entered pleas of “not guilty” and “not guilty by reason of insanity,” was found to be legally sane at the time of the murder by the jury on Oct. 31, 2014. At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2009, Le spent the night at a family member’s home with her children, 5-year-
The following programs will be offered at the Cypress Senior Center. Reservations are recommended, unless otherwise indicated. For more information or reservations please call (714) 229-2005. BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENINGS Glenda Papa, R.N: Fridays - February 6th, 13th, 20th, 27th 10:00-11:30am Free. Walk-in. VETERANS BENEFITS FOR ELDER CARE: Tuesday, February 3rd 10:00 - 11:30 am Carl Leiter, Entitlement Advocate; Retired Attorney. Learn about VA benefits that are available to pay for home care costs, assisted living costs, and longterm nursing home care costs. Find out if you are eligible and how to apply. CALIFORNIA TELEPHONE ACCESS PROGRAM - CTAP: Thursday, February 5th 10:30 am - 12:00 pm. CA Communications Access Foundation. Californians who are deaf, hard of hearing, speech disabled, blind, have low vision, cognitive impairments or restricted mobility are eligible to receive equipment from CTAP. Eligible customers can receive equipment absolutely free. Find out if you qualify and how to apply. Free. Walk-in. BONE DENSITY SCREENING: Monday, February 9th 9:00 - 11:00am. HealthCare Partners Medical Group. A bone density test is performed to detect osteoporosis, which is the weakening of bones that can lead to fractures. A bone density
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- File photo by Terry Miller
worse, it was feared that, after months of these personalityaltering treatments, the radioactive waves would fire through her skull and kill her. “I considered passing away in hospice care at my San Francisco Bay-area home. But even with palliative medication, I
could develop potentially morphine-resistant pain and suffer personality changes and verbal, cognitive and motor loss of virtually any kind,” she said in a final statement released to CNN on the 2nd of November. Please see page 2
Mother Sentenced for Attempting to Murder Her Two Children On January 23rd, a mother was sentenced to 11 years to life in state prison for attempting to murder her two young children by stabbing them while they were asleep. Thuy Thi Le, 43, Westminster, was found guilty by a jury Feb. 4, 2014, of two felony counts each of attempted murder, and child abuse and endangerment with sentencing enhancements for the personal use
of a deadly weapon and committing great bodily injury. On Oct. 27, 2014, a unanimous jury found the sentencing enhancement for premeditation and deliberation for the attempted murder charge to be true following a retrial of the sentencing enhancement as a former jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, finding 11 to one for the sentencing enhancement to be true. The