Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/523416
ByMarilynnMarchione The Associated Press Opening a new fron- tier in transplant surgery, Texas doctors have done the world's first partial skull and scalp transplant to help a man who suffered a large head wound from cancer treatment. Doctors from Houston Methodist Hospital and MD Anderson Cancer Cen- ter did the operation two weeks ago. The recipient — Jim Boy- sen, a 55-year-old software developer from Austin, Texas — expects to leave the hospital Thursday with a new kidney and pancreas along with the scalp and skull grafts. He said he was stunned at how well doc- tors matched him to a do- nor with similar skin and hair coloring. "It's kind of shocking, re- ally, how good they got it. I will have way more hair than when I was 21," Boysen joked in an interview with The Associated Press. Last year, doctors in the Netherlands said they re- placed most of a woman's skull with a 3-D printed plastic one. The Texas op- eration is thought to be the first skull-scalp transplant from a human donor, as opposed to an artificial im- plant or a simple bone graft. Boysen had a kidney- pancreas transplant in 1992 to treat diabetes he has had since age 5 and has been on drugs to prevent organ re- jection. The immune sup- pression drugs raise the risk of cancer, and he de- veloped a rare type — leio- myosarcoma (lee-oh-my-oh- sar-KOHM-ah). It can affect many types of smooth muscles but in his case, it was the ones under the scalp that make your hair stand on end when something gives you the creeps. Radiation therapy for the cancer destroyed part of his head, immune suppression drugs kept his body from repairing the damage, and his transplanted organs were starting to fail — "a perfect storm that made the wound not heal," Boy- sen said. Yet doctors could not perform a new kidney-pan- creas transplant as long as he had an open wound. That's when Dr. Jesse Sel- ber, a reconstructive plas- tic surgeon at MD Ander- son, thought of giving him a new partial skull and scalp at the same time as new or- gans as a solution to all of his problems. Houston Methodist, which has transplant exper- tise, partnered on the ven- ture. It took 18 months for the organ-procurement or- ganization, LifeGift, to find the right donor, who pro- vided all organs for Boysen and was not identified. Boysen's wound extended through his skull to his brain, Selber said. In a 15-hour operation by about a dozen doctors and 40 other health work- ers, Boysen was given a cap- shaped, 10-by-10-inch skull graft, and a 15-inch-wide scalp graft starting above his forehead, extending across the top of his head and over its crown. It ends an inch above one ear and 2 inches above the other. Any surgery around the brain is difficult, and this one required delicate work to remove and replace a large part of the skull and re-establish a blood supply to keep the transplant via- ble. MEDICAL OPERATION Texasdoctorsdoworld's first skull-scalp transplant MAYRABELTRAN—HOUSTONCHRONICLEVIAAP Jesse C. Selber of Anderson Cancer Center greets transplant patient Jim Boysen a er a news conference at Houston Methodist Hospital on Thursday in Houston. By Steve Peoples and Thomas Beaumont The Associated Press WASHINGTON Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will run for president in 2016, according to sev- eral senior aides, who confirmed Thursday that the Republican would formally announce his widely expected deci- sion in Miami later this month. As the son of one pres- ident and brother of an- other, Bush would be the third member of his im- mediate family to sit in the Oval Office. His deci- sion ensures the possibil- ity of a general election showdown between two political dynasties as Hill- ary Clinton eyes the Dem- ocratic presidential nomi- nation. Bush senior aides con- firmed the 62-year-old Bush, who left the Flor- ida governor's mansion in 2007, will enter the race during an event at Miami Dade Commu- nity College soon after returning from a week- long European trip. The aides spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to preclude his formal an- nouncement. "My expectation, my hope, is I'll be a candi- date," Bush said earlier in this week while attend- ing an economic forum in Florida with other 2016 GOP prospects. There's been little mys- tery to Bush's plans. He's been raising many millions of dollars for a separate political group that is expected to support his candidacy and perform many of the functions of a campaign, although with dollars not bound by the same federal requirements as a formal campaign com- mittee. Bush enters the race as the overwhelming fa- vorite of the Republican establishment, and he is expected to dominate his GOP competitors in fund- raising. Yet he faces con- siderable resistance from the party's conserva- tive flank, w h i c h holds out- sized in- fluence in the Repub- lican presi- dential pri- mary pro- cess. Bush will enter a crowded primary field that includes Sens. Rand Paul, Marco Ru- bio and Ted Cruz, among others. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry is also getting into the race, a decision he'll make official Thurs- day in Dallas. Meanwhile, Govs. Scott Walker of Wisconsin and Chris Christie of New Jer- sey have not yet formally announced their inten- tions, but have been hir- ing staff and visiting early- voting states such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. By announcing his can- didacy, Bush must stop coordinating with Right to Rise, a so-called super PAC which can raise un- limited dollars so long as there is no interaction be- tween it and the candidate or his lieutenants. 2016 CAMPAIGN A er m an y hi nt s, B us h is in race for president Bush TIM SHARP — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry announces the launch of his presidential campaign for the 2016elections Thursday in Addison, Texas. By Will Weissert and Steve Peoples The Associated Press ADDISON, TEXAS For- mer Texas Gov. Rick Perry opened his second bid for the Republican presiden- tial nomination Thursday, pledging to "end an era of failed leadership" and hop- ing this campaign will go better than his last one. Perry announced his can- didacy in a humid airport hangar in the company of fellow veterans and a hulk- ing C-130 the cargo plane, like one he flew for the Air Force. He is one of the few veterans in a bustling Re- publican field short on mil- itary experience. With Perry in the con- test and confirmation ear- lier Thursday that former Florida Jeb Bush will run, 11 major candidates now are vying for the GOP and still more are expected to join. For Perry, it's a re-do of a 2012 effort that went poorly as he tumbled from flavor- of-the-month front-run- ner after some gaffes. He's still trying to live down the "oops" he uttered in a brain- freeze moment during a de- bate in the 2012 race. Perry brings a strong eco- nomic record in Texas to the contest, as he did four years ago, and his speech underscored the ability of governors past and present to point to achievements in office, not just votes and rhetoric of those in Con- gress. "Leadership is not a speech on the Senate floor," he said. "It's not what you say. It's what you do." That was an indirect swipe at Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and other rivals with little to no executive expe- rience. "Let's give them real lead- ership," he said of Amer- icans. He told support- ers "we have the power" to project American strength again and grow the econ- omy, and "that is exactly why today I am running for the presidency." He's been in motion for months in the early voting states of Iowa, New Hamp- shire and South Carolina, but starts from a more dis- tant position than four years ago. "It's going to be hard to make a first impression a second time," said Ford O'Connell, a Republican strategist in Washington. Perry made his an- nouncement in front of prominent veterans, in- cluding six retired Navy SEALs. One of them, Mar- cus Luttrell, is a longtime Perry friend and only survi- vor of a four-man team at- tacked in Afghanistan and featured in the 2013 film "Lone Survivor." Despite his gaffe on a Michigan debate stage in November 2011 — when he forgot the third federal agency he promised to close if elected, then muttered, "Oops" — Perry still has the policy record that made him an early force last time. Perry left office in Janu- ary after a record 14 years as governor. Under him, the state generated more than a third of America's new pri- vate-sector jobs since 2001. While an oil and gas boom fueled much of that economic growth, Perry credits lower taxes, re- strained regulation and limits on civil litigation damages. He also pushed economic incentives to lure top employers to Texas and repeatedly visited states with Democratic governors to poach jobs. His effort may be com- plicated this time by a fel- ony indictment on abuse of power and coercion charges, from when he threatened — then carried out — a veto of state funding for pub- lic corruption prosecutors. That came when the unit's Democratic head rebuffed Perry's demands that she resign following a drunken driving conviction. Rick Perry announces 2016 bi d, a r e- do f ro m 20 12 POLITICS PACIFICGASANDELECTRICCOMPANY'SNOTICETO ADJUST YOUR RATES FOR THE 2015-2017 ENERGY SAVINGS ASSISTANCE AND CALIFORNIA ALTERNATE RATES FOR ENERGY PROGRAMS (A.14-11-010) June 17-19, 2015 *Tentativelyscheduledat10:00a.m.attheaddressbelow: California Public Utilities Commission Courtroom State Office Building 505 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 Summary On November 18, 2014, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) filed an application with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to request approved funding for the 2015-2017 Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) and California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) programs and budgets effective January 1, 2015. In Decision 14-08- 030, the CPUC authorized funding for the year 2015 at the authorized 2014 budget level of $176.8 million for both programs. Following D.14-08-030, the CPUC also issued General Rate Case Decision 14-08-032. As a result, PG&E is requesting an increase to our revenue requirement in 2015 for the ESA program of $0.1 million. In addition, PG&E is requesting a revenue requirement decrease of $7.2 million in 2016 and an increase of $2.8 million in 2017. For the CARE program, PG&E is seeking a revenue requirement increase of $0.2 million in 2015 to reflect certain authorized revenue changes as directed in D.14-08-030 and D.14-08-032. In addition, PG&E is requesting a revenue requirement increase of $2.9 million in 2016 and $1.1 million in 2017. The net three-year impact for the filing is a decrease of $4.4 million for ESA and an increase of $4.2 million for CARE. PG&E seeks approval to continue offering these financial and energy efficiency assistance programs. The ESA program provides income-qualified renters and homeowners with easy, free solutions to help manage their energy use each month. The CARE program provides a monthly discount on energy bills for households and housing facilities that meet the program's income-qualifications. Qualifications are based on the number of persons living in the home and the total gross annual household income. If approved, this application would result in an increase of less than one percent in PG&E's total annual electric and gas revenue requirements for the ESA and CARE programs from 2014 to 2015. Any increases would be collected through the Public Purpose Program (PPP) charge which funds various programs including those for low-income customers as required by California law and/or the CPUC.This charge is paid by bundled, direct access, community choice aggregation and eligible departing load customers. CARE customers are not charged for costs to the CARE program, which is a part of the PPP Surcharge. EVIDENTIARY HEARINGS *NOTE: The CPUC has tentatively scheduled Evidentiary Hearings (EHs) at 10 a.m. June 17-19, 2015. To confirm the proceedings date and time please go to the CPUC's website at www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc. At the EHs noted above, PG&E and other formal parties to the proceeding will present their evidence through testimony and will be subject to cross-examination before an Administrative Law Judge (Judge). The hearings are open to the public, but only those who are formal parties are permitted to present evidence and/or cross-examine witnesses. After considering all proposals and evidence presented during the formal process, the Judge will issue a proposed decision which may accept PG&E's proposal, modify it or reject it. Any one of the five Commissioners may also issue an alternate decision based on the record.The proposed decision and any alternate will be acted upon at a CPUC Voting Meeting where the Commissioners will decide whether to adopt the proposed or an alternate decision. As a party of record, the Office of Ratepayer Advocates (ORA) reviewed this application. ORA is the independent consumer advocate within the CPUC with a legislative mandate to represent investor-owned utility customers to obtain the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels. The ORA has a multi- disciplinary staff with expertise in economics, finance, accounting and engineering. Other parties of record will also participate in the CPUC's proceeding to consider this application. For more information about ORA, please call (415) 703-1584, e-mail ora@cpuc.ca.gov or visit ORA's website at http://ora.ca.gov/default.aspx. If you would like a copy of PG&E's filing and exhibits, please write to: PG&E, 2015-2017 Energy Savings Assistance and California Alternate Rates for Energy Programs (A.14-11-010), P.O. Box 7442, San Francisco, CA 94120. Para más detalles llame al 1-800-660-6789 • 詳情請致電 1-800-893-9555 Please note: The Commission Courtroom is wheelchair accessible. If you wish to attend and need specialized accommodations, please contact the Public Advisor's Office (PAO) (noted below) at least five business days prior to the hearing date. Any changes to the dates, times and locations of the hearings will be posted to the CPUC's Daily Calendar. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND OPINIONS ARE IMPORTANT TO THE CPUC If you would like to follow this proceeding, or any other issue before the CPUC, you may use the CPUC's free subscription service. Sign up at: http://subscribecpuc.cpuc.ca.gov/. If you would like to learn how you can participate in the proceeding, or if you have informal comments or questions about the CPUC processes, you may access the CPUC's PAO webpage at www.cpuc.ca.gov/puc and click on "Public Advisor" from the CPUC Information Menu.You may also contact the PAO as follows: Write: CPUC Public Advisor's Office, Room 2103 505 Van Ness Avenue San Francisco, CA 94102 Email: public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov Phone: 1-866-849-8390 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-2074 TTY 1-866-836-7825 (toll-free) or 1-415-703-5282 | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 2015 4 B