JimmyCsays: At the juncture of journalism and daily life in KC

Here’s an update on the death of former Kansas City Councilman Charles Hazley.

Jim Bowers, a Kansas City lawyer who was a longtime friend of Hazley, said Hazley died Monday of sickle cell anemia.

Bowers said Hazley, 71, had the disease about five years and that he had been hospitalized with complications several times.

A story about Hazley’s death appeared in The Star on Thursday, but the story did not say when Hazley died or the cause. An obituary has not run, but Bowers said he thought an obit might run tomorrow.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s web site says that sickle cell anemia is most common in people whose families come from Africa, South or Central America, the Caribbean islands, Mediterranean countries, India, and Saudi Arabia.

In the United States, the web site says, sickle cell affects 70,000 to 100,000 people and that the condition occurs in about 1 in 12 African Americans.

Wikipedia describes the disease as a hereditary blood disorder, characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, elongated shape. The site goes on to say that “sickling decreases the cells’ flexibility and results in a risk of various complications.”

Hazley served on the council from 1971 to 1991. He went off after KC voters approved a ballot measure limiting council members to two consecutive four-year terms. The proposal was aimed partly at Hazley and a longtime council ally, Bobby Hernandez, who were elected in districts where they were virtually unbeatable.