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Friends and Neighbors,
Washington County Updates
Washington County will Move to Moderate Risk level Friday, 2/26
From Washington County
Thanks to your work, we are moving to “moderate” risk on Friday. This means more capacity in restaurants, gyms & other venues. It is up to us to prevent another surge, so please continue to wear masks, stay home if sick & limit contacts outside your bubbles!
 Washington County Board of Commissioners to Host Virtual Town Hall on March 6
From Washington County
Washington County Board of Commissioners invite the public to participate in a virtual Town Hall on Saturday, March 6 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Board members will provide updates on their 2021 priorities and then take questions from community members. All are welcome.
The Town Hall will be hosted on the County’s Zoom platform. To RSVP and obtain meeting access information, please visit the Eventbrite Registration Page. The Town Hall will also be live-streamed on the County’s YouTube channel with no pre-registration required.
Simultaneous Spanish interpretation will be provided for this event. To request a language other than Spanish or English, please indicate your language preference with the RSVP or contact the County Administrative Office via email at CAO@co.washington.or.us or by phone at 503-846-8685, no later than March 1.
Junta de Comisionados realizará una asamblea pública virtual el 6 de marzo
La Junta de Comisionados del Condado Washington invita al público a participar en una asamblea pública virtual el sábado 6 de marzo de 11 am a 12:30 pm. Los miembros de la junta proveerán actualizaciones sobre las prioridades del año 2021 y después tomarán preguntas de los miembros de la comunidad. Todas las personas son bienvenidas. La asamblea pública se realizará en la plataforma de Zoom del condado. Para confirmar su asistencia y obtener la información de acceso, por favor visite https://www.eventbrite.com/e/washington-county-board-of-commissioners-spring-town-hall-registration-141868469411. La asamblea pública también se transmitirá en vivo en el canal de YouTube del condado y no se requiere registrarse previamente.
Una interpretación simultánea en español será proporcionada en este evento. Para solicitar un idioma diferente al español o inglés, por favor indique su idioma de preferencia con la confirmación de su asistencia o contacte a la Oficina Administrativa por correo electrónico en CAO@co.washington.or.us o por teléfono al 503-846-8685, a más tardar el 1º de marzo.
Celebrating and Recognizing Black History Month
Changemakers: From Somali refugee to elected official, meet Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai
Nafisa Fai was elected in November as the Washington County Commissioner for District 1, which includes the areas of Beaverton/Aloha, Cooper Mountain and Reedville. Nafisa made history as the first Black and first Muslim person elected to the Board of Commissioners in Washington County. She brings her small business experience, her background in public health and the lens of a working mom to the decision-making table. I am proud to call Nafisa my friend and I think she is going to serve us very well as a local leader.
Please watch this news story from KGW8 highlighting Washington County Commissioner Nafisa Fai.
"Commissioner Fai says she ran for office for the very first time because she saw a lack of diversity in leadership. Here's her vision for the future."
 COVID-19 Vaccine Updates
I know the process to sign up to receive a COVID-19 vaccine has not been easy and in fact, downright impossible for some. I hear from many of you each day and know that you are frustrated with the process. I am frustrated too. I want you to know that I hear you and am doing all I can to elevate this to the appropriate people to try and effect change. Thank you for continuing to let me know how it is going for you, your family and loved ones. Here are some further resources that you may be able to try for a vaccine appointment. Remember to keep checking back as new appointments open up.
From the Oregon Health Authority
Starting this week, people in Oregon who are 70 years of age or older are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations.
Adults who are eligible can use the following resources to get linked to vaccine information in their communities. Tools that allow scheduling will be available with new appointment slots at 9 a.m. on Mondays and Thursdays:
- Get Vaccinated Oregon: Find answers to basic questions to learn if you are eligible and get linked to information about vaccinations in your county. You can also sign up for alerts to get notified about upcoming vaccination events or find out when you may become eligible. Find this tool at covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
- The Vaccine Information chat bot: Check eligibility for a vaccine in Oregon or get answers to other questions about vaccines. If you live in Clackamas, Columbia, Marion, Multnomah or Washington counties you can schedule vaccine appointments by using this Vaccine Information chat bot, an orange box that appears when you open the visit covidvaccine.oregon.gov.
- 211info is here to help answer your questions. Text ORCOVID to 898211 to get text updates about vaccination clinics in English or Spanish or email ORCOVID@211info.org. If you can’t get your COVID-19 vaccine question answered on the website, by text or by email, you can call 211 or 1-866-698-6155, open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, including holidays. Please be aware that wait times may be long due to high call volumes.
From the Oregon Health Authority
Under Phase 1A, individuals (at least 16 years old) with intellectual or developmental disabilities are now eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Oregon.
If you are enrolled in Oregon Health Plan (OHP), you can use Non-Emergent Medical Transportation (NEMT) to get to a clinic and get back home. Generally, NEMT must be scheduled and authorized ahead of time. You can call the brokerages directly to schedule a ride. If you receive Medicaid-funded in-home support through the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services, you can ask your Medicaid-funded in-home provider to take you to a clinic and to wait with you at the clinic.
Latest COVID-19 Modeling Report
From the Oregon Health Authority
Last week, we released our latest COVID-19 model, which shows a slight increase in transmission: ow.ly/LyzK50DFif0
The new report estimates that, as of Feb. 3, the statewide reproductive rate – the expected number of secondary cases that a single case generates – was 0.88.
According to the newest forecast, if we continue along our present course of wearing masks, keeping physical distance and restricting our gatherings, daily cases will decline to an average of 320, with 10 fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations and 107 per 140,000 people between Feb. 25 and March 9.
A 30% increase in transmission projects to roughly 510 daily cases and 17 new hospitalizations per day, as well as 170 cases per 100,000 people by mid-March.
The new modeling warns that more Oregonians may be open to resuming activities that pose a higher risk of spread, especially as risk levels change for Oregon counties. That and the potential of a COVID-19 variant that becomes dominant could contribute to greater spread.
The report indicates that 78% of Oregonians regularly wear face coverings and that most Oregonians believe the existing vaccines are safe and effective.
 Unemployment Insurance Updates
Thank you to the Oregon Employment Department for the following updates.
Fraud Prevention
We take our responsibility to safeguard our Trust Fund from fraud very seriously. We have added another tool to the claims process that will improve security and the identity verification process.
If you have questions about suspected fraud or identify identity theft, or need help reporting that fraud, you can go to one of our reporting pages: ID Theft Reporting, Employers Fraud Reporting, and General Public Fraud Reporting.
Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)
We have been asked this week about the availability of Disaster Unemployment Assistance, or DUA, for people whose workplaces have temporarily closed or who are not able to get to work because of weather conditions.
DUA benefits only become available if there is a Presidential Disaster Declaration. While we do not know if there will be such a declaration, we are preparing now for that possibility. If DUA does become available, it will be a major undertaking for us to get that program started. We are looking at what it will take to update our technology and other systems to implement DUA for these storms.
However, as we saw after the 2020 wildfires, most people who are unemployed as a result of the winter storm are likely eligible for an existing benefit program and can apply for those benefits now, rather than waiting for DUA.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Mixed-Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)
Early in January, in addition to paying PEUC and FPUC benefits, we started paying PUA to people who had a positive balance on their claim. Since January, we have paid a total of $125M PUA benefits to about 59K Oregonians.
Now that we have fully implemented changes to PEUC, FPUC, and PUA, and Oregon workers are seeing their benefits, we are now turning our attention to the new Mixed-Earners’ Unemployment Compensation program.
Launching this brand-new program will require significant programming, employee training, and other support work. We will keep you posted on our progress.
Automated Letters
Last week, we shared information about automated letters that claimants might receive from our mainframe computer system. These duplicative and, sometimes, contradictory letters can be confusing, but we are unfortunately able to make changes to those letters, without taking hundreds of hours to recode the computer system.
Acting Director Gerstenfeld promised that we would update our website with information about these letters. You can now find those online: exhausted PUA benefits, expired PUA claims, and maximum benefits reached.
Language Access
Our automated claim phone line (1-800-982-8920) recently added Russian, Vietnamese and Mandarin language information to the existing English and Spanish. Claimants with language access needs can ask for free interpretation through our UI and PUA hotlines, and may also contact us by email at OED_LanguageAccess@oregon.gov or call our Worksystems language hotline 503-606-6969.
House District 30 - 2021 Legislative Session Concepts
In order to provide information and updates on the policies that I am working on for the 2021 Session, this is a continuation of that series.
SB 582: I have been working with environmental advocates for the past year on House Bill 2592 which would would create an Extended Producer Responsibility program for packaging in Oregon. Creating incentives for producers to use non-plastic packaging and packaging that is better for the environment leads to our overall goal of plastics reduction. Senate Bill 582 has been introduced on the Senate side and will incorporate parts of the DEQ and Recycling Steering Committee's work of the past two years to overhaul Oregon's recycling system. I spoke yesterday in the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on two amendments to Senate Bill 582 that I believe will make it stronger and align with some of the goals of HB 2592. Watch me testify, along with advocates Celeste Meiffren-Swango, State Director, Environment Oregon and Charlie Plybon, Oregon Policy Manager, Surfrider Foundation.
Follow the bill at: https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/SB582
 Community Outreach
Run for Your Heart 5K
From Hillsboro Parks and Rec
Happening this Saturday, February 27. Sign up to participate in Hillsboro Parks and Rec's "Run for Your Heart 5K" at the new Hidden Creek Community Center. Click the picture below or follow this link to register.
THPRD Budget Committee Opening
House District 30 Virtual Office Hours
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This Friday, Feb. 26, from 11:00am-12:00pm, I will be holding HD 30 Virtual Office Hours. This is an opportunity for fellow House District 30 constituents to join me and my staff and stop by to ask a question or share a thought. Stay as long, or as little, as you like. We will hold office hours every Friday from 11:00-12:00 to meet with you virtually by Zoom. Use the link below to join.
Join Zoom Meeting
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Virtual Community Conversation
Join me Saturday, 2/27, from 9:30-10:30 am for my 73rd Community Conversation. Come join the conversation and share your thoughts or bring your questions. Sign up below for the link.
Additional Resources
House District 30 Links
Federal Delegation Links
Education Links
Utilities Assistance
Food and Housing Assistance
Looking for ways to participate in the Hillsboro Chamber Black Advisory Council? Email blackadvisory@hillchamber.org for more information.
Be good to yourself and each other. ❤
Onward & Upward,
 Capitol Phone: 503-986-1430
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-487, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Rep.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman
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