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Friends and Neighbors,
Virtual Community Conversation
Join me for a virtual Community Conversation on Saturday, October 16th from 10:00-11:00am. This is a great opportunity to ask your questions, share your concerns and listen to the conversation. Register to attend here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
 COVID-19 Updates
 From the Oregon Health Authority
We know many Oregonians have questions about COVID-19 third doses and booster doses.
Join us Today, October 6 at 11:30 a.m. for a Facebook Live Q&A to get your questions answered by our experts, Public Health Director Rachael Banks and Senior Health Advisor Dr. Ann Thomas. Click here to join.
Newest COVID-19 Modeling Report Projects Decrease in Daily Cases and Hospitalizations
From the Oregon Health Authority
Friday, OHA released its latest COVID-19 forecast showing a continued decline in daily cases and hospitalizations through mid-October.
According to the report, the effective reproduction rate — the expected number of secondary cases that a single case generates — was estimated at .81 on Sept. 15, which is lower than last week’s projection.
At that level of transmission, the report estimates 320 cases per 100,000 people, or an average of 955 daily cases and 56 hospitalizations for the two-week period between Oct. 6 and Oct. 19.
The modeling report also estimated the potential impact of a 20% increase in transmission.
Under that scenario, the pace of declining newly diagnosed cases and hospitalizations would slow considerably, with an estimated average of 505 per 100,000 people, projecting an estimated average of 1,515 new cases and 94 hospitalizations over the same period.
The report also indicated that hospitals across the state are seeing declines in COVID-19 hospitalizations. However, COVID-19 bed occupancy levels remain higher than during previous surges.
The report also noted a slow increase in high-risk behaviors and protocol fatigue.
Vaccinations remain the most effective shield against COVID-19. Oregonians should wear masks when in indoor public spaces and when outdoors among crowds.
 This week’s model shows that mask-wearing recommendations and requirements have correlated with declines in the number of new cases reported each day and in hospitalizations.
Find a COVID-19 Vaccine in Washington County
From Washington County Health & Human Services
Washington County's Mobile Vaccine Team: Our mobile team is traveling the county to make it easier for people to get the vaccine close to where they live, shop or hang out. We add new locations regularly, so there's a good chance we'll be in your neighborhood soon. Get a $50 gift card with your first dose until October 16, or until we run out of gift cards. Find the schedule here.
Local pharmacies: Pharmacies are required to offer second/boost doses to people who received their first dose somewhere else.
Beaverton Resource Center: This clinic will extend into October. We'll post details here as they become available, or visit Project Access Now's website.
Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Centers: All vaccination events are open to the community, do not require an appointment, and do not require you to be a Virginia Garcia patient. You do not have to have insurance in order to receive a vaccine. If you have insurance, please bring your card with you. Remember, vaccines are free!
Still have questions or need language assistance? Call our HelpLine at 1-833-907-3520.
Washington County Partners with Community Groups to Close the COVID-19 Vaccination Equity Gap; New Report Illustrates Progress
In the last four months, vaccination rates among Hispanic/Latina/o/x adults in Washington County have increased by 16 percentage points, and by 17 percentage points among Black adults in Washington County. In a new, COVID-19 vaccination equity update, the county says community partnerships are largely responsible for this progress.
Read the full press release in English/Spanish here.
Environmental Updates
**Update from DEQ
DEQ Rulemaking – Climate Protection Program: DEQ Extends Public Comment Deadline to Oct. 25, 2021
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has extended the deadline for submitting public comment on the proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Program Rulemaking to establish a new Climate Protection Program to limit greenhouse gas emissions from certain sources in Oregon to Monday, Oct. 25, 2021 at 4 p.m.
In response to multiple requests for extension of the comment period, DEQ is extending the public comment period by 21 days in order to allow an additional opportunity to submit data, views or arguments concerning the proposed rules. As a result of this action, the deadline for comments is extended from Oct. 4, 2021 at 4 p.m. to Oct. 25, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Comment by email:
Commenters should include “Rulemaking Comment” in the email subject line. Submit emails to: GHGCR2021@deq.state.or.us.
Comment by mail:
Oregon DEQ
Attn: Nicole Singh
700 NE Multnomah St., Suite 600
Portland, OR 97232-4100
Additional Information: Sign up to receive rulemaking updates here. Contact GHGCR2021@deq.state.or.us with questions.
Community Outreach
Breast Cancer Awareness Month
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October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Visit the below resources to find out how you can help elevate the cause and support those that are fighting this illness.
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HillsDOer Day with the City of Hillsboro
From the City of Hillsboro
HillsDOer Day is about coming together and taking ownership of our community. It’s about giving back, getting to know our neighbors, and embracing our hometown pride.
It’s about creating an involved, civically-engaged community where every day is a HillsDOer Day!
For HillsDOer Day 2021, we will follow the current Oregon Health Authority guidance for COVID-19 precautions, which may be subject to change.
The following 2021 HillsDOer Day projects are self-led and there is no need to sign up in advance. We hope you can attend one or both events and we look forward to more events soon.
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Oregon Get There Challenge
From Get There Challenge
During last year’s Challenge, Oregonians saved 131,400 pounds of CO2 from entering Oregon’s air by reducing car trips and working from home. That’s equal to the weight of 3,285 beavers, Oregon’s state animal! We want this year to be even BIGGER! Spread the word to your friends, family, and colleagues and let them know that they can win awesome prizes. Find more information here.
 Additional Resources
House District 30 Links
Federal Delegation Links
Education Links
Food and Housing Assistance
I copied this from a social media post and wanted to share because it really resonated with me. A good reminder to spread kindness and have grace, as you never know what others around you are going through.
The day my father died, I was at the grocery store buying bananas.
I remember thinking to myself, “This is insane. Your dad just died. Why the hell are you buying bananas?”
But we needed bananas. We’d be waking up for breakfast tomorrow morning, and there wouldn’t be any bananas—so there I was.
And lots of other stuff still needed doing too, so over the coming days I would navigate parking lots, wait in restaurant lines, and sit on park benches; pushing back tears, fighting to stay upright, and in general always being seconds from a total, blubbering, room-clearing freak out.
I wanted to wear a sign that said: I JUST LOST MY DAD. PLEASE GO EASY.
Unless anyone passing by looked deeply into my bloodshot eyes or noticed the occasional break in my voice and thought enough to ask, it’s not like they’d have known what’s happening inside me or around me. They wouldn’t have had any idea of the gaping sinkhole that had just opened up and swallowed the normal life of the guy next to them in the produce section.
And while I didn’t want to physically wear my actual circumstances on my chest, it probably would have caused people around me to give me space or speak softer or move more carefully—and it might have made the impossible, almost bearable.
Everyone around you; the people you share the grocery store line with, pass in traffic, sit next to at work, encounter on social media, and see across the kitchen table—they’re all experiencing the collateral damage of living. They are all grieving someone, missing someone, worried about someone. Their marriages are crumbling or their mortgage payment is late or they’re waiting on their child’s test results, or they’re getting bananas five years after a death and still pushing back tears because the loss feels as real as it did that first day.
Every single human being you pass by today is fighting to find peace and to push back fear; to get through their daily tasks without breaking down in front of the bananas or in the carpool line or at the post office.
Maybe they aren’t mourning the sudden, tragic passing of a parent, but wounded, exhausted, pain-ravaged people are everywhere, everyday stumbling all around us—and yet most of the time we’re fairly oblivious to them:
Parents whose children are terminally ill.
Couples in the middle of divorce.
People grieving loss of loved ones and relationships.
Kids being bullied at school.
Teenagers who want to end their lives.
People marking the anniversary of a death.
Parents worried about their depressed teenager.
Spouses whose partners are deployed in combat.
Families with no idea how to keep the lights on.
Single parents with little help and little sleep.
Everyone is grieving and worried and fearful, and yet none of them wear the signs, none of them have labels, and none of them come with written warnings reading, I’M STRUGGLING. BE NICE TO ME.
And since they don’t, it’s up to you and me to look more closely and more deeply at everyone around us: at work or at the gas station or in the produce section, and to never assume they aren’t all just hanging by a thread. Because most people are hanging by a thread—and our simple kindness can be that thread.
We need to remind ourselves just how hard the hidden stories around us might be, and to approach each person as a delicate, breakable, invaluable treasure—and to handle them with care.
As you make your way through the world today, people won’t be wearing signs to announce their mourning or to alert you to the attrition or to broadcast how terrified they are—but if you look with the right eyes, you’ll see the signs.
There are grieving people all around you.
Go easy.
- John Pavlovitz
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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