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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
I am always reevaluating how best to keep you all updated on the latest news about the Coronavirus, and the best use of these e-newsletters. As questions of racial equity and justice, the legal system and the criminal justice system have been front and center in our thoughts over these past weeks, I mentioned yesterday that we are expanding the scope of this e-newsletter to include crucial and timely updates about the role of law enforcement and the long-term impacts of systemic racism.
At the same time, these e-newsletters are highly labor-intensive for me and for my staff, and as the current Budget Chair, my time is becoming increasingly constrained, as the Council is working on “Covid Budgets” nearly each month in order to respond to the pandemic.
As such, I’ve regrettably decided to reduce the frequency of this e-newsletter for now to three times a week. Starting next week, you’ll receive them on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. You will continue to receive email alerts regarding upcoming press conferences as they become available and on Tuesdays and/or Thursdays as the need arises.
This schedule will allow me to provide a more thoughtful, thorough look at the two most urgent issues we face today: the pandemic and the fight for racial equality and law enforcement reform. I’ll also continue reporting on Council and committee meetings and actions, and opportunities for you to be involved.
You can read previous updates I sent out on an archive page so you can find any information you may have missed. I have been sending updates every day since March 1 (sometimes more than one in a day). However, I have now transitioned to sending updates only during the week unless there are major developments. Click here to visit the archive page.
As always, I would like to hear from you. Please do not hesitate to contact my office if you have any questions or comments. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.
All the best,
Racial justice information
Reminder: Council’s Law and Justice Committee meets tomorrow – join us!
Tomorrow at 10 a.m. there will be a special virtual meeting of the King County Council’s Law and Justice Committee of which I am a member. The discussion will center on law enforcement reform and oversight in response to the demands for progressive police policy changes in the wake of the death of George Floyd and subsequent nationwide protests.
You can check out the meeting agenda and find out how to provide public testimony remotely by clicking the following link: https://mkcclegisearch.kingcounty.gov/View.ashx?M=A&ID=793568&GUID=B6B283C1-A702-4EDA-993C-77D1287F68EE
You can stream the meeting live by clicking here.
Sheriff Johanknecht announces Use of Force Dashboard
King County Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht announced today steps to increase transparency and accountability in the King County Sheriff’s Office. In her note to members of the County Council, Sheriff Johanknecht explained that the KCSO has “… placed interactive Use of Force dashboards on our website. They allow you, and our community members, to query KCSO’s use of force data by day, time and location of force incidents as well as deputy force tactics.”
This move and other potential reforms will be discussed at tomorrow’s meeting. See the item above for information on streaming the meeting and providing testimony.
Public transit should never be used for law enforcement purposes
Yesterday, I joined two of my colleagues on the council, Girmay Zahilay and Joe McDermott, members of the Transit Riders Union, and other community members in calling on King County Metro and Sound Transit to no longer use Metro buses for transporting any non-transit law enforcement personnel to and from protests and to never transport those detained while protesting.
It’s imperative that our taxpayer-funded transit services are to be used for purposes of providing transit and mobility to ensure our community can get where they need to go – not for the purpose of transporting law enforcement or people detained while protesting.
I applaud Metro for recognizing the need to advance County equity goals as a part of its operations and as such would like to see the practice of providing special law enforcement transportation discontinued permanently. I also encourage all of my colleagues throughout King County government to ensure we no longer utilize buses for anything aside from what they are designed to be used for in the first place.
Metro’s General Manager, Rob Gannon, released a statement earlier today, reinforcing Metro’s commitment to do “transformative work” and to “address the crisis of racism in our community.”
You can read the full statement from TRU, Councilmembers and others by clicking the following link: https://transitriders.org/wpcontent/uploads/Unorganized/MetroPoliceTransportPressRelease.pdf
Director of Public Health - Seattle and King County Patty Hayes and King County Executive Dow Constantine issue powerful statement on the public health effects of systemic racism
They explain how the Cornonavirus has exposed what advocates and People of Color have been claiming for decades: Racism kills - - and it is THE underlying cause of the extreme disparities we’ve seen in the health outcomes of Covid patients of color as compared to white patients.
You can hear Director Hayes in this story on KUOW, or view the joint statement here: https://publichealthinsider.com/2020/06/11/racism-is-a-public-health-crisis/
On a related note, Seattle health care workers took to the streets to shine a light on the public health crisis caused by systemic racism. Crosscut covered the story here.
The New York Times and The Washington Post cover Seattle's 'Autonomous Zone'
The area on Seattle’s Capitol Hill that had been the site of nightly protests, standoffs and sometimes tear gas, has become a public zone without any police presence. According to the New York Times article, “…the Seattle Police Department this week offered a concession: Officers would abandon their building, board up the windows and let the protesters have free rein outside.”
“What has emerged is an experiment in life without the police — part street festival, part commune. Hundreds have gathered to hear speeches, poetry and music,” the article continued.
Read The Washington Post story here.
Latest numbers from Public Health
Since yesterday’s update Public Health is reporting 25 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County today (8,584 total) and 1 new COVID-19-related death (571 total).
As of June 10, there were 24,779 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 1,194 related deaths. There are currently 3,773 people hospitalized statewide with COVID-19.
Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19 is available on Public Health’s data dashboard. And, interestingly, you can click on your zip code to learn of the number of “positive” cases and fatalities where you reside.
Also, and again, here is an excellent website that offers real-time COVID-19 data in clear formats, broken down by country and state:https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Lastly, here is an updated list of places open for COVID-19 testing: https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/news/2020/May/~/media/depts/health/communicable-diseases/documents/C19/community-health-center-testing-locations.ashx
King County’s COVID-19 dashboard shows 25 new cases and 1 additional death today.
(These graphs are based solely on the daily announced totals from Public Health, and do not reflect that daily announced cases are typically diagnosed on several previous days. Corrections or adjustments by Public Health that change daily totals are not reflected.)
   
Public Health Executive Constantine submitted his third emergency supplemental budget to the King County Council to fund COVID-19 response
The proposed budget includes purchasing 25 million face coverings for residents, to be distributed through community organizations.
The $70.4 million proposal includes investment in community health and food security, in addition to bulk purchases of 25 million face coverings and hand sanitizer for to help residents and businesses reopen safely during the Safe Start recovery plan. We will have a briefing on the proposed budget this coming Tuesday at 1 p.m. at our Committee of the Whole meeting. As Budget Chair, I will be leading the Council action on the proposal. Stay tuned for additional information.
Washington schools expected to reopen for fall classes
Washington schools are expected to reopen for in-person classes and other activities this fall, though with several safety guidelines in place and the possibility of distance learning as needed on a district by district basis, announced Chris Reykdal, Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Reykdal’s office and a workgroup of more than 120 educators, parents, students and community organizations came up with guidelines for reopening schools, though deciding how much to reopen and when is in large part up to districts. Which phase the county is in will also weigh on how schools reopen. Cloth masks, social distancing and other health safety measures are among the guidelines to bring students back to schools.
Read the full planning guide here and read Seattle Times coverage of the announcement here.
Additional helpful and informative links
- We all need pandemic relief. Undocumented families aren't getting it - Crosscut
- Coronavirus cases surging – The Seattle Times
- Inslee orders new investigation into killing of Manuel Ellis by Tacoma police – The Seattle Times
- Inslee: As stockpile improves, more medical protective gear available to guard against coronavirus – The Seattle Times
- TOMORROW: Black Lives Matter Seattle Statewide Silent March and General Strike at Various locations - The Stranger
- This Week Then: Black lives have always mattered - HistoryLink
Today's moment of levity
One of my staffers right now (with school-aged kids at home) upon hearing the news that schools will reopen for in-person learning in the fall (with social-distancing requirements):
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my update. You can expect these to continue being sent out daily, sometimes more than one. Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here.
Finally, to prevent these updates from going straight to spam or junk folders, I encourage you to mark this email address as a “safe sender” by adding the email address to your contacts or address book. And be sure to check your spam folder if you think you may have missed an update.
And please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns and, most importantly, be well.
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