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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
This has been a busy and emotionally draining week. History is being made as thousands march and gather together, working to enact long-overdue changes. At the same time, the pandemic continues, even as states and municipalities relax some restrictions.
I want to remind you to stay vigilant, and stay home whenever feasible. If you have any COVID symptoms, please get tested. Information on free testing is included below.
The rest of this e-newsletter is meant to provide you with an update on some of the other issues on which I’ve been working as well as helpful information related to the COVID-19 crisis. 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 almost every day since March 1 (sometimes more than one in a day).
However, as mentioned yesterday, as Budget Chair my time is very constrained, especially now. Beginning next week, we will be sending these updates out on only Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, 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,
Latest numbers from Public Health
Since yesterday’s update Public Health is reporting 60 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County today (8,644 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (571 total). The number of positive cases has increased but it’s terrific there are zero new deaths reported.
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 60 new cases and 0 additional deaths 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.)
   
Covid cases start to surge again, Oregon pauses reopening, getting tested
According to today’s updates in The New York Times, this week Texas and Florida had their “highest daily totals of new virus infections,” and California “hit a new daily high last week, when it recorded 3,593 new cases, a record it nearly matched it again this week.”
According to articles in The Oregonian and The Washington Post, Oregon Governor Kate Brown has paused reopening “amid rising infections and hospitalizations.”
Today’s Seattle Times includes an Associated Press article on the increase in cases. Read it here: "Alarming rise in virus cases as states roll back lockdowns.” And an important column in today’s Seattle Times: "Why are Washington state’s coronavirus cases on the rise again?"
The availability of testing has increased in King County. If you have any COVID symptoms, you should get tested. Here is the information on getting tested in King County. Free testing is available in King County for everyone.
King County is in a “modified Phase 1.” Certain activities and businesses are reopening, but with many restrictions. This article in The Seattle Times provides some helpful suggestions for dining out more safely during our modified Phase 1.
A reminder: supplemental COVID-19 community response fund: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 23
On May 5, the King County Council approved a second emergency supplemental budget proposed by Executive Dow Constantine to provide additional resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Included in the legislation is $1 million for the Office of Equity and Social Justice (OESJ) to expand funding for the COVID-19 Community Response Fund.
As the pandemic has progressed, we understand more about its effects and the disproportionate impact it inflicts on communities of color. OESJ will continue to prioritize funding to partners working with communities at the highest risk of immediate and long-term negative health, social and economic impacts. Grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to organizations based on the priorities defined in the Overview & Criteria for Community Responses Fund. Please download the Community Response Fund Application form at the Office of Equity and Social Justice website. Applications are due by 11:59pm, June 23, 2020.
Metro's fall service changes include service reductions due to revenue losses
Metro is preparing for this fall’s regular service change in September. Due to reduced revenue, the September change will include cuts and suspensions to routes while maintaining a countywide transit network and its commitments to safety, equity, and sustainability. In the short term, however, Metro will restore some transit service on Monday, June 22 as more industries reopen and restrictions are gradually lifted.
September’s reductions to transit service are unfortunate but necessary due to economic realities. Metro takes seriously its responsibility as a steward of public resources. The most recent projections estimate an unprecedented loss in sales tax revenue and farebox collections totaling $280 million in 2020, and up to $615 million 2020-2022. September’s service revisions will align future transit and mobility service with available revenue.
The latest financial forecast reflects the dire economic repercussions Metro faces due to the COVID-19 crisis. The unfortunate result are reductions not only to service, but also to our workforce. Metro is exploring the nature and timeline of reductions needed in the coming weeks and months.
As the Council’s Budget Chair responsible for crafting the 2021-22 biennial budget, I will be working closely with Metro to ensure transit remains viable and reliable in a way that reflects the challenges of economic fallout caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay tuned. You read more about the September service change in the Metro Matters Blog by clicking the following link:https://kingcountymetro.blog/2020/06/11/metro-plans-september-service-change-amid-budget-challenges/
To stay updated on Metro service changes – including any short-term changes – sign up to receive Metro’s service advisory alerts: https://kingcounty.gov/depts/transportation/metro/alerts-updates.aspx
Council's Committee of the Whole to meet Tuesday, June 16
The Council’s Committee of the Whole will meet next Tuesday at 1 p.m. It’s a virtual meeting and we hope you will join us. We’ll have a briefing on the Executive’s proposed Third Covid Budget, which I, as Budget Chair, am sponsoring, and have a discussion on two proposed ordinances – of which I’m a co-sponsor – to amend the County Charter so as to grant the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) the power to issue subpoenas to the Office of the Sheriff and the other pertaining to authorizing legal representation to families in inquest proceedings.
The agenda for the meeting can be found here. Meeting materials will be available prior to the meeting on the committee web site here: https://kingcounty.gov/council/committees/cow.aspx
Public comment is welcome! Here’s how:
You may comment in writing on agenda items by submitting your written comments to mkcccowmeeting@gmail.com or by going to https://kingcounty.gov/council/committees/cow.aspx and selecting "Click Here to Submit Written Public Comment". If your comments are submitted before 10:00 a.m. on the day of the Committee of the Whole meeting, your comments will be distributed to the committee members and appropriate staff prior to the meeting.
You can also provide comment orally during the meeting by phone: You may provide oral public comment during the meeting by calling into the committee meeting using the telephone number, meeting identification and password provided at the link below.
For more information on providing oral comments, and details on how to join the meeting, please visit the Committee’s website at https://kingcounty.gov/council/committees/cow.aspx.
Special Board of Health meeting this Monday the 15th at 4 p.m.
The Board of Health will take up the question of applying to the Washington State Department of Health to enter Phase 2 of the Safe Start Reopening Plan. You’re invited to join us, and to provide public comment. Here are the directions:
To join online Paste the following link into the address bar of your web browser: https://kingcounty.zoom.us/s/96172223371 to join online.
To join by Telephone Dial: US : +1 253 215 8782 Meeting ID: 929 7546 1336 Password: 998289
If you do not wish to provide public comment, please help us manage the callers by using one of the options below to watch or listen to the meeting.
HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN TO THE MEETING: There are two ways to watch or listen in to the meeting:
1) Stream online via this link https://livestream.com/accounts/15175343/events/4485487 or input the link web address into your web browser.
2) Watch King County TV Channel 22 (Comcast Channel 22 and 322(HD), Wave Broadband Channel 22)
Racial justice information
Data tools available from Public Health: Tracking the local economic, social and health impacts of COVID-19
Public Health — Seattle & King County is monitoring changes in key economic, social, and other health indicators resulting from strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19. The data dashboard, includes metrics with race/ethnicity breakdowns, as well as outbreak data by city and neighborhood. View the dashboard here.
Today’s meeting of the Council Law and Justice Committee
The two-hour meeting, chaired by Councilmember Girmay Zahilay, included a staff briefing on the history of the Sheriff’s Office in King County and a discussion among Council members on what might be our next steps to do all we can to ensure we meet the challenges in providing real access to justice and using an anti-racist approach in all that we do. I was pleased that King County Executive Dow Constantine joined us in tackling head on the challenges before us. I was glad Sheriff Mitzi Johanknecht also spoke and suggested people check out the Sheriff’s website for her position on these matters. In addition, Deborah Jacobs, Director of the County Office of Law Enforcement Oversight, spoke. But by far the best part of the meeting was our listening to the public comments made, many from family members of individuals who had been killed by law enforcement. I thank them all for doing so. I will provide information on accessing the meeting on Monday.
Links between racism and climate change
The links between racism and environmental degradation have been well-documented for decades. People of Color and low-income people are far more likely to live, work and go to school in buildings and neighborhoods where they are exposed to toxic chemicals. Several recent articles have covered the links specifically between climate change and racism.
A recent column by a black climate expert in The Washington Post describes how “racism derails our efforts to save the planet.” The author, Ayana Johnson, a marine biologist, states, “… building community around climate solutions is my life’s work. But I’m also a black person in the United States of America. I work on one existential crisis, but these days I can’t concentrate because of another.”
Three black environmental defenders were interviewed on this connection recently in The New York Times’ Climate Fwd. newsletter. Sam Grant, Executive Director of the Minnesota affiliate of the climate activist group 350.org, put it this way: ““Police violence is an aspect of a broader pattern of structural violence, which the climate crisis is a manifestation of.”
To read more about the connections between racism and environmental degradation, see this New York Times piece, Read Up on the Links Between Racism and the Environment.
Board of Health meeting on June 18 to take up one topic: Racism as Public Health crisis
The Board of Health will be taking up Resolution No. 20-08, which would officially declare racism as a Public Health crisis. The meeting agenda and a downloadable meeting packet is also available at www.kingcounty.gov/boh/agenda.
UW faculty members speak up on recent protests
Several faculty members in the UW’s Political Science department – all members of the Washington Institute for the Study of Inequality and Race (WISIR) - have published several essays on the recent protests and the meaning of this moment in our nation’s history.
Additional helpful and informative links
Today's moment of levity
A high school senior cleaned up his neighborhood in Buffalo in the middle of the night following a day of protests - - all by himself. Someone got a photo, posted it on Facebook and it went viral. Buffalo residents got together, and gifts of appreciation include a car, paying his car insurance and a scholarship. Read it about it in this Washington Post article.
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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