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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As you’ll read below, as the Governor’s statewide mask order goes into effect today, cases are rising in King County. It is critical that we all do our part to limit exposure for ourselves and others. For details on wearing masks, please see this page.
The Council’s Committee of the Whole will be meeting virtually next Tuesday at 1 p.m. and you are welcome to join us. Topics to be covered include amending the County charter to remove restrictions on affordable housing and to remove unneeded references to citizenship, as well as to appoint rather than elect the King County Sheriff. Meeting materials can be found here. For information on joining the meeting and providing public comment, please see the meeting agenda.
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, including racial justice, as helpful information related to the COVID-19 crisis. You can read previous updates I have sent out on an archive page so you can find any information you may have missed. 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,
COVID 19 UPDATES
Since yesterday’s update Public Health is reporting 83 new positive cases of COVID-19 in King County today (9,695 total) and 1 new COVID-19-related death (586 total).
As of June 24, there were 30,367 confirmed COVID-19 cases statewide and 1,300 related deaths. (Note: We do not consistently receive the statewide data daily in time to include in our daily update.)
It should be noted that the number of new cases is fairly high compared to numbers from a couple of weeks ago. We need to follow the patterns closely but, in the meantime, wear your mask!
Detailed information about demographics of those who died from COVID-19, as well as on rates of hospitalization, is available on Public Health’s data dashboard. And, 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
(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.)
   
RACIAL, ECONOMIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE UPDATES
Streaming free for 48 hours: “One of the most powerful works of video art”
According to an article in yesterday’s Washington Post, artist Arthur Jafa’s 7½-minute video, “Love Is the Message, the Message Is Death” is “a dazzling, deeply emotional montage of found footage showing aspects of the black experience, set to the sounds of [Kanye] West’s ‘Ultralight Beam.’” The video was made in 2016 but has not been widely available – until now.
Thanks to a partnership between the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden and the Smithsonian American Art Museum, working in consultation with Arthur Jafa, the video will be streaming free for continuously for 48 hours, starting today. In 2017, The New Yorker called the video “required viewing.”
According to the Smithsonian, “This event is the first time the artist has authorized showing the video outside of a museum or gallery setting.”
 Lack of trees more prevalent in communities of color and low-income communities
It has long been known that polluting industries are more often sited in neighborhoods where the majority of residents are Black and Indigenous people, People of Color, immigrants or low income people. Residents in these neighborhoods have a higher chance of exposure to toxic chemicals, including lead in drinking water.
In addition, these neighborhoods often have fewer trees, which can impact both the environment and the health of residents. This article, from Yale’s Climate Connections website, describes a Portland non-profit working to plant trees where they’re most needed.
King County has also been working to plant one million trees by the end of this year. Trees store carbon and contribute to clean air and water, healthy habitat for salmon and other wildlife, and more livable communities. Learn more about this effort – and how you can help – here.
COVID AND OTHER UPDATES
Increasing cases show need for ongoing vigilance
It’s been one week since King County officially entered Phase 2 of the Governor’s Safe Start plan. Public Health of Seattle & King County (PHSKC) has noted an increase in cases over the past two weeks. With more re-opening of businesses, community activities and contact with one-another, it is warning that the risk for infection has increased.
Recent cases are from all areas of King County, with the largest increase in new cases in young adults and Seattle residents. At this point, no specific venue or risk factor has been identified as a cause of the increase. Public Health has not seen increasing trends in hospitalizations, and it is not known if the recent increase in cases will subside, be sustained, or further increase, potentially causing significant stress on the health care system in coming weeks or months.
Dr. Jeff Duchin, Health Officer for Public Health—Seattle & King County, said this today: “We face a long-term challenge from COVID-19 that requires us to fundamentally change the way we interact with one another for the foreseeable future if we are to move forward safely.”
Public Health has also put together a very helpful Q&A on what Phase 2 means for King County families. Read it here!
Get ready for wildfire season – it’s more important now than ever
Public Health has issued guidance for how to deal with the upcoming wildfire season while in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few of the key takeaways:
- Wildfire smoke is unhealthy for everyone. Children, pregnant women, people over 65 years of age, or who have a respiratory disease or illness, heart disease, or diabetes are most vulnerable.
- Wildfire smoke this summer may create additional risk for people with COVID-19 and worsen symptoms.
- Many people most susceptible to COVID-19 are also those most vulnerable to the impacts of wildfire smoke.
- Cloth and surgical masks will only provide very little protection against wildfire smoke. N95 respirators can help protect against wildfire smoke when used properly. Due to COVID-19, these types of respirators are in short supply.
For more information see the article here.
Property Tax Relief: Payment Plans Now Available
This week the King County Council approved legislation sponsored by Councilmember Reagan Dunn that offers payment plans for those who could not afford to pay their June 1 first half property tax bill due to COVID-19. The King County Treasury will also waive 3rd party vendor payment plan setup fees, but will charge 1% interest as required by state law. You can find more info about this program at the King County Treasury webpage.
On March 30, King County extended the due date for the first half of 2020 property taxes from April 30 to June 1, 2020. Since then, economic activity in King County has plummeted and the unemployment rate has skyrocketed to 15.8%, according to the Employment Security Department’s April report. As of June 11, 46,000 people were delinquent on their 2020 property tax payments, which amounts to a 28% increase from 2019.
Proud at King County!
King County Executive Dow Constantine perfectly summed up the attitude at King County regarding gender equity, stating, in part: “At King County, we believe in a supportive, inclusive, welcoming community, and we are working to make it so. This year, we expanded our health plans’ coverage for transgender employees and their covered family members. King County has covered gender transition surgery and hormone replacement since 2015, but starting in 2020, we now cover additional gender-affirming procedures and treatments to comply fully with World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) standards, including procedures most insurers exclude. King County was the first public sector employer in Washington to cover these expanded services.”
Happy Pride month!
Zoo and aquarium opening next week
As detailed in this Seattle Times article, the Woodland Park Zoo (the Board of which I’m an ex-officio member) and the Seattle Aquarium will reopen next week, with altered operations and certain restrictions. The aquarium will open on Monday, June 29, and the zoo will open on Wednesday, July 1. See the Times article for details.
Additional helpful and informative links
- Snail mail is getting people through this time – The New York Times
- Rule change gives fishermen more opportunity to use federal PPP funds in pandemic downturn – The Seattle Times
- New Black-led group at CHOP says protesters will decide how long they’ll stay – The Seattle Times
- Mayor Durkan proposes revised city budget with cuts of $69 million, minimal changes to SPD – The South Seattle Emerald
- Nearly 1 in 5 Seattle-area renters doubt they can make July’s rent - The Seattle Times
- King County to host the BECU Drive-in Movies at Marymoor Park – KIRO 7
- ‘We’re just tired of what’s going on:’ Metro employees protest racial bias at transit agency – The Seattle Times
- ‘What are the symptoms?’ ‘What should I do if I feel sick?’ and other coronavirus questions – The New York Times
- Amazon buys naming rights to KeyArena, will call it Climate Pledge Arena – The Seattle Times
- Did you miss this week’s panel on racism and homelessness? Here are some highlights – The Seattle Times
- Podcast - Coronavirus is deadly for small businesses, too – Crosscut
- Latest: 75% of US workers can’t work exclusively from home, face greater risks during pandemic – UW News
- King County Executive on reopening businesses and the Sheriff's Office – KUOW
- King County Council approves new round of COVID-19 emergency funding – Washington State Wire
- King County Council bill gives renters more protections against evictions amid coronavirus outbreak – Seattlepi.com
- King County OKs tax relief plan, eviction ban modeled after Seattle's – Puget Sound Business Journal
- Type of ultraviolet light kills airborne coronavirus; effect on platelets helps explain blood clot issues – Reuters
- Coronavirus FAQs: Is There A Polite Way To Remind Someone To Follow Pandemic Rules? - KUOW
Today’s moment of inspiration
This article from the UW’s Foster School of Business blog, features a special episode of the Seattle Growth Podcast and focuses on two Seattle-based artists who are rising to the challenge of keeping the legendary music scene thriving even in times of social distancing. Way to go!
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I’m now sending out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - - and sometimes more frequently. 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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