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Dear Friends and Neighbors,
The Council’s Committee of the Whole will meet tomorrow and will take up two important proposals. We will be discussing the fourth COVID supplemental budget to help residents, businesses, workers and communities to be safe and weather the economic downturn and to support the County’s public health response to the pandemic. We will also take action on a striking amendment to the Puget Sound Taxpayer Accountability Account (PSTAA), which would make some changes to the implementation plan. PSTAA directs how the county will allocate a limited amount of sales tax revenue from Sound Transit to improve educational outcomes, including on early learning, K-12 and post-secondary.
The meeting will be remote and you are welcome to join us. For information on how to access the meeting, provide public comment and view the meeting materials, please see the committee website here.
The rest of this e-newsletter includes updates on the COVID-19 crisis and other issues.
As always, I would like to hear from you. You can call me at 206-477-1004 or you can reach me by email at jeanne.kohl-welles@kingcounty.gov.
All the best and I hope you are staying safe.
COVID-19 UPDATES
Since yesterday’s update, Public Health – Seattle & King County (Public Health) is reporting 146 new positive cases of COVID-19 (18,824 total) and 3 new COVID-19-related deaths (711 total) as of this afternoon. The number of new hospitalizations is 27 (2,182 to date). Of the 13,979 cases in which race and ethnicity information is available, 5,388 of those are white and 8,591 are Black, Indigenous and People of Color. Highly disproportional to the population.
On Saturday, Public Health reported 152 new positive cases of COVID-19 (18,570 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (708 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 3 (2,150 total). Yesterday, Sunday, Public Health reported 108 new positive cases of COVID-19 (18,678 total) and 0 new COVID-19-related deaths (708 total). The number of new hospitalizations was 5 (2,155 total).
Statewide, according to the state Department of Health (DOH), as of Sunday, August 23rd, the total number of positive cases was 71,371. Total number of deaths statewide was 1,867, and total hospitalizations were 6,542.
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
   
COVID UPDATES
Keeping Metro drivers and riders safe
 The Seattle Times reports on the struggles of Puget Sound transit agencies – including Metro - in keeping their drivers and passengers safe. During deliberations on our last supplemental COVID budget in June, my colleague Councilmember Rod Dembowski and I successfully added a requirement and funding for Metro to install mask dispensers with free disposable masks on board buses. Passengers will begin seeing the dispensers in October, starting with the routes with the highest ridership.
Also, see this article in Crosscut: Will King County public transit survive COVID-19?
Safeway, King County and UFCW Local 21 provide free face masks to customers at 59 Safeway locations in King County
Customers at King County locations of Safeway will be able to take home free face masks with their groceries starting today with a new partnership between King County, Safeway, and UFCW Local 21. Customers at any of the 59 Safeway locations in King County can obtain two free reusable masks per person in their household, for up to 12 masks total, while at the check stand. Disposable masks will also be available for customers who may have forgotten or misplaced their masks at all stores. All told Safeway will help distribute 750,000 face masks provided by King County. Click here for more information.
Tomorrow, August 25th, from 1-5 p.m.: east King County mask distribution
King County will also host a free mask distribution tomorrow in Issaquah. This is a drive through pick up event. Each County resident can receive two reusable cloth masks, and each vehicle can obtain masks for up to six household members, or 12 masks per vehicle. Interested King County residents can enter at the parking lot entrance, drive through to the Amazon Treasure Truck, tell the staff person the number of individuals in their household, and receive 2 cloth reusable masks per household, up to 6 household members. The event will take place at the Pickering Barn, 1730 10th Ave NW, Issaquah, WA 98027.
JUSTICE UPDATES: RACIAL, ECONOMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, CRIMINAL
Food security deadline extended to TOMORROW: Request for Applications from non-profits
 Public Health – Seattle & King County released a Request for Applications from non-profit organizations to focus on three project areas:
- Distribute food vouchers
- Distribute culturally-appropriate foods
- Increase Infrastructure capacity
King County has extended the deadline to TOMORROW, Tuesday, August 25th. Please click here for more information about eligibility and how to apply.
NOTE: If you are an individual seeking assistance - please reference the available food access programs and services at https://www.kingcounty.gov/depts/health/covid-19/support/emergency-food.aspx.
Census deadline is September 30th!
 Complete the census by September 30th and make sure everyone in King County counts! If our community is undercounted, we will not have equitable funding and a fair and full voice in policy and decision-making. We must be counted to be represented.
Counting people through the census is also how funding is distributed where it’s needed for the next ten years—for things like our schools, affordable housing, hospitals, and public transportation.
Visit 2020Census.gov to complete the census or call 844-330-2020.
OTHER UPDATES
Update on Seattle hospitality industry
In an update sent to area elected officials, Visit Seattle, the organization that markets travel to Seattle and throughout King County, reports there have been “…small, incremental signs of improvement in demand. In downtown Seattle month-end hotel performance for July – the total number of rooms sold increased to 52,000 (for the month) compared to 39,000 sold in June. And in all of King County – the total number of rooms sold in July was 378,000 vs. 326,000 in June.”
Visit Seattle has put together an FAQ for potential visitors on “Safety in Seattle.”
A message to subscribers: Provide input on this e-newsletter
I have been sending this e-newsletter out since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic and would appreciate receiving your feedback on it. We’ve changed it over this time period, especially in increasing its content and length, but also in reducing its publication to three times a week, down from daily for most of the time since the beginning of March. We’ve put together a very brief survey, the results of which will help us determine whether we should make any changes in the e-newsletter’s format, content, and frequency. I’d appreciate your taking just a couple of minutes to respond to a few short questions.
Click here to fill out the survey. I value your input and will publish the survey results in an upcoming newsletter. Thank you!
Additional helpful and informative links
- Mapping a pandemic: Track the spread of coronavirus across Washington and the world – The Seattle Times
- Failure to ‘flatten the curve’ may kill more people than we thought – UW News
- Outbreak at Seattle shelter contributes to rise in COVID-19 cases in King County homeless population – KNKX
- Food insecurity increasing in King County amid pandemic: report - Seattle PI
- FDA authorizes convalescent plasma as emergency treatment for COVID-19 – NPR
- Three King County libraries close due to suspected COVID-19 cases – KIRO 7
- Here’s how much grocery prices have increased in Seattle during the pandemic – Seattle PI
- UW research shows racism and redlining hurt local wildlife, too - Crosscut
- Remote school is starting, but some Washington families still can’t connect - The Seattle Times
- How wildfire pollution may be harming your health – BBC
- To manage wildfire, California looks to what tribes have known all along - NPR
- King County Superior Court judge's ruling halts police deadly-force inquest process – The Seattle Times
- Wisconsin reels after police shooting and night of protest – The New York Times
- Seattle Municipal Court launches new program to keep low-level offenders out of jail – The Seattle Times
- The climate crisis is an emergency, not an ‘issue’ - Columbia Journalism Review.
- A 194-year-old apple tree, the matriarch of the Northwest apple industry, has died – CNN
- Shhh! We’re heading off on vacation – The New York Times
Today’s moment of inspiration
Restaurant owner feeds his neighbors following devastating windstorm
 According to this story on CNN, after Cedar Rapids, Iowa was devastated by a powerful windstorm that left millions in Iowa and Illinois without power, the owner of a local barbecue restaurant stepped up to help his neighbors. “… Restaurant owner Willie Fairley of Willie Ray's Q Shack has provided his neighbors with more than 1,000 meals at no cost. His commitment to serving up freshly grilled ribs, chicken, burgers and hot dogs to those who need it most right now has made him a local hero. Fairley says online donations for the restaurant mean he'll continue to serve people for free for as long as he can.”
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates, which I’m sending out on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - - and sometimes more frequently. Feel free to forward them to others who can subscribe by clicking here. And you can click here to visit the archive page where you can find all of my previous enews updates.
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