It’s been a busy week on Eastrail! Last Friday, I joined Bellevue leaders, King County staff and community leaders to show U.S. Rep. Adam Smith the impressive progress and growing support to complete this amazing 42-mile regional trail corridor. Then on Monday, Amazon announced a $7.5 million investment for two important Eastrail projects - the 100 foot tall Wilburton Trestle and the Wilburton segment of trail north from the trestle to NE 8th and the new Sound Transit Wilburton light rail station.
 With Rep. Smith and Bellevue, King County and community leaders. Photo: Eastrail Partners
Once completed, the trail will tie into East Link light rail, bus rapid transit and key destinations for education, jobs and opportunity, knitting the Eastside together in a new and exciting way.
Thanks, to Rep. Adam Smith and Amazon for your support in building this regional treasure. Watch the KCTV video on Monday’s Amazon announcement:
Op-Ed: supporting our immigrant and refugee communities to build back better.
As we emerge from the pandemic, we cannot afford to leave anyone behind. Our communities and our region will only fully succeed if we have an equitable recovery and this means helping our immigrant neighbors access legal status, financial resources, and the security they need to continue to be successful partners in our communities and our economy, whether they are documented or not.
Read my op-ed with King County Executive Dow Constantine, published in Runta News, about King County’s $16 million investment in two grant programs to help immigrants who are often excluded from federally funded programs:
National Voting Registration Day
National Voter Registration Day is next coming up on Tuesday, September 28 - get registered, or update your registration, and be ready to make your voice heard on our next election day, November 2.
Tent City 4's new van
Each year, the King County Council Van Donation Program allows councilmembers to donate retired, but still useable, King County Metro Vanpool vans to local nonprofits that serve seniors, low-income people, youth, or people with disabilities.
This year, I donated a van to Tent City 4, which is an Eastside tent encampment run by SHARE, a grassroots, self-managed organization of homeless and formerly homeless individuals. For years, Tent City 4 has provided safe quarters, food, hygiene facilities, and other essentials that a person needs for daily living so they can transition into more permanent housing.
Places like Tent City 4 provide a critical stepping stone for Eastside residents experiencing homelessness so that they can move out of homelessness and into safe, stable housing. It’s always exciting to be able to provide this kind of immediate, direct support to organizations doing critical work in our community, like Tent City 4.
Spread the word!
Please forward this email widely and invite others to sign-up to my email updates to receive important and timely information for District 6 constituents.
Sincerely,
 Claudia Balducci
King County Council
District 6
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