More Information on Community’s Response to SCOTUS Decision
You can read Executive Constantine’s statement about the SCOTUS decision here and in this article:
$1 million to bolster WA abortion care, King County Executive Dow Constantine announces – The Seattle Times
UW Medicine responds to high court decision on abortion | Newsroom – University of Washington
SCOTUS Protests & Traffic
Following today’s ruling by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, large-scale protests are planned for today and tomorrow at 5 p.m. at Westlake Park in downtown Seattle. Protests will also occur today at 5 p.m. in Seattle at Yesler Terrace Park and at the Federal Building at 915 Second Avenue. Another protest will occur at 5 p.m. at Redmond Downtown Park. Additional protests may also take place. Please expect disruptions to traffic in and around the downtown core. Be prepared for these impacts and allow extra time when you travel. Below are some resources that might help with your travel, this weekend and beyond.
Pride Celebrations This Weekend
 Pictured here with Councilmembers Balducci and McDermott, I joined with my colleagues and County employees to raise the pride flag outside the Administration Building this week.
Pride Celebrations This Weekend
You could say Pride Month is coming to a close, or you could say it’s coming to a crescendo! Events and celebrations abound!
This past Tuesday, we raised the pride flag outside the County’s Administration Building. This coming Sunday, the Seattle Pride Parade begins in downtown Seattle at 11:00 a.m. at Westlake Park. Capitol Hill has so many events this weekend that you “need a map.” You can read more about Seattle’s celebration and its history in this article from The Seattle Times, which also lists many of this weekend’s upcoming Pride events. Any way you look at it, our community is coming together in the next few days to show our solidarity for our LGBTQ+ neighbors as they celebrate and show their rightful pride.
If you are looking for more information on the history of the LGBTQ+ struggle for equal rights, I found this page on History.com to be an excellent resource for discovery. But equity is not a reality yet, and so history will continue to write itself regarding LGBTQ+ rights. I applaud President Biden for moving the needle in the right direction with his strong proposal to protect transgender students.
I look forward to continuing to celebrate and honor those in the LGBTQ+ community well beyond the end of this month, and I pledge to continue to work as an ally in the struggle for equity and social justice for all.
COVID-19 Data Updates
The current King County COVID level is classified as Medium. For up-to-date information on cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in the County, see the Daily COVID-19 outbreak summary dashboard. The links to the data by demographics and geography are on the same page.
View all County COVID-related Data Dashboards here, including vaccination rates and outcomes according to vaccination status.
View the most recent statewide COVID-19 data from the state Department of Health (DOH).
Response to In-Custody Deaths at King County Jail
This article from The Seattle Times draws stark attention to the safety hazards that cost three inmates their lives recently. In the June 7th meeting of the Council’s Law, Justice, Health and Human Services Committee, we were briefed by the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention on in-custody deaths. You can watch that video here. So far this year, there have unfortunately been five deaths in King County correctional facilities, including three suicides. The briefing covered what’s being done in response to these, some of which were not covered in the article, and other updates from DAJD. I’m quoted on this topic in the article below.
Council debates how to prevent more King County Jail deaths – The Center Square
Child Care Workers Set to Receive Retention Bonuses
Photo by Gabe Pierce on Unsplash
Throughout the pandemic, our child care workers continued to show up for a job made even more challenging due to COVID, all while receiving some of the lowest wages of any sector of our economy. Every other element of our economy depends on our child care employees providing the support that frees up so many of our colleagues to work alongside us while their kids are taken care of. Without these vital workers, our system would face a critical labor shortage across the board.
I am pleased that the County is partnering with the City of Seattle to provide over $7 million in bonuses to child care workers, ensuring this vital part of our economy remains strong and viable. The County is the leading partner in this endeavor, providing $5 million of the $7.4 million through our Best Starts for Kids levy funding.
To apply for this child care worker retention grant, visit Seattle’s Department of Education and Early Learning website and submit your material before June 27.
Helpful Public Health-related Articles
Helpful County-related Articles
County Business and Other News and Events
This Week at the King County Council
Transportation, Economy and Environment Committee
Members of the “TrEE” Committee met this week and took up a jam-packed agenda. The committee was briefed on a new cricket grounds project at Marymoor Park. Cricket is the second most watched sport in the world and its popularity in the United States is growing quickly. I’m looking forward to seeing bowlers knocking down wickets and batsmen hitting big sixes. The highlights of the rest of the meeting included votes on a new personal locator beacon program, Metro Connects implementation report, and an ordinance related to the public benefit rating system for open space and agriculture. You can find links to the minutes and video from the meeting here.
 The Council and the Thunderbolts on the dais.
King County Council
On Tuesday, members voted on proclamations recognizing Juneteenth in King County [add photo of us with Dow and Larry Gossett] and the Seattle Thunderbolts cricket team. These were followed by approval of the new Conservation Futures Tax levy that, as a result, will be placed on the November ballot for voter approval. Action on an ordinance related to winery, brewery and distillery uses was deferred to next week’s Council meeting on Tuesday at 1 p.m. You can find links to the minutes and video from the meeting here.
 Former Councilmember Larry Gossett shares some of his many gifts, here his humor and wisdom, with the Council, in recognizing the County’s first Juneteenth holiday. He’s with Councilmember Rod Dembowski and Executive Dow Constantine.
Budget and Fiscal Management Committee
On Wednesday, members were briefed on and then discussed the 3rd omnibus supplemental budget to the 2021-2022 biennial budget. The committee plans to act on the legislation and pass all amendments in its next meeting on July 13th. Members then deferred action on an ordinance related to an easement for public school purposes located within Council District 8. Finally, the committee passed two related ordinances, one executing a new lease to support the operation of the Prosecuting Attorney’s office and another to makes a net supplemental appropriation of $681,900 to cover a small portion of the build-out costs for the space (the landlord is covering over $4M of the costs.) You can find links to the minutes and video from the meeting here.
Next Week at the King County Council
Full Council
On Tuesday, the King County Council will begin with a proclamation of Summer Meals Week and a recognition of our beloved and longtime colleague, Sharon Daly, who is set to retire after a career of service to the residents of King County. The Council will then act on several consent agenda items before moving to deliberate and take action on several other pieces of legislation. Notably, these include an amendment to the King County Charter to move elections for certain county offices from odd-numbered to even-numbered years (which if approved, would go to the ballot for voter approval in November), an ordinance relating to the creation of protection order commissioner positions for King County superior court, an ordinance related to winery, brewery and distillery uses, and a motion approving the executive's reappointment of Anita Khandelwal as county public defender. The agenda, meeting materials and instructions for providing public comment can be found here.
A recycling idea to really get the juices flowing
 Photo by Marc Schaefer on Unsplash
Longtime readers may think I am bringing back the “moment of levity” section when they read this article from The Seattle Times. But this idea has serious merit and I hope to discover an avenue for King County to lead through innovation in bringing a “peecycling” pilot program to our community. While the concept sets itself up for some enjoyable childish humor, it’s a serious and sustainable solution for simultaneously alleviating the impacts of our sewer and septic systems and providing an organic replacement for the destructive fertilizer industry.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Blood Drive at National Nordic Museum
Bloodworks Northwest will be hosting a pop-up at the Nordic Museum in Ballard on June 27th and 28th. Sign up and help save lives by clicking this link. As an additional thank you for the contribution, donors will be gifted two complimentary tickets to the museum with proof of donor participation.
Great way to celebrate Title IX’s 50th Anniversary last night — at Climate Pledge Arena with Port of Seattle Commissioner President Sam Cho and my colleague Councilmember Rod Dembowski in cheering for Sue Bird and the Seattle Storm as they beat the Washington Mystics!
 Here we are with Seattle Sports Commission CEO Beth Knox.
Keep in touch
Thank you again for taking the time to read my updates. 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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