Marysville School District announced the approval of their Continuous Learning 2.0 Plan on this week, joining all Snohomish County public schools, and most private schools, to start with distanced learning this September.
Each district is finding ways to connect students to computers and internet. Computer pick-up drive thrus and access through partnerships such as the Comcast “Internet Essentials Partnership Program” ensure all students are prepared for virtual schooling (some districts such as Darrington and Sultan are providing select students additional support with onsite instruction).
Some districts such as Darrington will provide cellular hotspots or downloadable flash drives with content for families without internet access capabilities. Find more information for each school district here: https://snohomishcountywa.gov/1592/School-Districts
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The Light Rail Communities Project team is continuing its multi-year public engagement process by taking outreach online in light of COVID-19 restrictions in the form of a virtual workshop. The planned extension of light rail into Snohomish County will bring change and growth, but also presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage a major transit investment to benefit our communities. Work on the urban core subarea plan is underway and covers a range of topics, including housing. The residential housing type workshop seeks input from communities near this area about where they see the future of housing types being located. Visit the workshop through September 25th to learn more and submit your ideas. Compatibility note: Internet Explorer is not a supported browser to display this content. Edge, Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are supported.
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The Employment Security Department (ESD) announced today it will apply for the Lost Wages Assistance program through the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) today, Friday, Aug. 21, 2020.
Upon approval, this will allow ESD to provide an additional $300 per week for three weeks to those who have lost work due to the COVID-19 crisis and are receiving unemployment benefits. Lost Wages Assistance is a temporary emergency measure to provide additional unemployment benefits to eligible claimants. It is not the same as the additional $600 per week that was available under the specific CARES Act provision called the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), which expired at the end of July. Lost Wages Assistance has different requirements for eligibility and is drawn from a limited pool of money from FEMA to be shared among all states that apply and are approved. The funds are retroactive to the unemployment benefit week ending Aug. 1, 2020.
“We will implement this as quickly as possible to distribute the extra payments to Washingtonians once our application is approved,” said ESD Commissioner, Suzi LeVine. “It is important however, to emphasize that this benefit is currently time-limited to those filing claims over a three-week period, between July 26 and Aug. 15, 2020, and not everyone who has filed an unemployment claim will be eligible.”
To qualify for this additional funding, claimants must self-certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. This will require a new step for claimants currently receiving regular unemployment benefits, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits.
To learn more, download the Lost Wages Assistance FAQ at esd.wa.gov/newsroom.
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 Snohomish County is working with local farmers and distributors to connect people who sometimes struggle to access food with regular supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables, delivered almost to their doorsteps.
Since June, the program has provided roughly 2,700 free boxes of produce to community members at seven apartment complexes in Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, Snohomish, Monroe and Bothell. Planning is underway to continue the program through the end of the year, a virtual press conference was told Friday.
The program augments the community’s existing network of food banks and other food and meal distribution programs. The goal is to regularly provide people at the distribution centers up to 25 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables. Food banks typically offer shelf-stable products such as pasta and rice, and a few provide dairy and meat. In addition to fruit and vegetables, the county has provided two face coverings for every person in the families receiving food boxes. To date, that has meant distribution of roughly 5,000 face coverings.
Nourishing Neighborhoods locations were identified in part based on mapping the Social Vulnerability Index, a metric the federal Centers for Disease Control uses to describe the resilience of communities when confronted by disease outbreaks and other natural disasters. That information was paired with data about unemployment rates and low-income housing. The analysis also factored in the distance to grocery stores and food banks. In general, Nourishing Neighborhoods distribution locations are a half mile or more from other places where food can be acquired – farther than many people can easily walk and carry back their groceries.
Much of the produce distributed by Nourishing Neighborhoods has come from farms in Snohomish County and elsewhere in Western Washington. Fruit and staples that grow in Central and Eastern Washington have been sourced from in-state farmers, and packaged for distribution through local food processors and vendors.
Nourishing Neighborhoods has been able to support jobs and the local economy by purchasing goods from local farmers and vendors, returning some employees to work. Farmers also have transitioned to selling Nourishing Neighborhoods product that was intended for restaurants prior to the pandemic.
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