Sam Low's eNewsletter
Snohomish County Council
3000 Rockefeller Ave., M/S 609
Everett, Washington 98201
8th floor, Robert J. Drewel Building
Phone: 425-388-3494
E-Mail: Sam.Low@snoco.org
Darcy Cheesman, Legislative Aide
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Evergreen State Fair
Information Courtesy of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds
The 2021 Evergreen State Fair started on August 26th and goes through September 6th
This year's theme, Back in the Saddle Again, is all about dusting ourselves off from the past year and bringing our community back to celebrate. While this year the Fair will look a little different, there are still so many traditions to celebrate, new things to experience and more memories to make.
Here are some things to Know Before You Go:
- Free Parking this year in any of our outside lots
- We will be closed Wednesday, September 1. This allows us more time to sanitize, change over the animals and gives staff and volunteers time to gear up for the second half of Fair.
- We will be opening the gates at 10:30 am and ticket booths will open at 10 am.
- There is no rodeo this year, but there are still a lot of events in the Equestrian Center, so make sure you don't miss out!
- There may be times that we have to limit capacity on the grounds. We will communicate this via Twitter (@EvergreenFairWa) and at the bottom of our homepage (Evergreenfair.org). We recommend visiting the Fair on a weekday or arriving early to lessen the likelihood that you will be impacted by the capacity limits.
- You can save on gate admission and ride wristbands until Aug 25th on etix.com or at our Pass Booth here at the Red Gate.
- We ask our guests to follow all state and local health and safety guidelines while at the Fair. We have made some programming modifications and increased efforts to keep guests safe. To learn more about what steps have been taken visit our resource page.
If you have any question or would like to learn more you can read our FAQ's. We can't wait to see you at the FAIR!
Councilmembers Low and Nehring discuss broadband with FCC Chair
Information Courtesy of the Lynnwood Times
EVERETT, Wash., August 27, 2021 – This morning, Snohomish County Councilmembers Nate Nehring and Sam Low joined Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) for a conversation about rural broadband with Acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. The meeting, held via Zoom, included select broadband stakeholders sharing their collective goal of expanding reliable broadband access to residents and businesses across our region.
Councilmembers Nehring and Low highlighted the work of the Snohomish County Broadband Action Team (BAT), created in 2020, to bring internet access to rural parts of the County.
BAT is a collaboration of community leaders in education, healthcare, business, first responders, local government, and broadband providers who focus on developing strategies for expanding broadband within Snohomish County.
“It was an honor to join Congresswoman DelBene and Acting FCC Chair Rosenworcel to discuss opportunities to expand internet access to rural communities in Snohomish County and throughout our region,” said Councilmember Nehring.
The meeting also highlighted the FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit (EBB) program which helps households afford internet service. A link to providers in your area can be found here.
“I appreciate Acting FCC Chair Rosenworcel and Congresswoman DelBene for meeting with us to discuss the critical infrastructure needs in our rural communities,”said Councilmember Low. “We need to continue to move forward on these programs to ensure our constituents are provided the access they need for work and educational opportunities.”
FCC Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that over five million households are enrolled in the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program since its launch in mid-May of this year.
“Enrolling five million households into the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program in a little over three months is no small feat. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of nearly 30,000 individuals and organizations who signed up as volunteer outreach partners,” said Rosenworcel. “I’m grateful for the tremendous work the agency and our partners across the country have spearheaded over the last few months. Through our analysis and conversations with partners, we heard the need for more granular data and today’s data release provides us all new opportunities to target and engage eligible families who may qualify for EBB but haven’t yet enrolled. Information is power. We’re ready to put this new data to work.”
EBB’s goal is to provide a discount of up to $50 per month towards broadband service for eligible households and up to $75 per month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. To learn more click here.
For its commitment to broadband access the Snohomish County Council declared March 29 through April 2 of this year as “Broadband Access Week” in Snohomish County. In October of 2020, the Washington State Public Works Board announced nearly $18 million in grants and loans for seven broadband construction projects in unserved communities across the state.
 Last week I visited the Index Galena Road Project with Congresswoman Suzann DelBene. In 2006 heavy rains severely impaired access to Index-Galena Road. The county has repaired 10 of the 11 originally damaged areas. Currently milepost 6.4 to 6.9 is the only area left to repair and remains closed to all public access. This portion of road was considered a total loss with significant portions of pavement, road bed, and culverts damaged by the flooding. Snohomish County Public Works began construction in April to rebuild and relocate this section.
 The project will restore a route that maintains essential travel and emergency services on Index-Galena Road and reintroduces recreational access to parts of the Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest and the Wild Sky Wilderness area. To learn more about project plans and benefits, please read the 2021 Fact Sheet.
 New road work includes nearly one mile of reconstructed roadway, 16 culverts, one reinforced concrete box culvert, a new 180-foot long bridge, geosynthetic reinforced slopes, structural earth walls, and removal of the abandoned road and other man-made materials.
 This week I attended a field day presentation that highlighted the 5G Food Resiliency Project. In January of this year, Snohomish County and the 5G Innovation Lab kicked off the Snohomish County Food Resiliency Project. During the height of the pandemic, we saw a dramatic increase in food insecurity across the county as well as empty grocery store shelves that resulted in panic buying. This highlighted the need for increased efficiencies in food production and the role technology can play in our food production, distribution, and security.
A partnership with the 5G Open Innovation Lab created an opportunity to bring new technology to our local farms that was otherwise unavailable. Working with technology companies to develop new capabilities to improve the resiliency of Snohomish County’s agriculture sector and minimize future food system disruptions for consumers is already benefitting our community. Our farmers are able to make farming decisions using real-time data that is delivered directly to their cellphones.
 More information can be found at Field Labs.
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