Here is your Mayor's update, some COVID-19 information, some other useful information! Please forward as widely as you would like.
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One of the usual charts below, and another one from the State's data dashboard that shows demographics. We continue to trend in the right dirction-- which means, keep it up! Wear masks, wash hands, and stay physically distant.

The City of Mukilteo is distributing free face coverings at three different events. Please consider dropping by Rosehill (the lower parking lot on 3rd Street) to pick up a supply for your family.
this Saturday, September 26, 10am-12pm
next week, Tuesday September 29, 5-7pm
next week, Thursday, October 1, 5-7pm.

Rosehill's street address is 304 Lincoln Avenue, but the entrance to the lower lot is on 3rd Street. These masks have been supplied by Snohomish County and the Joint Emergency Information Center through federal CARES funding.
If you miss these dates, Sno-Isle Libraries also has masks for distribution to the public.

The State Department of Commerce recently unveiled its new Economic Recovery Dashboard, a tool for analyzing and visualizing the impact of COVID-19 on the state’s economy.
• Two months after reopening efforts began, Washington’s employment decline is still 30% greater than the lowest point in the Great Recession a decade ago.
• Unemployment trends in Washington are tracking similarly with most other states with a steep drop through April and slow but steady growth since May.
• While construction has recovered 80% of lost jobs as of June, leisure and hospitality has only recovered about one-third of job losses and is the hardest hit of all industries.
• There are early signs of disproportionate unemployment impacts across race groups, particularly Pacific Islanders and Black workers.
• An additional 100,000 people have signed up for food or temporary cash assistance since February.

I have heard that the state might issue some guidance for halloween, and our local health district is waiting for that. In the meantime, here are some other tips!

CNN covers the CDC new holiday tips here.

King County Public Health has offered some tips for a safe halloween. Read more here. Some tips that I found particularly good, in case you don't click:
First, the basics: when planning your Halloween activities, follow the fundamentals of COVID prevention. Limit close contact with other people, limit touching points, and practice good hand hygiene.
* If you want to give out treats, understand the level of risk you’re willing to take.
* Reduce risk in how you hand out treats. Options to reduce (but not eliminate) risk include:
--Use tape to mark waiting spots 6 feet apart on the way up to your door.
--Use fun ways to give the candy while staying 6 feet apart, like slide the candy down a wrapping paper tube into their trick-or-treat bags. Or individually wrap goodie bags and line them up for families to grab and go while staying social distanced (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard).
--When you answer the door for trick-or-treaters, wear a mask.
* Set aside any candy that comes from outside your household for 24 hours before allowing children to handle it. Reality check: we know that it’s too much to ask of kids to wait to eat their candy. You might purchase a small amount of candy in advance so that you can have candy on hand that your kids can eat immediately on Halloween

Community Transit is seeking input on the tools and resources you use to plan your Community Transit bus rides, whether you are a current bus rider or have stopped riding due to COVID-19.
Click here to take their survey. It took me less than a minute!

Earlier this month, I told you about a state effort to examine aviation and commercial air service. There is a parallel effort at the Puget Sound level to assess our aviation needs for the next 30 years. You might have gotten a postcard about it if you live in Mukilteo. Information is here, and there are some open houses that you should think about signing up for if you are curious or concerned about the future of Paine Field Airport. The Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) is undertaking this baseline study to provide a clear picture of the aviation needs in the region and set the stage for future planning efforts.

There are meetings next Tuesday (11:30am) and Wednesday (8am). Link to more info is here.

More to come on this, I'm working on developing a page on our city website that will collect all the information about this PSRC study and the Washington Department of Transportation study in one spot.

Los Angeles Times: College openings fueled 3,000 COVID-19 cases per day, researchers say.

NPR: America's 200,000 COVID-19 Deaths: Small Cities And Towns Bear A Growing Share

NPR: Working from home tips!

The Conversation: 6 ways mail-in ballots are protected from fraud.

Small business owners now have more places to seek culturally and linguistically relevant help for dealing with COVID-19, thanks to expansion of the Small Business Resiliency Assistance program announced today by the Washington State Department of Commerce.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed numerous disparities and inequities that affect the ability of many communities to access everything from health care to worker protections to broadband. Access to culturally and linguistically relevant information is another significant challenge. While numerous aid and grant programs are available to help businesses, non-English speaking and business owners of color are far less likely to receive information about those programs even as they face disproportionately higher rates of closure.
A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) estimates declines in the number of business owners by racial and demographic group since April:
• African-American businesses were hit the hardest by COVID-19 – declining by 41%.
• Latinx businesses declined by 32%.
• Asian businesses down 26%.
• Immigrant businesses were also devastated, with losses of 36%.
• At the same time, white-owned businesses declined by 17%.
“We know the pandemic is impacting communities differently throughout the state, and the supports needed to meet this challenge and safely restart our economy look very different as well,” said Commerce Director Lisa Brown. “Ensuring equity in small business resiliency - giving every business owner equal access to the help they need - is crucial to protecting the incredible diversity of businesses that call Washington home.”
Commerce now lists 20 partner organizations statewide providing targeted technical assistance, business coaching and other services to minority-owned small business owners who need help identifying and accessing sources of local, state and federal funding and other resources available to them. (More info here)

All guidance can be found here.

On Friday updated guidance was released for Phase 2 and Phase 3 Personal Service Providers. You can find the updated guidance here, which includes a summary of modifications for any service that necessitates the removal of a customer’s face covering. Personal Service Providers guidance here

King County guidance on what to do when an employee is diagnosed with COVID-19.

Getting to Safe Toolkit for Businesses

CNN reports on a Washington State man, George Ahearn, who grew up in the farming town of Othello. When he learned this spring that farmers were destroying unsold produce, Ahearn decided to figure out a way to get that food from the farms in eastern Washington to food banks in western Washing-ton. But the logistics were daunting. Through Facebook, he connected with Nancy Balin and Zsofia Pasztor and the three of them founded EastWest Food, to get surplus crops to those in need.
According to the CNN story, “While Balin helped organize convoys to drive across Washington to pick up the produce, Pasztor assembled volunteers to clean and bag the food. It was then distributed through connections at her other non-profit, Farmer Frog. A week after they started, they hauled more than 60 tons of produce across the state and handed it to food banks.”
They have organized convoys to truck the food across the state with help from the local community. “A bus company offered a vehicle they used to carry onions. A local Honda dealership offered the use of a new car. And two counties offered dump trucks that carried tons of produce.”
EastWest Food Rescue has grown since it began in the spring. It now coordinates food deliveries across several western states. According to CNN, “The company recently expanded its mission by responding to the wildfires and sending non-perishable foods to hard hit areas of eastern Washington.”

Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park reopened on May 5. Bathrooms are open only at Lighthouse Park 7am-7pm. Playgrounds are now open, with warnings about cleaning schedules and advise to use at your own risk posted.

Trails and sidewalks continue to be open for your physical activity! Please respect physical distance of six feet, and put your face covering on as you pass others.

All City Facilities closure: City operations will continue via primarily phone, email and online. The public is encouraged to call (425) 263-8000 for assistance with City services or visit our website at www.mukilteowa.gov. Government services are not slated to reopen until Phase 3 of the new reopening plan, which is mid-June at the earliest.

For more information on city facilities, see this link.

Current case count is 129 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo (1 new case), and 114 individuals who are recovered (1 new recovery).

County and city case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm.