 | Here is your Mayor's update, some COVID-19 information, some other useful information! Please forward as widely as you would like.
I want to hear from you, contact me anytime. If you're reading this because it was forwarded to you, or you saw it on Facebook and would like to receive it yourself, email here to subscribe | Numbers are continuing to trend downward, however that decrease has somewhat plateaued in Snohomish County. As schools begin to slowly bring back students, it is critical that people remember to wear face coverings, keep six feet apart, and avoid large gatherings. The opportunity for students to have stable, in-person learning is dependent on everyone’s actions in this respect. The two week rolling count is 41.7/100,000 cases. The new snapshot came out on Monday, you can see the full snapshot here. | We acknowledge September as National Suicide Prevention month. This issue impacts Mukilteo families. We can all help prevent suicide. This is a reminder as we reach the end of this month that brings attention to the cause of suicide prevention to reach out when you need help, and seek training and information so we can help others who are suffering. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals. The number to the Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. | Free Masks A reminder to go tonight to Rosehill Community Center to grab your household's share of free facial coverings! Head to the lower parking lot on 3rd Street) tonight or tomorrow from 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. COVID Info Updated The Snohomish Health District has rolled out a refreshed look for its COVID webpages. The homepage at www.snohd.org and COVID pages were updated to make it easier to find the most visited content on the site. In addition, www.snohd.org/covid, www.snohd.org/testing and www.snohd.org/casecounts were created as shortcuts so people can find the key pages more quickly. They also have some new maps, the first one showing cases from January-present; the second showing a two week period from August 23-September 5 and the third for the same time period by zip code. These will be updated every two weeks and I will share them with you! | Curious About Drive Through Testing? Since March 2020, the Snohomish Health District has been operating drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites across Snohomish County with the support of Snohomish County Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and other partners. In this video, the Health District shows how to register for a testing appointment, and explains how the drive-thru testing process works. | PUD News With more of usworking from home during the pandemic, it’s important to remember to be prepared for potential outages. We should all make sure to have a supply of non-perishable food and water available, and flashlights and a radio with charged batteries ready. You can visit www.snopud.com/winterprep to learn what to put in an easily assembled emergency kit that will help get through an extended outage. Also, make sure cell phones are charged and bookmark the PUD’s Outage Map at www.snopud.com/outagemap. Youth Program Grant Opportunity The need for youth programs that provide learning, mentoring and social-emotional support to students and young adults has never been greater, but COVID-19 has significantly impacted the ability of many nonprofits to keep their doors open. The Washington State Department of Commerce is partnering with School’s Out Washington to distribute approximately $9 million in state Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding to respond to the impact of COVID-19 by supporting programs serving school age kids and young adults facing the most significant challenges to educational and economic opportunity.
School’s Out Washington developed application criteria and will award grants between $10,000 - $50,000, based on the organization’s 2019 budget. Priority consideration will be given to programs that serve youth with lower access to educational opportunity and whose leaders are reflective of the populations they serve.
More details regarding this opportunity, and how to apply for a grant or to become a reviewer, are available here. Need a Drivers' License? Start Online If you’re used to visiting a driver licensing office for your service needs, it’s time to try something different: online services. Learn more here.
These days, the only way to get into a Department of Licensing office is with an appointment. But with social distancing and other safety measures limiting our capacity, appointments fill quickly. Appointments are for customers who cannot complete their transaction any other way, such as online, by phone, or by mail.
To ensure residents with urgent needs — think identification for meds or employment, not an enhanced upgrade — can get an appointment, they’re asking those with non-urgent requests to go online, hold off, or find another way until the health emergency is over. Give Blood Book your appointment now with Bloodworks to donate by October 31 and they’ll test your donation for antibodies which are a key component of the immune system that appear in blood after fighting an infection – to identify people who may be able to donate to our convalescent plasma program and help COVID-19 patients directly. Test results will be mailed to you within two weeks of your donation. Check out their Q&A about it, find a location to donate or a Pop-Up Blood Drive. Mukilteo is hosting another blood drive at Rosehill on October 13-14, you can sign up here. | When can we travel to Europe again? The Washington Post interviewed some travel experts (including Rick Steves) on their opinions. Some hope for spring 2021, but some skepticism about a much longer timeline as well. University of Washington and DOH test smartphone technology that tells you if you were exposed to the coronavirus; here’s how it works (Seattle Times). Politico discusses how the pandemic can end. Their prediction: "By November 2021, most Americans have received two doses of a vaccine that, while not gloriously effective, fights the disease in more cases than not. Meanwhile, Americans continue to wear masks and avoid large gatherings, and the Covid-19 numbers drop steadily after a series of surges earlier in the year. Eventually, as more and more Americans develop immunity through exposure and vaccination, and as treatments become more effective, Covid-19 recedes into the swarm of ordinary illnesses Americans get every winter." This future is the likeliest scenario for how the pandemic could end, based on interviews with 11 top-level experts who think about the future of those microscopic SARS-CoV-2 particles every day. | Census Update If you are not one of the 16,000 Mukilteans who has filled out the census, you can still do it online right here. We are ahead of Edmonds by 0.1%- don't let them pass us! You can check our other areas' response rates here.
And, you now have through October 31, after a federal Northern District of California court ruled in the case against the September 30th deadline (NPR link). | WSF Mukilteo Ferry Terminal With installation of the final PUD meter and approval today, the new Mukilteo Multimodal terminal has started producing solar power! This is an exciting milestone and very visible sustainability effort. | Tomorrow, WSF will close a section of the existing terminal’s holding area. This will allow them to build a temporary road connecting SR 525 to the tollbooths at the new terminal when it opens on December 29. Then, when the old terminal is closed, they will complete work on the permanent road connecting the new terminal to 525. During work on the temporary road, lanes one-17, approximately one-vessel’s capacity, will allow for vehicle holding. They can use the lower portions of lanes 18-22, if they have an extra attendant available. This weekend has good weather, so they will add the attendant for those days. They also have traffic control officers scheduled now for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
WSF is now 101 days away from the opening of this new facility, their first new terminal in 40 years. | We will be reopening the application window for City of Mukilteo small business and nonprofit grants starting on Thursday- we're not quite ready, so this is your heads-up in advance. You will find information on this page: https://mukilteowa.gov/mukilteo-cares-for-businesses-program/ (it still has the round 1 information right now). If you applied before, you do not need to apply again. | Check out this pretty cool rat: Magawa, a 5-year-old African giant pouched rat, was recognized with a prestigious honor for his work detecting mines and explosives in Cambodia. Magawa has discovered 39 land mines and 28 pieces of unexploded ordnance. An early heads up- the Everett Music Initiative announced their new, reimagined festival called Fisherman's Village Broadcasts, bringing four nights of live, full band performances, interviews and variety content October 28-31. This week, a skeleton crew of talented audio, video and production members safely filmed and recorded 12 artists at the Historic Everett Theater along with interviews and other footage. You're going to get to see full band performances, for free, in the safety and comfort of your own living room! Please remember to virtually tip the artists and the festival. More details on viewing instructions will come soon. | 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 139 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo (10 new cases), and 116 individuals who are recovered (2 new recoveries). County and city case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm. | | |
