 | 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 me here to subscribe. | The Mukilteo School District has a town hall in just a little bit, at 12:30pm today. You can hear about plans for this fall including distance learning, schedules, student and family supports, meals, childcare, what to expect the first few days of school, how to get technology help, and more!
If prompted, passcode is 541893; the link is: https://zoom.us/s/95241553271?pwd=MHUwNEgzQ04vZUkxdTE2NjJURFFrUT09 | City Lodging Tax Grants Lodging Tax Grants for projects in 2021 have been open since August 4, and close tomorrow. There is still time to apply! More information is here. Coffee with City Council On Saturday, Council Vice President Kneller and Councilmember Harris, joined by Councilmember Champion and myself, held their first virtual Coffee with Council. The next one is on September 22nd at 12pm. You can check out the video of Saturday's hour here. We heard questions about the housing action plan, traffic enforcement and playground closures.
Future dates, call-in and Zoom links can be found here: Coffee with Council webpage. Overdose Awareness Event In partnership with the Snohomish Health District and Snohomish Overdose Prevention, and with the support of the Snohomish County Executive's Office, as well as the Mayors of Mukilteo, Everett, Lynnwood, and more - this event is scheduled for next Monday August 31, 6-8:30pm, to educate and inspire the community, and honor those who have lost their battle with addiction.
Zoom link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88489303766, and more information can be found here. | Families with children who are eligible and approved by their school district for free or reduced-price meals and who do not currently get SNAP/Basic Food benefits, can apply for Pandemic-EBT food benefits before 5 p.m. Friday, September 11th. Families can apply online at https://www.washingtonconnection.org/home/ or by calling the DSHS Customer Service Contact Center at 877-501-2233 between 8am and 5pm Monday-Friday. Individuals who have voluntarily or involuntarily lost health insurance coverage during the public health emergency will have until September 30, 2020 to sign up for coverage through Washington Healthplanfinder. Loss of coverage includes loss of minimum essential coverage (including employer sponsored health coverage or COBRA) and loss of coverage from short-term limited duration plans or health sharing ministries.
To sign up, customers must call the Washington Healthplanfinder Customer Support Center (between 7:30am-5:30pm Monday-Friday) at 1-855-923-4633 (TTY: 1-855-627-9604) or contact their local Navigator or producer. Customers who sign up by September 15 can get coverage starting October 1. After September 15, coverage starts November 1.
Help is available in over 175 languages. Language and disability accommodations are provided at no cost. Did you know that since schools closed in March, Boys & Girls Clubs of Snohomish County has served 1.5 million meals and nearly 800,000 snacks? All clubs are open and ready to provide: Academic support in their Virtual Learning Labs; Wi-fi and technical assistance; Socially distanced space to study; Physical Education activities; Arts & crafts; STEM activities (our Mukilteo Club has awesome new facilities); Social-Emotional Learning Programs and Positive adult mentors. More information here. | King County has a great video about what happens when you get a COVID test. You can watch the person in the video get a nasal swab at the 2:17 minute mark! Video here. There is other good information about when to seek out testing and what to do after a COVID test. BBC asks- is a 20 second hand wash enough to kill COVID? The spoiler alert answer is yes, if done correctly. Miami Herald covers a study that finds that countries led by women had nearly half the COVID-19 deaths of men-led ones. The researchers said that "women were less willing to take risks with lives but were more willing to accept risks in relation to the early lockdown of economies." Locally, 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. The County Emergency Coordination Center plans to continue into the fall (press release link). You've probably seen that Covid-19 and common colds can both impair taste and smell, but a new study finds there is a big difference- COVID-19's impact seems to be more due to effects on the brain and nervous system, rather than just congestion in the nose (CNN. | No one wants to get sick or to get someone else sick. We all have different health issues, different experiences and different loved ones we are trying to protect. And, since there is no way to completely protect ourselves from COVID-19, we all have different ways of determining what risks we are comfortable taking and what risks we feel are just too dangerous.
When you are planning to meet up with a friend or family member in person, you may agree that you will be “safe,” but do you both understand what “safe” means to the other person? DOH’s newest blog post outlines the questions and issues to talk through when planning to get together with friends or family. | King County has had a local food celebration for several years, and this year it's all online. Today's events include a zucchini potato fritter demo, tours of farms, making butter at home, and more. King County’s CHOMP! Summer Camp is a FREE virtual five-day event running all week on chomplocal.org. Each day CHOMP! will premiere video content for viewers to watch and participate in from home, including a look at a few of King County’s farmers, cooking demos, educational activities, performances, and much more. The fun begins today, right here! NPR reports that Kenya’s Amboseli National Park has seen an unusually high number – 170 – of elephant calves born so far this year, including a set of twins (very unusual). There has been higher than normal amounts of rain, which for elephants means more vegetation for grazing and eventually leads to more babies. Anti-poaching efforts also are contributing to the boom, conservationists tell NPR. Here is an in-person fun activity for families: Read a book at the park with your family at Hauge Homestead Park at Silver Lake through Aug. 28 to read “Little Red Riding Hood” in English and Spanish.Look for the numbered yellow signs along the park’s trail. As you walk along, read aloud one page of the story at a time to your children. Try it in English, then go back and read it in Spanish. The Herald describes it here. | Lighthouse Park, Edgewater Beach and 92nd Street Park reopened on May 5. Bathrooms are open only at Lighthouse Park 7am-7pm. Playgrounds remain closed until either Phase 3 or when we have full staffing and ability to clean daily. Trails and sidewalks continue to be open for your physical activity! Please respect physical distance of six feet. 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 108 confirmed or probable COVID-19 cases identified in Mukilteo, and 89 individuals who are recovered. County and city case counts are available at this link, updated each weekday at 2pm. | | |
