As the coronavirus pandemic threatens an economic crisis across Seattle and the nation, Councilmember Tammy Morales (District 2: South Seattle and Chinatown- International District) said her office has been flooded with emails and calls from Seattleites scrambling to afford groceries and pay their rent at the beginning of the month, seniors worried about paying for medication, and small businesses unsure of how they can make payroll. Continue reading Morales and Sawant Want Emergency Tax on Big Businesses to Help Lower-Income Seattleites During Crisis→
At 5 pm on April 2, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced he would extend his Stay Home, Stay Healthy order another month until at least May 4.
Striking a somber tone, Inslee said, the action to extend the mandate,”is not only justified but is morally right. We shall never flag or fail in our endeavor […] to save lives of Washingtonians.”
On Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill expanding access to Washington’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program by remedying cuts to services made during the Great Recession.
TANF works to alleviate some of the root causes of homelessness in Washington through resources such as cash assistance and job training for those in need. But the program suffered $286 million in cuts over the past decade, even as the housing and homelessness crisis escalated. Continue reading News Gleams: Washington Expands TANF Access→
Though he didn’t formally commit to an extension of the current emergency stay-home order or the current eviction moratorium, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee said in a televised press conference on April 1 that an extension on both remains likely. He also said the state’s manufacturers need to step up in the fight against the virus.
“We know this month could be decisive in this effort, both in terms of our nation’s response and our state’s response against COVID-19. This is, perhaps, the decisive moment that we are facing,” Inslee said.
Though the rate of novel coronavirus infections has slowed, Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee said that Washingtonians still aren’t staying home enough.
At a televised press conference on March 30, Inslee said that the data that has come in over the weekend has been “alarming.” The number of positive tests that have been coming in from counties surrounding King County, such as Skagit County, Adams County, and Island County have been two to three times higher than the week or so before.
Inslee attributes this to people going out too often on non-essential trips, thereby not following his stay-home order as well they should.
In South Seattle, those who are uninsured, face housing instability, or are undocumented immigrants have few places to turn other than sliding-scale neighborhood clinics like Neighborcare. With South End locations in Columbia City, Rainier Beach, and Georgetown, Neighborcare typically provides vital medical, dental and behavioral care to South King County residents as well as those who have been pushed out by gentrification and come to the clinic from as far away as Kent and Tukwila. Continue reading South Seattle Neighborcare Response to COVID-19 Exposes Health Care Inequities→
News about the COVID-19 (aka coronavirus) pandemic breaks at a dizzying pace. Countless updates, recommendations, and stories flood inboxes and saturate headlines and social media feeds. With myriad sources relaying the latest happenings, the pandemic is a whirlwind event for folx to keep up with — while simultaneously staying healthy.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has issued a two-week-minimum stay-at-home order for the state. While all gatherings, regardless of size, are banned effective immediately, non-essential businesses have 48 hours to close. Banned gatherings include weddings and funerals.
The Seattle Department of Transportation and Mayor Jenny Durkan have announced an emergency closure of the high-rise West Seattle Bridge “until further notice,” starting at 7 pm tonight. Our friends at the West Seattle Blog covered it in detail.
Real Change’s newspaper vendors soldier on even as Seattle’s streets empty out
by Erica C Barnett
It’s the middle of the morning on Friday, March 20, and First Avenue in Pioneer Square is, unsurprisingly, a ghost town. The only people out on the streets are people who have to be there, or with nowhere else to be—a few construction guys in vests, a restaurant staffer, and several people wrapped in blankets, sitting on the sidewalk in front of shuttered storefronts. Continue reading Selling Papers In A Ghost Town→
Amplifying the Authentic Narratives of South Seattle
