Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that the state appears to be entering a fourth spike in coronavirus cases as mutations of the virus appear to be contributing to its spread.
“We have a situation that we’re dealing with right now, I wish it was otherwise,” Inslee said at a press briefing. “Unfortunately we now are seeing the beginnings of a fourth surge in the state of Washington.”
The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.
We also post the Morning Update Show here on theEmerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.
Morning Update Show — Thursday, April 22
Compassion Seattle – a closer look | Erin Goodman | What’s up with Participatory Budgeting and the $30M?
In January, the Rainier Beach Safeway parking lot saw several shootings — including one incident in which two people sustained non-life threatening injuries. In response, the community organized a series of Town Hall meetings, parking lot improvements, and an organically-driven “Action Team” that included Safeway employees, Rainier Beach Action Coalition (RBAC), Southeast Network Safe Passage at the Rainier Vista Boys and Girls Club, and Urban Family. Since then, business owners say the area is safer, with no reported incidents of violence to date.
(This article originally appeared at KNKX and has been reprinted under an agreement.)
The Auburn City Council voted Monday, April 19, to criminalize camping on public property, a change with consequences that will largely fall on people experiencing homelessness.
Those cited under the new law face a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
The measure departs from an ordinance passed in September 2020 that made the offense a civil infraction that could come with a fine of $250. In a report, city staff wrote that six months of experience and the impending launch of the Auburn Community Court made this the right time to revisit the city’s approach.
Health officials called on Washingtonians to remain vigilant against the coronavirus during an online press conference Wednesday, April 21, citing an increase in COVID-19 cases in most counties and age groups as new, more transmissible variants take hold in Washington state.
People between ages 10 and 59 have seen the sharpest jump in cases, said Dr. Umair Shah, secretary of the Washington State Department of Health (DOH). The state has now reported more than 361,000 cases of COVID-19 and more than 5,400 deaths.
“We are close to turning the corner in the state of Washington, but we are seeing the beginning of a fourth wave. That means people need to hang on longer,” Shah said.
The Morning Update Show — hosted by Trae Holiday and The Big O (Omari Salisbury) — is the only weekday news and information livestream that delivers culturally relevant content to the Pacific Northwest’s urban audience. Omari and Trae analyze the day’s local and national headlines as well as melanin magic in our community. Watch live every weekday at 11 a.m. on any of the following channels, hosted by Converge Media: YouTube, Twitch, Facebook, Periscope, and whereweconverge.com.
We also post the Morning Update Show here on theEmerald each day after it airs, so you can catch up any time of day while you peruse our latest posts.
Morning Update Show — Wednesday, April 21
We Just Want To Live | Chauvin verdict and reaction | Why are we celebrating the system working? | What does it mean and what’s next? | The verdict’s impact in Seattle
The “Washington Ethnic Studies Now (WAESN) 3rd Annual Assembly on Organizing for Ethnic Studies” will be held virtually on Saturday, April 24, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It features keynote speaker Dr. Verónica (Vero) Vélez, an organizer, activist, and award-winning professor at University of Western Washington, as well as keynote panelists Brent Jones Jr., the incoming interim Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools (SPS), Brandon Hersey, the SPS South End board director of District 7, and more than 20 other speakers.
In recent conversation with the Emerald, Tracy Castro-Gill, the executive director of WAESN, says the goal of the assembly is “to build collective capacity, and let people know where they can plug into existing efforts, or how they can start their own efforts.” She stressed how this assembly differs from standard professional development workshops for teachers, saying, “There’s people who are individually trying to do this in their classroom, but we know that to teach ethnic studies well, you need a community behind you. It’s not a traditional education conference, it’s about organizing and networking and building community. It’s a lot of how to do those things on different levels.”
A round-up of news and announcements we don’t want to get lost in the fast-churning news cycle!
An elder receives the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine at the Atlantic City Boat Ramp vaccination site in Seattle, Washington, on March 2, 2021. (Photo: Carolyn Bick)
The Latest on COVID-19 Vaccines
How to Find a COVID-19 Vaccine — Now that everyone 16 years or older is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine here in Washington state, how do you even find one? In case you missed it last week, Emerald reporter Ben Adlin put together a comprehensive guide on locating a COVID-19 vaccine and everything else you’d probably like to know before getting one.
We’ve highlighted some quick answers from the guide for the “Where Do I Go To Get a Vaccine?” question here:
Start with your primary care physician (PCP) or health clinic: See if they’re scheduling appointments with their own sign-up system. If you don’t have a PCP (or even if you do and your PCP isn’t offering vaccine appointments), check out the next options on this list.
City of Seattle Vaccination Locations: Four locations are located in Rainier Beach, West Seattle, North Seattle, and Lumen Field in SODO. Get on the waitlist for an appointment through a city website (available in seven languages) or by calling the city’s customer service hotline at (206) 684-2489 (interpreters are available to provide language assistance).
King County Vaccination Sites (outside Seattle): Locations are open in Auburn, Kent, and Redmond. For Auburn or Kent locations, pre-register through a county website (currently only in English), and for the Redmond location, pre-register through their own separate website. King County also has a COVID-19 call center you can call to get on the waitlist at (206) 477-3977 (language interpreters are available).
Pharmacy and Drugstore Chains: Pharmacy and drugstore chains like Safeway, Walgreens, Costco, QFC, CVS, and more offer their own vaccine appointments with their own registration systems via online or the phone. Note that you may be required to set up an account with these companies in order to get on their waitlist.
Vaccine Locator Tools:Vaccinate WA’s Locator (state-run) and CovidWA.com (volunteer-led) allow you to search for available vaccination appointments at sites near your zip code. Both groups are sharing information, but the systems remain separate.
Find a COVID Shot WA: A grassroots-led Facebook group that helps highest risk communities, including BIPOC, find vaccination appointments through crowdsourced information about vaccine availability.
It’s okay to put your name on a few different appointment waitlists, but if you do finalize an appointment, be sure to take your name off the other lists!
The above was just a snapshot of some of the valuable information in Ben Adlin’s guide. For more information, check out the full article.
Public Health – Seattle & King County Offers In-Home Vaccinations —King County Public Health officials announced on Monday, April 19, that people who have difficulty leaving their homes will qualify for in-home COVID-19 vaccinations from a team of mobile caregivers. People over the age of 16 who qualify include those who cannot easily leave their home because of an injury, developmental disability, or medical condition. Appointments are prioritized for those in most serious need of the vaccine and those who have the most challenges leaving their home.
To make an appointment, call the King County COVID-19 Call Center at (206) 477-3977 between 8 a.m. and 7 a.m. any day of the week. People will be asked a number of questions to determine eligibility, and then an appointment can be scheduled. Translation services during the call are available in a number of languages and a limited number of in-person translation services at the time of vaccination is also an option.
Note that because of high demand, you may need to wait several weeks for an appointment. According to Public Health – Seattle & King County, during your in-home appointment, you’ll need to: (Begin quote.)
Make sure that everyone in your home wears a mask unless they are unable to for health reasons.
When possible, practice social distancing. If you are not receiving the vaccine, stay six feet apart from members of the vaccination team.
Keep pets out of the area where the vaccination takes place.
On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis officers responded to a call about a counterfeit $20 bill, and instead of first inspecting and collecting the bill in question, officers approached the car of the man accused. In the process of the arrest, Derek Chauvin, a white officer, kneeled on the man’s neck for around 8 minutes while the man being arrested begged for his life.
“I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.” “Mama. Mama. Mama.” “Mom, I love you. I love you.” “Tell my kids I love them. I’m dead.”
The man being arrested became unresponsive and had no pulse so a paramedic was called. A full minute and 20 seconds after the paramedic arrived, Officer Chauvin kept his knee on the neck of the man. Fortunately, someone nearby recorded the last moments of this man’s life, or we may never have known his name: George Floyd.
Brandon Hersey was appointed to the Seattle Public Schools Board to represent District 7 after Betty Patu resigned in 2019. Hersey, who was raised in a home of Black educators, currently lives in Rainier Beach and teaches second grade at Rainier View Elementary in Federal Way. Before becoming a teacher, Hersey’s experience in education policy included working for the Obama Administration as a policy analyst focusing on children and family issues.
