CORONAVIRUS: Monday 3/30 roundup

| Coronavirus | West Seattle news

The governor says 90 percent of Washingtonians are heeding the “stay-home order” – but the other 10 percent need to “join the team.” So enforcement guidance is the newest announcement, topping tonight’s roundup:

DON’T IGNORE THE ORDER: We carried the live feed of Gov. Inslee‘s briefing this afternoon, which his office followed with this news release. He announced an online form for people who want to report business violations, and had law-enforcement-agency chiefs speak to how to report other suspected violations, with one caveat: Don’t call 911.

SOCIAL DISTANCING IS HELPING, SO DON’T STOP NOW: Not only didd the governor sound that theme today, so did the mayor.

NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From today’s Seattle-King County Public Health news release:

2330 confirmed positive cases (up 171 from yesterday)

150 confirmed deaths (up 9 from yesterday)

15 people are currently staying in King County isolation and quarantine facilities

To compare – one week ago, the countywide case total was 1170, and the death total was 87. Tonight, the county’s data dashboard still shows 2 deaths in West Seattle zip codes (98126 and 98136).

STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.

PROPERTY-TAX DEADLINE EXTENSION: If you pay your taxes directly to King County, not through a mortgage company, you have until June 1st to pay the taxes that otherwise are due on April 30th.

COUNCIL SUPPORTS RENT/MORTGAGE MORATORIUM: Seattle City Councilmembers gave unanimous support today to a resolution calling on state and federal leaders to order a rent/mortgage-payment moratorium.

OPEN RESTAURANTS/BEVERAGE BUSINESSES: While we’re continuing to update our West Seattle list of who’s open for takeout/delivery (please keep updating us about changes!), the city has come up with a new map.

TONIGHT’S FINAL WORDS: Thanks to Debbie for the photo of this sighting at Hamilton Viewpoint in North Admiral:

Janelle March 30, 2020 (10:14 pm)

Thanks WSB, and thanks to the artist behind the final words piece… nice :)

Scott March 30, 2020 (10:20 pm)

Our esteemed City Council is doing great work as usual by urging Governor Inslee to do something (rent moratorium) that almost certainly would be unconstitutional under the Contract Clause. Why didn’t they propose grants, subsidies, or something that would achieve the same goal without raising constitutional issues?

JDLR March 30, 2020 (11:40 pm)

If I had to guess, it might have been because of the time constraint of rent being due in apx. 24 hours. I don’t know if any of the options you listed would be enacted quickly, but I’ll take a moratorium over nothing.

Lisa March 31, 2020 (6:38 am)

All I can hear in my head is Gomer Pyle yelling, “Citizen’s arrest! Citizen’s arrest!” This is going to be interesting….

David March 31, 2020 (7:56 am)

Someone is always left holding the bag. We need to provide financial assistance so that renters can pay their landlords; owners can pay their mortgage lenders. Otherwise, what is the precedent here? This is another glaring problem with the failed top-down approach by our federal government. Why didn’t they take into account cost of living? A funny Reddit meme is circulating right now; $1200 in Alabama? Awesome. $1200 in Seattle? Ha, that might cover a months rent, but in a lot of places, that won’t even cover a single month. What’s the plan by the Feds here? Are they going to make Treasury disbursements like this initial one every single month? There are so many ways to look at this, but to me the biggest issue in this area is cost of housing and cost of utilities. People in this area spend far too much on housing costs; and it isn’t necessarily their fault. It isn’t anyone’s fault, really. But it calls for some kind of control, because this is what can happen. Taxpayers end up bailing out banks and companies. Privatize profits ——socialize losses…and the beat goes on.

Also John March 31, 2020 (2:18 pm)

@David…. I hear you. I’m retired and live off my rent. I’m penalized if my current renter doesn’t pay me. Therefore my renter lucks out but I get screwed.

J March 31, 2020 (8:56 am)

… and cost of health insurance.

J March 31, 2020 (9:04 am)

Now, if you find yourself struggling to enough air through your lungs and are taken by ambulance to a hospital outside of your network, or are treated by doctors that are not on your plan, then you will likely loose your house anyway. We don’t have a healthcare system. It’s not a system. We are all one ventilator away from homelessness, even if we can scrape together a mortgage payment this month.

Krystal March 31, 2020 (9:25 am)

A restaurant update: Mashiko is only open for takeout Wednesday-Sunday.

WSB March 31, 2020 (9:28 am)

thank you!
- Krystal March 31, 2020 (9:45 am)
  
  You bet! I was definitely looking forward to ordering all day yesterday, and was a bit bummed to hear their phone message–wouldn’t want anyone else to get their hopes up! Patiently waiting for Wed-Sun…

sc March 31, 2020 (9:39 am)

“I believe that man will not merely endure he will prevail. He is immortal not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.”–William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, Stockholm, December 1950.