West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
We’re no longer updating the state of West Seattle grocery shopping every week, but the pandemic’s far from over, so major changes remain notable. Tonight, we’re updating the state of “special shopping hours” for seniors and those at higher risk of COVID-19, starting with a change:
TRADER JOE’S: As of this week, senior/at-risk shopping hours are 8 am-9 am Wednesdays and Sundays. (Thanks to the West Seattle crew member who emailed to let us know!)
Checking where the other stand-alone supermarkets stand on special shopping hours:
WEST SEATTLE THRIFTWAY (WSB sponsor): Senior/at-risk hours remain 7 am-9 am Tuesdays and Thursdays.
PCC COMMUNITY MARKETS: 7-8 am Fridays and Saturdays.
QFC: 7-8 am Mondays and Wednesdays.
SAFEWAY: 6-9 am Tuesdays and Thursdays.
WHOLE FOODS: 7-8 am Fridays.
METROPOLITAN MARKET: No special shopping hours.
Heading into mid-September, our nightly virus-crisis update:
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: First, the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*20,868 people have tested positive, up 68 from yesterday’s total
*743 people have died, unchanged since Friday
*2,301 people have been hospitalized, up 7 from yesterday’s total
*398,514 people have been tested, up 1,783 from yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 20,264/734/2,260/380.454.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 28.9 million cases and more than 922,000 deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
BACK TO (IN-PERSON) SCHOOL: Seattle Lutheran High School says it’ll start phasing in in-person classes tomorrow.
DONATION DRIVE: Early alert – food and clothing donations will be accepted, drive-up/no-contact style, at Hope Lutheran‘s parking lot next Saturday, 10 am-noon. Full details in our calendar listing.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Two weeks into the school year, Seattle Lutheran High School on the north edge of The Junction will be welcoming some of its students back on campus starting tomorrow. From SLHS executive director Dave Meyer:
We are one of very few high schools in the state that are beginning in-building classes. The only independent high school in West Seattle is beginning in-person instruction on Monday, Sept. 14. Our students will be in person on Monday (Sept. 14) and Tuesday (Sept. 15) and then working toward an in-person schedule for 4 days a week.
With our unique size, this is possible, and our families also have the option to stay virtual because each family has a unique story.
Monday (Sept. 14) and Tuesday (Sept. 15)
Arrival times:
Freshmen/Sophomores – 8:15 am-8:30 am
Juniors/ Seniors – 8:30 am-8:45 am
Classes begin at 8:45 am
SLHS has ~130 students.
In the middle of a weekend with two big reasons to stay home, here are tonight’s virus-crisis notes:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*20,800 people have tested positive, 101 more than yesterday
*743 people have died, unchanged from yesterday
*2,294 people have been hospitalized, unchanged from yesterday
*396,731 people have been tested, 7,272 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 20,165/734/2,259/379,793.
WEST SEATTLE TREND: Here’s our weekly check of this stat, with numbers accessible in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard, checking the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas.” In the past 2 weeks, 41 positive test results were reported; 43 in the 2 weeks before that; 62 in the two weeks before that.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 28.7 million people have tested positive, and more than 920,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., India, Brazil, Russia, Peru (India has moved up to #2 in the past week). See the breakdown, nation by nation, here.
DONATION DRIVE TOMORROW: 10 am-3 pm Sunday outside Alki UCC (6115 SW Hinds):
Starting this month, Alki UCC is inviting our generous neighbors to bring donations of school supplies and men’s casual/work clothing as well as non-perishable food.
We’re accepting all school supplies for all grades on behalf of one or more local schools to be distributed when students are back at in-person learning. Suggestions include backpacks, #2 pencils, black and blue ink pens, crayons, lined paper, glue, small scissors, colored pens, writing notebooks and colored paper.
Donations of clean, new or used men’s casual/work clothing are distributed through the Westside Interfaith Network’s hot lunch program for people experiencing homelessness, The Welcome Table. There is a constant and growing demand for denim apparel, khaki’s, hoodies, tee shirts, sweatshirts, clean underwear, socks, shoes and all kinds of outerwear for the fall and winter. Please … NO dress shirts, sport coats or suits.
Food donations are distributed through the White Center Food Bank. All contributions benefit our vulnerable neighbors in need.
FIRST DRIVE-IN CHURCH SERVICE TOMORROW: Despite the smoke, St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church plans to go ahead with what so far as we know will be West Seattle’s first COVID-era drive-in church service, 9 am tomorrow.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
28 weeks ago tonight, King County announced its first case of COVID-19. Here’s what’s new:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary:
*20,699 people have tested positive, 259 more than yesterday
*743 people have died, 2 more than yesterday
*2,294 people have been hospitalized, 11 more than yesterday
*389,459 people have been tested, 2,521 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 20,073/732/2,249/376,642.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 28.3 million cases, 913,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
STATEWIDE SITUATION REPORT: Some good big-picture news in this report released by the state today:
Today the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest statewide situation report, which reflects an overall decline in COVID-19 activity as of late August. The report also highlights encouraging signs that keeping our distance, limiting gathering size and wearing face coverings are working to slow the spread of the disease.
Report findings include:
The reproductive number (how many new people each COVID-19 patient will infect) was close to one in western Washington and above one in eastern Washington as of August 28. The best estimate of the reproductive number at that time was 0.86 in western Washington and 1.22 in eastern Washington. The goal is a number well below one, which would mean COVID-19 transmission is declining.
We’re seeing decreases in case counts in both eastern and western Washington since the start of August. These decreases are occurring across all age groups. We are starting to see similar trends in hospitalizations and deaths, which take longer to reflect changing levels of disease activity than case counts.
Whitman County is a notable exception, with a sharp spike in cases starting August 19. While many of these cases are linked to an outbreak among young adults, we may see a repeat of previous patterns where increased disease activity among younger populations starts to spread into older and more vulnerable groups.Patterns of decline look different from county to county. The report compares these trends in Yakima county, which has seen steady declines since a peak in early June; Benton and Franklin counties, where initial declines after similar outbreaks have plateaued and transmission may be increasing; and King County, where cases have been decreasing steadily since early July.
People are interacting more safely than we were earlier in the pandemic, and it’s making a difference. The report includes a model that isolates the effect of mobility changes from non-mobility related changes on COVID-19 transmission. The comparison suggests that while we are more mobile than we were in April, we are interacting more safely—taking precautions like wearing face coverings, restricting gathering size and keeping high-risk environments closed. We must continue these precautions to keep transmission decreasing.
Read the full report here.
TESTING: If you need it, remember that the city’s new West Seattle site (2801 SW Thistle, at the south end of the Southwest Athletic Complex lot) is open Saturdays too. Find the appointment link on this page.
HELPING: Volunteers at the Greater Seattle Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church spent their morning handing out free boxes of food:
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Tonight’s toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*20,566 people have tested positive, up 126 from yesterday
*743 people have died, up 2 from yesterday
*2,288 people have been hospitalized, up 5 from yesterday
*386,709 people have been tested, down 229 from yesterday* (the county website explains this drop: “The column named
‘New since yesterday’ displays a negative number for people tested because of deduplication of negative PCR test results. This process resulted in the removal of 4,622 duplicate records.”)
One week ago, those totals were 19,915/730/2,242/373,284.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 28.1 million cases worldwide, 6.3 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
NEED FOOD? Tomorrow, 9 am-noon, free boxes of food are available in a drive-up no-contact distribution at Greater Seattle Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Seattle. (2620 SW Kenyon)
SMOKE & COVID-19: From the state Health Department:
When there is smoke in the air, and especially if you or members of your household are reacting to the smoke already, here are some things you can do to stay safe:
*Stay indoors, with just members of your household. Remember, it is much easier to spread COVID-19 indoors than it is outdoors. And, smoke can make you more susceptible to respiratory infections like COVID-19. Protect your family from the smoke by staying inside and from COVID-19 by delaying your get-togethers until the air quality is good enough for you all to be comfortably outside.
*Reduce outdoor physical activity. Save your walks, jogs, and yard work for a day when the air quality is better.
*Keep indoor air clean.
-Close your windows and doors to reduce intake of smoke. Open them back up again when the air quality is good to refresh the air!
-Improve filtration of indoor air in your home and create a clean-air room where you spend most of your time. A DIY box fan filter can improve indoor air quality in a single room. Filtering indoor air is an effective way to reduce fine particles from wildfire smoke.
-Avoid doing anything that may contribute to smoke or dust in the air, like burning candles or incense, smoking inside, frying or broiling, or vacuuming.
-Keep wearing your cloth face covering to protect yourself and others from COVID-19; unfortunately, they don’t help that much with smoke.
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Need food? We have word tonight of a free distribution tomorrow (Friday, September 11th) open to all, 9 am-noon outside the Greater Seattle Filipino Seventh-day Adventist Church in West Seattle (2620 SW Kenyon, across the street from Denny International Middle School). Pastor Eddie General says you can just drive up and volunteers will load the box into your vehicle. It’ll contain apples, potatoes, and onions. Questions? 206-923-0887.
The stats are back, and that’s where we start tonight’s pandemic-related toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals (keep in mind, these are the first since Monday):
*20,440 people have tested positive, 120 more than 2 days ago
*741 people have died, 7 more than 2 days ago
*2,283 people have been hospitalized, 19 more than 2 days ago
*386,938 people have been tested, 1,786 more than 2 days ago
One week ago, those four totals were 19,819/729/2,239/367,481.
ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: In today’s updates, 98136 reported its fourth death. Here are the current counts for the other four zip codes that are entirely or partly within West Seattle:
98106 – 4
98116 – 6
98146 – 13
98126 – 15
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
VACCINE? The state Department of Health has published an update on planning for what happens when a vaccine is available and who will be the first to have access to it – read the update here.
FUNDED: The city has announced $11 million more funding for organizations that help people experiencing homelessness – including four that serve people in our area: Transitional Resources, DESC, LIHI, and the Salvation Army.
NEED FOOD? Reminder – Friday is the deadline to apply for this if your family needs it:
More than 30,000 King County students who are eligible for a one-time, $399 food benefit have until Sept. 11 to apply for Pandemic EBT, an emergency federal program that provides families cash assistance to buy food while schools are closed due to COVID-19.
Pandemic EBT is available to all children in public schools in Washington who receive free or reduced-price school meals. Across the state, over 150,000 eligible students can still apply.
Many low-income families rely on the free and reduced-price meals students get at school. With school closures, those families are struggling to feed their children. Pandemic EBT aims to fill that gap and ease the food insecurity many in our community are experiencing.
Pandemic EBT is not subject to public charge and does not affect or require proof of immigration status.
Families can apply online on the Washington Connection website. People who need help with the application process can call 2-1-1 and ask for assistance.
Applicants should ensure their children’s names match the spelling they used when they registered them for school. While the application includes a field for a Social Security number, it is not required.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Post-holiday virus-crisis news:
NO NEW KING COUNTY OR STATE NUMBERS: Atop the Public Health daily-summary dashboard: “Due to power outages impacting the Washington State Dept. of Health, King County’s data is incomplete today, and the Daily Dashboard will not be updated today. We aim to update the dashboards tomorrow.” The state has this explanation: “DOH operations were severely impacted by windstorm damage and many services were unavailable this afternoon, including the DOH website and phones. Given the interruptions, DOH was not able to update COVID-19 data today.”
NATIONAL/WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 27.4 million cases worldwide, 6.3 million of them in the U.S. – see other nation-by-nation stats by going here.
BRIEFING TOMORROW: For the weekly update on the statewide situation, watch the media briefing with the state’s COVID-19 response leaders tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 pm; it’ll be streamed here.
SCHOOL-REOPENING UPDATE THURSDAY: 3 pm Thursday, the Seattle Public Schools board will get an update on how remote reopening’s going – the agenda shows how to watch.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Before the night ends, here are tonight’s pandemic toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here’s today’s daily summary from Public Health – the cumulative totals:
*20.320 people have tested positive, 56 more than yesterday’s total
*734 people have died, same as yesterday and the day before*
*2,264 people have been hospitalized, 4 more than yesterday’s total
*385,152 people have been tested, 4.698 more than yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 19,665/720/2,229/361,435. (*Note – the state is no longer releasing death updates on weekends, so this might factor into the “unchanged” number – we will be checking with Public Health.)
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them – nation by nation – here.
MORE DRIVE-UP TESTING: Noticed a sign for this at the CHI Franciscan clinic in The Triangle (4550 Fauntleroy Way SW);
SCHOOL CONTINUES: Day 2 for Seattle Public Schools, online, tomorrow (Tuesday)..
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Before the night ends, our nightly virus-crisis update:
KING COUNTY’S NEWEST NUMBERS: First, the cumulative totals from the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*20,264 people have tested positive, up 99 from yesterday’s total
*734 people have died, unchanged from yesterday’s total
*2,260 people have been hospitalized, up 1 from yesterday’s total
*380.454 people have been tested, up 661 from yesterday’s total
One week ago, the totals were 19,554/720/2,225/360.776.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 27.1 million cases and more than 883,000 deaths – see the nation-by-nation breakdown here.
TESTING SITE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY: No testing at the city’s new Southwest Athletic Complex site on Monday, but you can make an appointment here for Tuesday or beyond.
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
In the midst of the end-of-summer holiday weekend, here are tonight’s virus-crisis notes:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: Here are the cumulative totals from Public Health‘s daily-summary dashboard:
*20,165 people have tested positive, 92 more than yesterday
*734 people have died, 2 more than yesterday
*2,259 people have been hospitalized, 10 more than yesterday
*379,793 people have been tested, 3,151 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 19,480/720/2,224/355,434.
ANOTHER LOCAL DEATH: In today’s updates, 98126 reported its 15th death. The other four zip codes that are entirely or partly within West Seattle:
98136 – 3
98106 – 4
98116 – 6
98146 – 13
WEST SEATTLE TREND: Here’s our weekly check of this stat, with numbers accessible in two-week increments via the “geography over time” tab on the daily-summary dashboard, checking the West Seattle and Delridge “health reporting areas.” In the past 2 weeks, 44 positive test results were reported; same number in the 2 weeks before that; 89 in the two weeks before that. (Side note: The dashboard changes we mentioned last night include this page as well – you can also check by zip code, among other additions.)
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 26.8 million people have tested positive, and more than 879,000 have died. Most cases: U.S., Brazil, India, Russia, Peru (same top five as last week). See the breakdown, nation by nation,
PARKS CLOSING EARLIER: Seattle Parks just changed closing time for “major parks” – including 3 in West Seattle – to 8 pm.
NEIGHBORHOOD INSPIRATION: Thanks again to everyone who sends stories of neighborhood cheer, more important than ever as so many of us continue staying close to home. Angela reports, “Some neighbors on 49th and hinds were passing out free ice cream and fruit bars just to celebrate Labor Day weekend. It was very nice and refreshing!”
GOT SOMETHING TO REPORT? westseattleblog@gmail.com or 206-293-6302, text/voice – thank you!
Seattle Parks has just changed the closing time for “major parks” again. Now those parks – including Alki Beach Park, Lincoln Park, and West Seattle Stadium – are supposed to close at 8 pm. The full citywide list is here.
27 weeks ago tonight, King County announced its first case of COVID-19. Here’s what’s new:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily summary (which, by the way, has a new format – check it out – more charts):
*20,073 people have tested positive, 158 more than yesterday
*732 people have died, 2 more than yesterday
*2,249 people have been hospitalized, 7 more than yesterday
*376,642 people have been tested, 3,358 more than yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 19,361/719/2,223/354,713.
YET ANOTHER 98116 DEATH: In a little over a week, the 98116 death toll has doubled, from 3 to, as of today’s count, 6. Though no specifics are available, the changes to the King County dashboard pages also now include a “census” geographic breakdown, and looking at deaths that way, the 98116 deaths are not in the census tracts containing the zip code’s coastal section.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: See them here.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 26.5 million cases, 873,000+ deaths – see the nation-by-nation numbers here.
FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL: Today was the first day of starting-remotely Seattle Public Schools, and it started a bit slowly – literally. Meantime, some independent schools started in hybrid style, like Explorer West Middle School (WSB sponsor), which sent this photo:
As we reported earlier this week, each grade at EWMS has one day on campus – outdoors – and four days remote.
‘KEEP MOVING STREET’ EXTENDED: Alki SW/Beach Drive around Alki Point has been closed to motor-vehicle through traffic for four months, and SDOT announced late today that will continue at least until we’re in Phase 4.
NEED FOOD? Food Lifeline has ceased offering emergency food boxes at its South Park HQ. Meantime, Highland Park Improvement Club continues its food-relief work for neighborhood families on Tuesdays and Fridays, 11 am-1 pm, and Seattle Public Schools has made some changes in its meal service starting today, as detailed here.
GOT INFO OR PHOTOS? westseattleblog@gmail.com or text/voice 206-293-6302 – thank you!
(WSB photo, Beach Drive “Keep Moving Street” in May)
While the city has long since declared that most of its “Stay Healthy Streets”.- closed to vehicle through traffic – would remain that way permanently, the status of a few similar stretches dubbed “Keep Moving Streets” because of their proximity to parks remained unsettled. Late today, that changed. The Alki Point “Keep Moving Street” – Alki SW west of 63rd SW and Beach Drive SW west of 63rd [map] – has an end date of sorts, for now:
This Keep Moving Street will remain through Phase 3 of reopening in King County. We hear you asking us to consider permanent closure and sharing your associated concerns, and we’ll be reaching out over the next few months with more conversation on possible future configurations.
(If you’ve forgotten, we’re still in Phase 2.) The announcement was made in conjunction with more-firm end dates for two of the three other “Keep Moving Streets” in other parts of the city. SDOT’s post also summarizes feedback it’s received, including this regarding the Alki Point stretch:
What we heard:
=A desire for permanent closure! Over 1,000 of you signed a petition to keep this Keep Moving Street open permanently
-This street was especially helpful for wheelchair users, because the sidewalks are too narrow for wheelchairs
-Concern about “privatization” of the beach by limiting car and parking access
-Concern that the Keep Moving Street limits the capacity of people who cannot walk, bike, or roll to enjoy the view by driving by
-Concern about the shifting of speeding/noise south between Mee Kwa Mooks Park and Jacobsen Drive
On this “Keep Moving Street,” SDOT says, “We’ve seen an average of 415 cars per day, with a median speed of 17.5 MPH.” It was closed to through traffic four months ago.
As we wish you a safe long holiday weekend, we present tonight’s toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*19,915 people have tested positive, up 96 from yesterday
*730 people have died, up 1 from yesterday
*2,242 people have been hospitalized, up 3 from yesterday
*373,284 people have been tested, up 5,803 from yesterday
One week ago, those totals were 19,177/717/2,222/349,291.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: 26.2 million cases worldwide, 6.1 million of them in the U.S. See the nation-by-nation breakout here.
KING COUNTY DEATHS ANALYZED: The county has just released a report analyzing all the local COVID-19 deaths so far. Just part of its findings:
The analysis did not find an increase that would suggest unrecognized COVID-19 deaths in the weeks leading up to identification of the first COVID-19 case in King County in late February.
Also, based on an analysis of the total number of deaths this year, Public Health did not find evidence suggesting that large numbers of COVID-19 deaths are going unrecognized in the official death counts.
The full 16-page report is here.
CELEBRATING: Daystar Retirement Village (WSB sponsor) celebrated after everybody tested negative.
SAFE GATHERINGS: A reminder from the state Department of Health:
Here is a short list of things to remember when it comes to gathering together in the time of COVID-19:
Outside is safer than inside.
Small groups are safer than large groups.
Less time together is safer than more time together.
Within six feet, face coverings are better than no face coverings.So, while a Zoom happy hour might be your safest choice, an outdoor barbecue with one other family, with the chairs set up six feet apart, where the hand sanitizer flows freely, and everyone goes home early, is a less risky option, as far as these things go.
NEED FOOD? Tomorrow, 2-5 pm, free boxes of food are available at Food Lifeline (815 S. 96th).
GOT PHOTOS/TIPS? 206-293-6302, text or voice, or westseattleblog@gmail.com – thank you!
Before we get to the end of the week, we have a few more West Seattle schools’ plans to report. Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic School in High Point started preschool/prekindergarten in person this past Tuesday, while K-8 will start remotely, after in-person orientation conferences, which wrap up tomorrow. Teaching/learning for K-8 starts next Tuesday (September 8th).
The photos and report are from Eva Thomas at Daystar Retirement Village (WSB sponsor) in Westwood:
Daystar Retirement Village is having a “crazy hat” party today, to recognize that all residents and staff have tested negative for COVID-19. This is a huge accomplishment. We could not have done it without the support of every single staff member, resident, and residents’ family members. These have been very trying times and every single individual involved with Daystar Retirement Village have gone above and beyond to keep our residents safe. We want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone for keeping our residents safe.
For almost 20 years, the West Seattle Junction storefront at 4747 California SW has been a hot-yoga studio. But that’s about to come to an end. Nally Berg bought Bikram Yoga West Seattle two years ago and just announced it will permanently close. Not because of the redevelopment project that will be built in that spot eventually (more on that in a moment), but because of other factors: “The bridge, COVID, and mandated restrictions have made it impossible to continue, unfortunately,” she tells WSB. Bikram Yoga WS will be open through the end of this month; Berg does not currently have plans to open a new studio elsewhere, but promises to let us know if that changes.
Before it was a yoga studio, the building held Junction Feed & Seed for almost 80 years; the site will eventually be part of the new home of Husky Deli. With news of the closure, we checked on the status of the site’s future redevelopment, inquiring with Ed Hewson, who is working with Husky owner Jack Miller on the project. Hewson tells WSB, “COVID has clearly slowed down the permitting with the City (and the bridge closure certainly doesn’t help), but we are still slowly proceeding because it is such a special project. The New Husky will be a labor of love for all of us. We don’t have a definitive start date we can give you, but we are very much still working diligently with our architects and consultants and moving forward.”
Here are tonight’s pandemic-related toplines:
NEWEST KING COUNTY NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard, the cumulative totals:
*19,819 people have tested positive, 108 more than yesterday
*729 people have died, 5 more than yesterday
*2,239 people have been hospitalized, 5 more than yesterday
*367,481 people have been tested, 2,272 more than yesterday
One week ago, those four totals were 19,049/715/2,204/347,654.
ANOTHER AREA DEATH: 98116 just recorded its fifth death, its third in the past week. For the record, here are the current totals for the other four zip codes that are entirely or partly within West Seattle:
98136 – 3
98106 – 4
98146 – 13
98126 – 14
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them, county by county, on the state Department of Health page,.
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: See them, nation by nation, here.
VACCINE? The state Department of Health sent this statement to try to clear up conflicting reports about where the quest for a vaccine stands:
The Washington State Department of Health is closely monitoring progress toward development of a vaccine for COVID-19. We are engaged in vaccine planning efforts and we will be ready to distribute a safe and effective vaccine as soon as the time comes. However, all vaccine candidates are still in clinical trials to determine their safety and efficacy.
DOH’s position is that any COVID-19 vaccine should complete Phase 3 trials before being distributed, unless an independent board of scientists reviewing the data finds otherwise based on data from those trials. At this crucial juncture, it is incumbent upon the federal government to critically evaluate these new vaccines for their safety and efficacy in an unbiased way.
In the meantime, DOH will continue working with federal and local partners to build the infrastructure needed for distribution. When a vaccine is ready, we will be prepared to deploy it in a manner ensure that is equitable, safe and timely for the people of Washington.
STATE HEALTH OFFICIALS’ WEEKLY BRIEFING: That was one of the topics at today’s weekly briefing by state health leaders. “COVID-19 activity in the state is declining overall,” declared health officer Dr. Kathy Lofy, while stressing that it’s not yet as low as it needs to be. You can watch the briefing here.
BUS SAFETY: Metro announced today that it’s adding new safety features – partitions and mask dispensers.
NEED FOOD? United Way-King County wants to ensure families who are available for Pandemic EBT apply for it before it’s too late:
More than 30,000 King County students who are eligible for a one-time, $399 food benefit have until Sept. 11 to apply for Pandemic EBT, an emergency federal program that provides families cash assistance to buy food while schools are closed due to COVID-19.
Pandemic EBT is available to all children in public schools in Washington who receive free or reduced-price school meals. Across the state, over 150,000 eligible students can still apply.
Many low-income families rely on the free and reduced-price meals students get at school. With school closures, those families are struggling to feed their children. Pandemic EBT aims to fill that gap and ease the food insecurity many in our community are experiencing.
Pandemic EBT is not subject to public charge and does not affect or require proof of immigration status.
Families can apply online on the Washington Connection website. People who need help with the application process can call 2-1-1 and ask for assistance.
Applicants should ensure their children’s names match the spelling they used when they registered them for school. While the application includes a field for a Social Security number, it is not required.
GOT INFO? Email us at westseattleblog@gmail.com or phone us, text or voice, at 206-293-6302 – thank you!
Metro‘s September “service change” is now 2 1/2 weeks away, so today the transit service officially announced what’s changing, as well as new safety features.
CHANGES: Saturday, September 19th, is this fall’s “service change” date; all the changes – including continued suspensions – are listed here. A West Seattle highlight: “Almost all service” will be restored on Routes 55, 56, and 57. You can follow those links for new timetables, or, Metro suggests, ” Riders can use Metro’s online trip planner and enter a date of Sept. 19 or later to see options.”
SAFETY: Also in today’s announcement:
Metro is now installing safety partitions to allow front-door boarding in preparation for restoring fares, targeted for Oct. 1, although a firm date has yet to be announced.
The plexiglass safety partitions will swing into position when a driver opens the front door, minimizing interaction between boarding passengers and the driver. The partition also can be opened manually by the driver to allow them to leave their seat to assist passengers, including those who use mobility devices. …
Each automated partition is estimated to cost $3,200, about half the $6,000 cost for a comparable manual-only door from an outside vendor. Metro is using CARES Act funds to help pay for the equipment.
Metro has more than 1,000 barriers out of 1,444 produced today, and expected to have all partitions installed by October.
The new partitions were “designed, engineered, and fabricated by Metro’s in-house vehicle maintenance staff,” the announcement says, along with this:
Alongside new safety partitions, Metro is installing mask dispensers on 102 buses this month, starting with RapidRide buses on the A and F lines in south King county and 60-foot trolley buses on routes 7, 36, 43, 44, and 49 in Seattle. Metro intends to install more dispensers on other high-ridership routes in the future.
Each dispenser holds about 150 masks, and Metro will monitor demand and refill them as needed. The King County Council designated funds to purchase and make available masks on public transportation.
Metro says it sampled mask compliance on four high-ridership routes recently and it ranged from 72 percent to 85 percent. Ridership, meantime, is less than 40 percent of what it was last year (on weekdays).
First virus-crisis roundup of the new month:
KING COUNTY’S NUMBERS: From the Public Health daily-summary dashboard:
*19,711 people have tested positive, up 46 from yesterday’s total
*724 people have died, up 4 from yesterday’s total
*2,234 people have been hospitalized, up 5 from yesterday’s total
*365,209 people have been tested, up 3,774 from yesterday’s total
One week ago, those totals were 18,877/712/2,198/344,954.
STATEWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.
TWO MORE AREA DEATHS: 98116 has recorded its 4th death, and 98146 has its 13th. Here are the current counts in the three other zip codes that are entirely or partly within West Seattle:
98136 – 3
98106 – 4
98126 – 14
WORLDWIDE NUMBERS: Find them here.
SHELTER MOVES: The Southwest Teen Life Center is no longer hosting a temporary “de-intensifying” shelter for youth/young adults.
BACK TO SCHOOL: We looked at the pandemic-era plans for two more independent schools tonight – Tilden School and Westside School (both WSB sponsors).
‘HAZARD PAY’ PROTEST: Grocery workers who want their employers to reinstate “hazard pay” demonstrated at Westwood Village today.
#REDALERT: As mentioned in our daily preview, many Seattle buildings were illuminated in red tonight to call attention to the still-shuttered live-events industry. See a sampling here.
BRIEFING TOMORROW: For the weekly update on the statewide situation, watch the media briefing with the state’s COVID-19 response leaders tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2 pm; it’ll be streamed here.
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Continuing our look at how West Seattle’s independent/parochial schools are starting this pandemic-enmeshed year: Westside School (WSB sponsor) in Arbor Heights has a hybrid plan – some remote, some in-person, and the preK-8 school already has laid out how that will change if/when COVID-19 risk levels change. The step-by-step plan, tied to those risk levels, is here.
Since King County is currently still considered “high risk,” Westside plans to “maintain three in-person days for our PS/PK/K students and one weekly in-person day for our 2nd-4th grade students,” which the school says is “directly linked to the (state Department of Health) recommendation to include ‘limited in-person learning in small groups … for the highest-need students, (including) younger learners’.” 5th through 8th graders will start the year all-remote, and they’ll stay that way until King County moves to Phase 3, when they’ll attend in person on alternating days, while lower grades will then be on campus full time. The school’s plan also details transition time and building reconfiguration steps when the risk level drops – for example, they’ll wait five days before starting to move to the next stage of the plan, to be sure the reduction in the risk level isn’t short-lived.
School starts tomorrow for preschool, pre-K, K, and 4th graders, while 5th and 6th graders will have an off-campus “in-person experiential learning” day.
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