News from the Skagit County Democrats

Skagit County Democrats Action Newsletter for January 17, 2022

DEMOCRATIC EVENTS

1. NEW – Roger Robinson
Roger Robinson passed away this past weekend. He was a long time member and activist in Skagit County Democrats. Click Here for a recent profile of Roger.

2. NEW – The 40th Legislative District Democrats Executive Board meets Tuesday, Jan 25, 6:00pm – 7:00pm via Zoom
The connection link can be found on their website calendar.

3. NEW – The 39th Legislative District Democrats General Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, Jan 30, 10:30am via Zoom
Click Here to register.

4. NEW – Call for Volunteers
“We can start to defend democracy this year by working on our local level. Volunteer to work in the office and pitch in to support our elected officials and those who are planning to run. You can work at your comfort level, whether it is writing post cards or thank you cards, or making phone calls, or answering phone calls. We welcome your thoughts and ideas for the future of our county. Current Office Hours are two-hour slots, at 10am, noon, and 2pm on Mondays through Thursdays, and we have openings. As we approach the primary and then election in November, we plan to have the office open on Fridays as well. Can you help? This is a great way to get active in our county!” If you are interested, please email staff@skagitdemocrats.org.

5. NEW – Use those postcards!
“Yes, you can do something more than talk to the television. You can send a post card. If you are not sure about the impact of making a telephone call to our Senators and Members of Congress or sending an email, then send a postcard! Physical mail is hard to ignore, and a post card is short and sweet. Do you have old, unused postcards stashed in a drawer somewhere? Pull them out and use them! It’s okay if they are plain or the scenic variety. Don’t have any? We have some in the office and will be happy to share. Send a short message telling them about your thoughts on a pending bill, or a simple thank you for a job well done. Here is the website for the names and addresses – snail mail & email: http://www.wsha.org/wp-content/uploads/November-2021-WA-Congressional-Directory.pdf.”

6. Legislative Session & What You Need To Know (Excerpted from Tina Podlodowski’s Friday News & Action newsletter of Jan 7)
“Next Monday, January 10th, the 60-day “short” state legislative session begins for 2022. We’ll go on to talk more about some of the important issues the legislature will be considering this year, but wanted to start with some of the groundwork information we all need to know about the session, the schedule, and how to get involved.

First, the key dates and the deadlines that bills have to move forward by to stay alive:

• Start of session – January 10, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass policy committee in their house of origin – February 3, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass fiscal committee in their house of origin – February 7, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass the floor in their house of origin – February 15, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass policy committee in the opposite house – February 24, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass fiscal committee in the opposite house – February 28, 2022
• Last day for bills to pass the floor in the opposite house – March 4, 2022
• Last day of session – March 10, 2022

All these deadlines will be important for determining what legislation will pass or fail, and the days leading up to those deadlines will be crucial times for advocates to push for action on their bills.

As with last year, every legislative committee will be offering remote testimony options. You have the option of testifying live via video conference or phone, submitting written comments, and/or just noting for the record whether you are for or against a bill. Here are some of the “rules of the road” you should be aware of, if testifying live remotely:

• Registering to testify does not guarantee you a chance to speak or speak at specific times.
• The committee chair may limit public testimony (for example, one minute per testifier) due to time constraints. Be prepared to testify at any point during the hearing.
• Maintain proper committee protocol, which includes waiting to be acknowledged by the committee chair before speaking, ensuring testimony and any objects appearing in the background of video feeds are respectful and professional, and following rules for testimony established by the chair.

For those reasons, it’s a good idea to always combine your live testimony plan with written remarks that you can email to committee members and to the legislators from your own district, in case you aren’t able to deliver your full, planned testimony.

Here are some key links to help with remote testimony participation during the 2022 Legislative Session:

• House remote testimony signup
• Senate remote testimony signup
• Legislative Committee agendas“

7. NEW – Links of the Week
The Links of the Week provide in-depth pieces and resources the Editor has found to be relevant, insightful, and thorough on important issues of the day.

• 12 Good N95, KN95, and Surgical Face Masks to Buy Right Now
• Why Confederate Lies Live On
• Resetting Recidivism Risk Prediction
• 45 States Are ‘Failing’ to Teach Students About the Period That Shaped Race Relations After the Civil War
• We Found the One Group of Americans Who Are Most Likely to Spread Fake News

COMMUNITY EVENTS

1. NEW – Celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Washington State Historical Society is hosting a day of remembrance with online offerings Monday, Jan 17, 10:00am – 5:00pm, including: A free online performance by Living Voices of “A Right to Dream.”

2. NEW – “Notable Women of Burlington”, Saturday, Jan 22, 2:00pm, Burlington Visitors’ Information Center, 520 East Fairhaven Avenue
Sponsored by the Burlington Historical Society. Several guest speakers will discuss the lives and contributions of women highlighted in the exhibit. The event is free and the public is invited as well as BHS members. Please note that the Visitors Information Center requires masks to be worn in the building.

3. NEW – Volunteers Needed at the Fairgrounds Testing Site
Public Health is calling on the community to help support the testing site. If you are 16 years of age or older and can commit to at least one shift per week through the end of February, the site could desperately use your help. Click Here for more information.

4. Skagit County’s Blake Decision Refund Application Portal
Last February, the Washington State Supreme Court vacated the statute for Simple Possession of a Controlled Substance (RCW 69.50.4013). Consequently, those convicted under this statute who have paid Legal Financial Obligations (LFOs) such as fines and court costs can seek refund of those monies. Click Here to access the Skagit County Portal to request refunds. Click Here for the ACLU explanation of the Blake Decision.

5. UPDATED – COVID-19 Information
Current Skagit County Information – The following is taken from the Skagit County COVID-19 Update of Jan 12

Local COVID-19 Case, Hospital & Vaccine Data
Skagit has a total of 15,924 cases, which increased by 1,402 since our update last Wednesday. This is more than double what we saw last week when we reported 635 new cases.

Our current case rate is 844.8 per 100k over the last 14 days—the highest it has been thus far. Our hospitalization rate is now 17.6 per 100k over the last seven days—expecting to surpass previous record highs in the coming days. Based on projections from the state’s Data Dashboard, Skagit is expecting to surpass a case rate of 1,500.00 next week.

Skagit reports 854 total hospitalizations (increased by 26 this week), and 156 deaths (increased by 3).

All of this data (and so much more) can be found on the state’s Data Dashboard here: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/DataDashboard

For instructions on how to use this site: https://skagitcounty.blog/2022/01/06/want-covid-data-the-data-dashboard-has-you-covered/

In Skagit, 226,348 vaccine doses have been administered. We’re at 72.1% fully vaccinated amongst our population 12 years and older.

Booster Updates
The CDC has adjusted recommendations for when people can receive a booster shot, shortening the interval from 6 months to 5 months for the Moderna booster vaccine. Last week, the CDC made this recommendation for recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech booster. This means that people who initially received an mRNA vaccine series – two doses of Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech – can now receive an mRNA booster shot 5 months after completing their initial series. For more information: https://bit.ly/3teChl3.

Fairgrounds Update
Testing and vaccination services are provided at the Fairgrounds Mondays, Tuesday, Thursdays, and Fridays from 3pm-6pm.

Due to overwhelming demand, testing services are extremely limited at this time. If you come to the site, please be expecting longer than usual wait times. When we reach capacity, we will have to close the gate to ensure that our staff can get home at a reasonable hour. Please do not block public and private driveways along Cleveland Ave.

Testing is first-come-first-served. Testing continues to be offered only to those who live, work, or go to school in Skagit County and who are currently symptomatic or have been recently exposed to COVID-19.

For a full list of testing providers in our region, please go to: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/TestingforCOVID19/TestingLocations#region4.

We ask that people coming for a vaccine now please come to the North Gate entrance at 1409 Virginia Street. Vaccine appointments will now be walk-in, and not drive-thru.

To schedule a booster or pediatric vaccine appointment at the Fairgrounds, please go to: www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine.

Available appointments include:

BOOSTER

• Tuesday 1/18 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Wednesday 1/19 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Thursday 1/20 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Friday 1/21 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)

PEDIATRIC

• Tuesday 1/18 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Wednesday 1/19 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Thursday 1/20 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Friday 1/21 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)

Vaccine at the Public Health Office
Boosters continue to be provided at our downtown Public Health office at 700 S 2nd Street in Mount Vernon by appointment only. If coming for an appointment, please enter through the 1st floor elevator lobby. For information or to make a booster appointment, please go to: www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine.

Available appointments include:

• Tuesday 1/18 –click here (Downtown)
• Wednesday 1/19 –click here (Downtown)
• Thursday 1/20 –click here (Downtown)

For a full list of vaccination providers available in Skagit County, go to Vaccine Locator or call the Hotline at 1-800-525-0127.

At-home COVID-19 Testing Options
Public Health has run out of at-home testing kits. Please consider for-purchase at-home testing options, available at locations such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Bartell Drugs, CVS, Walmart, Safeway, and Albertsons. Please know that the state is expecting to launch a new online ordering portal in the next few weeks. More to come on this soon.

If testing at home and you receive a positive test result, please call the state’s COVID-19 Hotline as soon as possible at 1–800–525–0127 or the Skagit County Public Health office at (360) 416-1500.

At present, testing demand is far exceeding availability throughout our state. If you cannot get access to testing, please refer to the CDC’s Isolation and Quarantine Guidance found here: https://bit.ly/3JQLIwF.

• IF YOU HAVE SYMPTOMS but do not need medical care and can’t get a test, you might have COVID-19 and you should isolate for at least 5 days to keep from spreading the virus to others. Monitor your symptoms.
• IF YOU WERE EXPOSED to someone with COVID-19 and need to quarantine and are unable to get a test 5 days after your last close contact, you can leave your home after day 5 if you have not had symptoms; wear a mask for 10 days after last contact.

Hospital Capacity Update
Please do not go to local emergency departments or urgent cares for COVID-19 testing. We know finding testing can be difficult right now, and we’re trying to find ways to increase access to testing in our community. But our hospital systems are very busy and cannot provide testing to those who do not need emergency care. Click here for a statement from Island Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jason Hogge: https://bit.ly/3eXsIhR

COVID-19 Therapeutics information
Monoclonal antibody (mAb) therapy to prevent serious impacts from COVID-19 are extremely limited at this time. Please do not go to an emergency department expecting to receive therapy for COVID-19.

Your health care provider can evaluate if you are at high risk for serious impacts from COVID-19 and try to link you with a provider but demand for therapy is likely to exceed health system supply and capacity to provide at this time. Please help reserve our emergency departments for those with urgent health needs that cannot be handled in primary care or urgent care.
For more information: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/TherapeuticTreatmentLocation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. The League of Women Voters of Washington has a new group – ACT via Zoom (Action Coffee Time) – focused on topics currently being debated in Washington State Legislative session
Mondays, 10:00am – 11:00am (with optional 11-11:15 social time). Attend as your interest in a topic and schedule allows. Each session will be recorded for viewing anytime. The continuing Zoom connection link is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82841749719?pwd=K3cweWNUbkg0bkM0ZzRML2U1TXVBdz09 – Meeting ID: 828 4174 9719. Passcode: 619917.

This week’s session – Advisory Votes – Kathy Sakahara (NW Progressive Institute)
Next week’s session – Consumer Environmental – Heather Trim (Zero Waste WA)