News from the Skagit County Democrats

Skagit County Democrats Action Newsletter for January 24, 2022

DEMOCRATIC EVENTS

1. NEW – The 40th Legislative District Democrats Executive Board meets Tuesday, Jan 25, 6:00pm – 7:30pm, via Zoom
Click Here for the Zoom link.

2. NEW – Virtual Town Hall for 40th Legislative District Representatives Debra Lekanoff, Alex Ramel, and Senator Liz Lovelett, Thursday, Jan 27, 7:00pm – 8:00pm
“There are several ways to tune in: the event will be live-streamed to my legislative Facebook page, to the House Democrats Facebook page, to the House Democrats YouTube channel, and to the House Democrats Twitter feed. You can submit questions to us ahead of time, or live during the event by entering them in the comment section. Please note, the livestream will not appear on most of the platforms until the event begins. You also do not need a Facebook or Twitter account to view the livestream and the video will be saved on YouTube. We’re looking forward to listening to you, answering your questions, and updating you on the first few weeks of the 2022 Legislative Session.”

3. The 39th Legislative District Democrats meetings are scheduled for Sunday, Jan 30, 10:00am – 10:30am – Executive Board; 10:30am – 11:30 – General Meeting via Zoom
Click Here to register.

4. NEW – Fidalgo Democrats has posted a YouTube link for their Jan 11, meeting: State of the Unions
Click Here for the link.

5. NEW – School District Levies on February 8 Ballot for Anacortes, Burlington-Edison, Conway, and Sedro-Woolley Districts
Click Here for detailed information.

6. 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.

7. 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.”

8. 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“

9. NEW – 1st Congressional District Representative Suzan DelBene offers Helpful Resources for Tax Season
“The 2022 tax season is almost upon us: Filing opens this Monday, January 24, and the deadline to file your taxes is Monday, April 18.
The IRS has a number of resources available to taxpayers that can make this process easier and less stressful. I want to share a few helpful tools as you begin to prepare your federal tax return:

• IRS Free File is an online tool that helps you prepare and file your federal income tax return for free. This guided tax preparation is available for people making $73,000 or less. It is safe, easy, and at no cost to you! You can browse IRS Free File online options through the IRS’s website here.
• Free, basic tax preparation help with IRS-certified volunteers is also available to qualifying taxpayers through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs across our communities. See if you qualify and find a participating VITA or TCE program near you here.
• During this tax season, families who qualified for monthly Child Tax Credit payments last year can claim the other half of this expanded benefit or any missing payments through their 2021 tax return. The IRS will be sending letters out to these families, and it is important that if you receive one, you save it for your tax records. More information on this here.
• For more helpful resources and advice, visit IRS Tax Tips here.

If you need assistance navigating the IRS or are having trouble with your federal tax return, visit my website or call my Kirkland office at (425) 485-0085. —  How We Can Help —

As always, I am here to help you. If you need assistance during this difficult time, please don’t hesitate to leave a message at my Kirkland office at (425) 485-0085. For more updates on what I’m doing for WA-01, you can follow me on social media at the links above. Stay safe and stay healthy, Suzan”

10. 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.

• A Pandemic Historian Warns Us All to Stop Looking at the Past
• The Overstretched Superpower – Does America Have More Rivals Than It Can Handle?
• Citizen Science Helps Communities Participate in, Understand, and Trust Science
• Why So Many People Still Don’t Understand Anti-Semitism
• Why the Online Game Wordle Went Viral, According to Psychology

COMMUNITY EVENTS

1. NEW – Illuminight 2022, Friday, Jan 28, 5:30pm – 8:00pm, Riverwalk Plaza in downtown Mount Vernon
“We will be displaying luminary installations, offering information from local conservation organizations, and putting on live performances of music and spoken word. The La Venture Marimba Ensemble will start playing at 5:30. Bring your own luminary, or pick one from Tri-Dee Arts!” “We are wearing masks, social distancing, are vaccinated and boosted, reducing our exposure this week and taking care of and celebrating each other.”

2. NEW – Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) opens Disaster Recovery Center in Sedro-Woolley in response to November 13-15, 2021 flood events
Click Here for more information.

3. NEW – The Diaper Bank needs diapers
Click Here for more information.

4. NEW – No more mining threat for Skagit River headwaters
Click Here for the Skagit Valley Herald article.

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

Local COVID-19 Case, Hospital & Vaccine Data
Skagit has a total of 17,521 cases, which increased by 1,597 since last Wednesday. This is an increase of 195 more new cases than was reported last week between 1/5 – 1/12.

Our current case rate is 1,799.9 per 100k over the last 14 days, which has more than doubled since last week. This is a new record high for Skagit County, and current data now suggests we’ll see a peak of over 2,300.00 in the coming days.

Our hospitalization rate is now 27.6 per 100k over the last seven days. According to the Data Dashboard, it appears that Skagit peaked earlier this week at a rate of 32.96.

Skagit reports 893 total hospitalizations, which increased by 39 this week. This is the most new hospitalizations we’ve seen in a 7 day period thus far. Skagit also reports 159 deaths, which increased by 3 this week.

In Skagit, 229,906 vaccine doses have been administered. We’re at 72.4% fully vaccinated amongst our population 12 years and older.

As a reminder, this data 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/.

New Hours at the Fairgrounds

Hours of operation for COVID-19 testing at the Skagit County Fairgrounds has been extended! The site is now open for testing every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 12:00 pm until supplies last.

Please note that testing will also be available today (Wednesday) beginning at 12pm to make up for the long weekend.

Rapid antigen testing is provided for free and is available to anyone 5 years and older who lives, works, or goes to school in Skagit County. Individuals must be symptomatic or have had recent exposure to COVID-19 to qualify for service at the site.

For testing, please come to the South Gate entrance at 501 Taylor Street in Mount Vernon. Note that gates open at 11:30 am, with services starting at noon. Even with the new extended hours, please expect long wait times. Please do not block public or private driveways and be mindful of pedestrians.

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

Vaccinations at the Fairgrounds will continue to be offered weekly from 3:00pm to 6:00pm. Both pediatric vaccines and boosters are available by appointment only. To make an appointment, go to www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine. Please come to the North Gate entrance for vaccinations at 1409 Virginia Street in Mount Vernon.

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

Available appointments include:

BOOSTER

• Monday 1/24 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Tuesday 1/25 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Thursday 1/27 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Friday 1/28 – click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)

PEDIATRIC

• Monday 1/24 – click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Tuesday 1/25 – click here(Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Thursday 1/27 – click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)
• Friday 1/28 –click here (Fairgrounds walk-in)

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

Vaccine at the Public Health Office

Vaccinations 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, and come up to the 3rd floor. For information or to make a booster appointment, please go to: www.skagitcounty.net/COVIDvaccine.

Available appointments include:

• Monday 1/24 –click here (Downtown)
• Tuesday 1/25 –click here (Downtown)
• Wednesday 1/26 –click here (Downtown)
• Thursday 1/27 –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

The federal government has officially launched its online ordering portal. Residential households in the U.S. can now order one set of 4 free at-home tests. Here’s what you need to know about your order:

• Limited to one order per residential address
• One order includes 4 individual rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
• Orders will ship free starting in late January and will take 7-12 days to ship.

To order, go to: https://www.covidtests.gov/.

Washington State will also be launching its own online ordering portal in the coming days. More to come on this…

Please know that Skagit County Public Health has run out of at-home testing kits at this time. Please consider for-purchase at-home testing options, available at locations such as Walgreens, Rite Aid, Bartell Drugs, CVS, Walmart, Safeway, and Albertsons.

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.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. The League of Women Voters of Washington has a 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 – Consumer Environmental Legislation: Heather Trim, Director of Zero WAste WA
• Next week’s session – Carbon Pricing Explained: Betty Carteret, Citizen’s Climate Lobby