Dear Friends:

Today’s update includes resources for small business owners, homeowners, and more, as well a new paraprosdokian and an update on personal protective equipment in our state.



Small Business Loans and Support in Federal Stimulus

Small businesses struggling during the COVID-19 crisis may be able to get relief through the federal stimulus program approved last week. Businesses can apply immediately for up to $10,000 in fully forgivable Small Business Administration loans here. The application takes about 2 hours to complete and successful applicants will receive relief within 3 days.

In addition, the Paycheck Protection Program offers fully forgivable Small Business Administration loans of up to $10 million provided they are used to cover employee wages, mortgage payments, and rent. At least 75% of the loan must go toward employee wages in order to be forgiven. Businesses can apply at any participating lender and more details are available here.

Governor asks Business, Skilled Workers to Contribute for Medical Protective Equipment

In a media briefing Wednesday, Gov. Jay Inslee said Washington has urgent needs for personal protective equipment (PPE) and cannot count on help from the federal government to meet those needs. Because of this shortage, he called on manufacturers, skilled workers and anyone else who could retool to make needed items – including masks, face shields, gloves, gowns and more – to consider doing so. Seattle-based Outdoor Research, for example, has started retooling to make critically needed PPE and expects to be making 100,000 masks a day or more once it is in full production.

If you can contribute either through donating or manufacturing equipment, head to coronavirus.wa.gov and visit the “how you can help” page to learn more.

Help for Homeowners with Mortgages

Washington State issued guidance to mortgage companies to work with homeowners who may not be able to make their mortgage payments, including offering forbearance. You can find more information here, including tips on how to work with your mortgage servicer.

4Culture Cultural Relief Funds Available

Grant funds are now available for cultural workers who have suffered financial hardship from the COVID-19 outbreak or have an innovative idea that shows promise in supporting other King County residents, or for nonprofit organizations or public development authorities with a primary mission related to one or more of 4Cultures funding areas: arts, heritage, and preservation.

Applications are now open for the first round of funding, which will be available through May 15th. Apply at any time within that time frame, the simple application will take 15-30 minutes to complete. Panels will review the applications weekly and notify applicants within 10 business days about the status of your application. You can learn more about applying and criteria here.

Stay-At-Home Order Likely to be Extended

During Wednesday’s media briefing, Governor Inslee said “it remains likely” that Washington will need to extend the Stay Home, Stay Healthy order issued on March 23. The order was initially set to last two weeks, and Inslee said he would be gathering guidance in the coming days before making a final decision on extending the order. I expect the Governor to extend it to early May.

U.S. Rep. Suzan Delbene ‘CARES’ Act Resource Guide

U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene, representing Washington’s 1st District, put together a series of recovery guides for the COVID-19 crisis using resources available through the federal stimulus package. The website includes guides for employment, health care, mayors and cities, small business and more. You can find it here.

Real Time Global COVID-19 Data: Check This Out

If you haven’t already, you can check out www.ncov2019.live/data, which tracks the total number of COVID-19 cases by country, including confirmed cases, daily changes, confirmed deaths, and recoveries. The website is designed and managed by a 17-year-old high school student from King County named Avi Schiffmann.

Please note, the website pulls data from public health websites around the world every minute, but not every country reports the data uniformly.

Paraprosdokians are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected, usually in a humorous way. In fact, Sir Winston Churchill loved them. I am including some of these figures of speech in my updates, so we can all keep our minds sharp, and hopefully find some humor as well.

Stay In. Stay Healthy. Stay Strong.

Pete von Reichbauer
King County Councilmember