News from and about King County… from health updates to community news affecting our daily lives.

Dear Friends:

Today’s update includes information about the recent Regional Leadership Conference in Suncadia, a fireworks ordinance survey for unincorporated King County residents, Auburn High School’s first 3A Championship state title in boys’ basketball, King County Parks’ Salmon-Safe certification, King County Metro’s battery bus fleet and opening of a charging facility, King County’s substance use and overdose trends, health updates, and more.


Washington Trivia

This Federal Way alum is a former American professional basketball player who played for the Houston Rockets and Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies. Who is he? (Answer is at the bottom).




Regional Leadership Conference

While the Regional Leadership Conference brought together the private and public sectors in formal meetings, I appreciated the informal opportunity to meet with new Port of Seattle Commissioner Hamdi Mohamed and catch up with local leaders from Kent, Auburn, Renton and Redmond. The suburban mayors are leading the way!



With Hamdi Mohamed (left) and Kent Mayor Dana Ralph, Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus, Renton Councilmember Ed Prince and Redmond Mayor Angela Birney (right)


Fireworks ordinance survey for unincorporated King County residents

The King County Department of Local Services is accepting public input on a proposed ordinance that establishes a complaint-based process for warnings and citations for fireworks violators. This is the first year that consumer fireworks are banned in unincorporated King County. Public comments on this draft proposed ordinance will be accepted through Sunday, April 10th, and may be submitted via email, U.S. mail, or voicemail. For more information, click here.

Email: PermittingLegislation@kingcounty.gov

US Mail:
Robin Proebsting
King County Permitting Division
35030 SE Douglas Street, Suite 210
Snoqualmie, WA 98065-9266

Voicemail: 206-263-3000


Auburn High School boys basketball team wins 3A Championship

All basketball roads now go through Auburn. Congratulations to the Auburn High School Trojans for winning their first state boys basketball title against Rainier Beach 58-48 at the 3A Championship! Thanks to Superintendent Dr. Alan Spicciati, Coach Ryan Hansen and Athletic Director John Price for letting me hold the state trophy. School sports help build and show character.



With Superintendent Dr. Spicciati, Coach Hansen and Athletic Director Price


King County Parks earns Salmon-Safe certification

King County Parks is the largest park system in the nation to earn Salmon-Safe certification after a rigorous evaluation concluded that its operations and practices protect downstream water quality and benefit threatened salmon species. Read more here.




Metro’s battery bus fleet celebrates opening of charging facility and beginning of battery-electric bus service

On March 30th, King County Metro has opened a brand-new charging facility for its battery-electric bus fleet, and began service of its first battery-electric buses. This is a first step towards achieving its commitment to transition the fleet to zero-emission vehicles powered by renewable energy by 2035. The state-of-the-art base is located in a community that has historically borne the brunt of the impact of air pollution. Read more here.




Non-Profit Corner

Below are a couple places where your donations go a long way:

Auburn Food Bank
930 18th Pl NE, Auburn, WA 98002
Donations accepted in person Monday-Friday (8:00 am to 3:00 pm)
https://www.theauburnfoodbank.org/

Auburn Valley Humane Society
4910 A St. SE, Auburn, WA 98092
1123 E Main St., Auburn, WA 98002 (Thrift Store)
To donate supplies, call 253-545-0314 Monday-Saturday (10:00 am – 6:00 pm), Sunday (11:00 am – 5:00 pm).
https://www.auburnvalleyhs.org/

Bloodworks Northwest
1414 S 324th St., Suite B101, Federal Way, WA 98003
Whole blood and apheresis donations are accepted Monday-Tuesday (10:00 am to 6:00 pm), Wednesday, Friday-Saturday (8:00 am to 4:00 pm), and Sunday (9:00 am to 5:00 pm). To schedule a donation appointment, call 253-945-8660 or 800-398-7888 or visit https://schedule.bloodworksnw.org/DonorPortal/.

Bridging a Gap (BAG)
33313 1st Way S, Federal Way, WA 98003
Food donations can be dropped off at the following locations:
St. Luke’s Church - 515 S 312th St., Federal Way, WA 98003
Communities in Schools - 1825 S 316th St., Federal Way, WA 98003
Red Canoe Credit Union - 33616 Pacific Hwy S, Federal Way, WA 98003
https://www.bridgingagapfw.org/get-involved/

Federal Way Senior Center
4016 S 352nd St., Auburn, WA 98001
To volunteer, please call 253-838-3604 or email director_fwsc@hotmail.com.
https://www.federalwayseniorcenter.org/

FUSION Décor Boutique
1108 S 322nd Pl, Federal Way, WA 98003
Donations are accepted Tuesday-Saturday (10:00 am to 6:00 pm)
Please call beforehand at 253-839-4045 with a description of the items.
https://www.fusiondecorboutique.com/

Multi-Service Center Food Bank
1200 S 336th St., Federal Way, WA 98003
Donations may be dropped off at the warehouse Monday-Friday (8:30 am to 4:00 pm)
https://mschelps.org/getinvolved/donations/

The Salvation Army
26419 16th Ave S, Des Moines, WA 98198
Open Monday-Thursday (9:00 am to 4:30 pm) and Friday (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
https://federalway.salvationarmy.org/federal_way_corps


2022 South King County Scholar Athlete Auction and Lunch

Please join the South King County Scholar Athlete Fund auction and lunch on May 21, 2022, at the Federal Way Performing Arts & Event Center, with NBA Legend Lenny Wilkens, hosted by the Voice of the Seahawks, Steve Raible. In past years, over 250 community members raised more than $50,000 for scholar athletes in South King County school districts. Please consider attending this year’s event to continue supporting our local scholar athletes and athletic programs.

Tickets can be purchased in advance of the event for $50 at www.skcscholar.org. The ticket includes admission to our lunch, live silent auction, and remarks by Lenny Wilkens and Steve Raible. All event proceeds will benefit the South King County Scholar Athlete Fund.



Left: Seattle Seahawks Wide Receiver Doug Baldwin speaks to more than 250 supporters at the 2018 South King County Scholar Athlete Breakfast. Right: Auburn High School Athletes with Jim Zorn and Steve Raible.


Federal Way Korean American Association supports Donghae after recent wildfires

Recent wildfires burned more than 58,000 acres on the South Korea coast near Federal Way’s Sister City of Donghae. The wildfires began in early March near the eastern coastal area of Uljin, located about 45 miles south of Donghae, Gangwon-do. The blaze scorched about 8 square miles acres of land and was extinguished by March 13. For more information on how to support relief, please call 253-802-5310, email info@fwkaa.org or click here.


Health Updates

Routine Screenings

With the emergence of COVID-19, routine preventive care, including breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening, decreased dramatically to prioritize urgent care and reduce the spread of the virus in medical facilities. Our medical system is getting back on its feet, and while caution is understandable, it’s critical we get back to scheduling preventive health screenings that help save lives. For more information on the importance of routine screenings and free cancer screening resources, read Public Health’s blogpost here.

Improve your indoor air quality

One of the main changes COVID-19 has brought is increased concern about indoor air quality. While outdoor air quality has always been part of the conversation due to its connection with pollution, the breakout of COVID-19 made people everywhere more aware of the air inside their businesses, schools, childcares, and homes. Below is a list of tips on how we can help make indoor air safe and healthy:

• Keep a clean space by regularly dusting, mopping, and vacuuming.
• Use a portable HEPA air cleaner or a DIY box fan filter.
• Change HVAC filters regularly.
• Open windows and doors, when possible, to bring air inside.

King County substance use and overdose trends

In last week’s Regional Policy Committee meeting, Public Health provided an update on King County’s response to substance use and overdose trends.



Since the pandemic started in 2020, King County has seen its largest onetime, annual increase in overdose deaths (90%). Approximately 200 more people died from 2020-2021 and the biggest contributor was fentanyl. Fentanyl is now involved in over half of overdose deaths in King County. Click here to view the dashboard.



Fentanyl overdose is impacting us across the county. The orange dots represent non-fentanyl overdose deaths across King County, while the blue dots represent fentanyl only.

According to the 2015 overdose task force, the two largest contributors to overdose deaths at that time were heroin and prescription opioids. Today, that looks very different with fentanyl and methamphetamine being the current largest contributors. For more information about overdose prevention and response, click here.


King County COVID-19 Case Update

On Monday, April 4th, Seattle – King County Public Health reported 324 daily average positive cases, bringing the total in King County to 375,623. In addition, Public Health reported 2 daily average deaths, bringing the total in the county to 2,703.

Recent data may be incomplete. For more information, visit the King County COVID Daily Summary Dashboard here.







Order free COVID home test kits: www.covidtests.gov | https://sayyescovidhometest.org/.

Vaccine Locator: To find COVID-19 vaccine appointments, visit Vaccine Locator.

For King County residents: Register here to schedule your appointment at one of the high-volume vaccination sites in King County.

For in-home vaccination: Call King County COVID-19 Call Center at 206-477-3977.

Register by phone: Call King County COVID-19 Call Center at 206-477-3977 or Washington COVID-19 Assistance Hotline at 1-800-525-0127, then press #.

For veterans: Call 206-716-5716 or visit www.va.gov/health-care/covid-19-vaccine.

For more information, visit Getting vaccinated in King County.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: Call 1-800-273-8255, text TALK to 741-741 or visit www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Find your King County Council district here.


With best wishes,

Pete von Reichbauer
King County Councilmember




Washington trivia answer:

Michael DeAngelo Dickerson is a former NBA player, who began his career playing basketball at Decatur High School and Federal Way High School. Dickerson went to college at the University of Arizona, where he won the 1997 National Championship. He began his NBA career with the Houston Rockets in 1999 and played for the Vancouver/Memphis Grizzlies from 1999-2003.

In 2009, he played in the second league of the Spanish basketball league system. Among his career highlights and awards are the Washington Mr. Basketball award (1994), first-team All-Pac-10 (1997-1998), NCAA Championship (1997) and NBA All-Rookie second team (1999).



(Photo Source: tucson.com)


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