Dear Friends:

Today’s update includes information on King County Aquatic Center’s Skylight Replacement Project, an upcoming virtual community forum, King County’s local food celebration, face covering studies, and more.

Washington Trivia

What is the oldest active ferry in the Washington State Ferry System?

(Answer is at the bottom).



Virtual “Good Eggs” Community Forum with King County Sheriff

Prior to COVID-19, I regularly hosted “Good Eggs” Breakfast meetings once a month to encourage regional dialogue and collaboration among local elected officials and community leaders from South King County. In keeping with public safety guidelines, I invited King County Sheriff, Mitzi Johanknecht, to join us for a virtual community forum Wednesday, August 19th, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. If you are interested in participating on Zoom, email tyler.pichette@kingcounty.gov for details, or you can follow along live on Facebook at www.facebook.com/petevonreichbauer.



King County Aquatic Center: Skylight Replacement Project

I recently had the opportunity to visit the King County Aquatic Center to check on the status of their ongoing skylight replacement project. Construction for the $1.9 million project started on July 14th and will finish on September 18th. The Aquatic Center is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, and the skylights being replaced have been there since day one. Thanks to Mike Dunwiddie and his team for all the work they do to maintain this world-class facility.

Closures on State Route 99 for Federal Way Link Construction

Two lanes of northbound State Route 99 between Kent/Des Moines Road and 240th in Kent will be closed for underground utility work. The nighttime closures will take place on Aug. 17 to 21 and again on Aug. 24 to 28. The closures will be from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night.

CHOMP! Summer Camp: King County’s Local Food Celebration Goes Virtual

CHOMP! Summer Camp, King County’s popular celebration of local food and beverage, will be hosted online this summer, offering entertaining and informative ways to promote local farms, chefs, and restaurants that offer locally-sourced food. The five-day online event scheduled for Aug. 24-28 will also offer tips for how to make delicious meals using ingredients grown in King County.



For more details about CHOMP! Summer Camp and to sign up for e-mail updates, visit chomplocal.org, or follow updates via the event Facebook page.

Study suggests neck gaiters may be worse than not wearing a face covering

Duke University’s recent study found that out of the 14 commonly available face coverings, the most effective was the fitted N95, while the three-layer surgical masks and cotton face coverings made at home also performed well. The least effective masks were the folded bandanas, knitted masks and neck fleeces often used by runners.

The neck gaiter tested by the researchers was described as a “neck fleece” made out of a polyester spandex material. This type of face covering may be ineffective at stopping the spread of the virus and could even spread it further than not wearing a covering at all as it didn’t block droplets as much. The high droplet count observed in the study could be linked to the porous fabric of the neck gaiter that was tested breaking up bigger particles into many small ones that are likely to hang around in the air longer. However, an associate research professor said not all neck gaiters are bad as it could depend on the material and on how many layers a person wears. Click here to see the actual test.

King County Case Update

Today, Seattle – King County Public Health reported 81 new cases, bringing the total in King County to 16,830. In addition, Public Health reported 3 new deaths, bringing the total in the county to 679.

Stay In. Stay Healthy. Stay Strong.

Pete von Reichbauer
King County Councilmember



Washington trivia answer:

Celebrating its 60th Anniversary last year, MV Tillikum is the oldest active ferry, and is the sole remaining Evergreen State-class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries among the twenty-one vessels in its current fleet. MV Tillikum was built in 1959 to serve the Bainbridge-Seattle route and has a capacity of 1,061 passengers and 87 cars. Its electric drive motors were once in World War II destroyer escorts.