Two cases of the new coronavirus variant found in the United Kingdom have been detected in Snohomish County, state health officials announced Saturday. The variant spreads more easily and more quickly than the original strain.
Through mid-day Saturday there were 1,987 coronavirus cases reported in Washington, bringing the state total to 300,198. There have been 4,114 deaths and 17,128 people hospitalized, according to the state Dept. of Health. On Friday, there were 2,174 COVID-19 cases and 49 deaths reported in the state. On
Thursday there were 2,223 cases and 125 deaths from COVID-19 in Washington.
In an effort to increase legislative transparency, Rep. Joel McEntire (R-Cathlamet) introduced legislation last Tuesday (Jan. 19) to keep legislators from using "ghost bills."
House Bill 1324 would eliminate the practice of legislators using title-only bills, also referred to as "ghost bills." Title-only bills are introduced with no content, amended later with the bill text and rushed through the legislative process before the public has a chance to review or comment on the legislation.
"While this is my first legislative session, I am familiar with title-only bills. As I followed the Legislature the last few years, it received a lot of media attention, and rightfully so," McEntire said. "This is about ensuring our citizens have access and opportunity to provide input on legislation before it is passed."
Cara Buswell, a native to south Lewis county purchased a permanent location called "Good Stuff Food Cart and Catering." She has been in the hospitality business for a couple of decades and decided she wanted a more permanent location.
As of January of this year, Spiffy's restaurant has been under the ownership of Rod and Dianna Samuelson for 50 years. They have seen it change from a single-wide walk-up trailer to the full-service restaurant it is today. But, in the midst of the anniversary, Spiffy's has been closed due to an ongoing battle with Governor Jay Inslee to reopen.
Last week, Pacific County recorded 24 more cases of COVID-19. This brings the total of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 673. The Pacific County Health Department is monitoring 39 active cases.
Overall, Pacific County has had 21 hospitalizations and 8 deaths due to COVID since the start of the pandemic. Pacific County cases per 100k per 14 days is 184.8 and the test positivity rate is 17.1%, which has come down a little from the previous week.
Even though Pacific County cases dropped a bit, as a region in the Roadmap to Recovery plan, the county is still in Phase 1.
Raymond Fire Chief Todd Strozyk announced his official retirement at the January 4 Raymond City Council meeting effective at the end of the month.
"At the end of this month, I am retiring from the city of Raymond, and I have accepted a job with Pacific County Health and Human Services as one of the program managers," Strozyk said at the council meeting. "I'll be helping them lead the COVID response for our county.
"It's a pretty bittersweet moment for me, I've been with the city for 31 years," said Strozyk, who is also a South Bend School District Board Member. "While I'm excited for change, I'll be honest with you guys, I'm scared to death 'cause I've never done anything else in my life."
Chief Strozyk thanked the city of Raymond and the citizens of Raymond.
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