Also in this edition: Masking Up and Getting Vaccinated



Durkan Digest Standard Header



This week, I announced our first major Seattle Rescue Plan investment of $7.5 million in direct funding to support downtown and neighborhood economic recovery. [ [link removed] ]  Investments include $1.2 million for community driven projects and more than $6 million to 28 business districts throughout Seattle. 

Throughout this past year and a half, our City has worked tirelessly to help small businesses owners and community organizations across Seattle reduce the economic impacts of COVID-19 on their businesses. It has been an incredibly long 19 months. From the beginning of this crisis, our small businesses and neighborhood organizations have faced the full brunt of this crisis. So many of our small businesses and neighborhood organizations have struggled to keep their doors open during this pandemic. 

These Neighborhood Economic Recovery investments will benefit small businesses, workers, and residents. These funds are available for neighborhood revitalization strategies to help address neighborhood-specific challenges such as the reduction in foot traffic, business closures and empty storefronts, inequitable access and distribution of resources and technical assistance, the rapid shift to e-commerce, and public space vandalism and deterioration. 

Businesses using outdoor cafes on a street in Seattle

Over 28 neighborhood business district organizations will receive up to $225,000 in funding to help stabilize small businesses and address community needs. In addition to this, a $1.2 million Request For Proposals will be issued to support community, cultural or arts organizations, cultural districts, and small businesses such as community event producers, artists, consultants or a collection of individuals supporting neighborhood strategies with broadly shared benefits.  

Eligible applicants can submit project proposals to the Neighborhood Economic Recovery RFP [ [link removed] ] for awards up to $100,000. Individuals who need assistance completing the application, interpretation for the information sessions or have questions, please contact the Seattle Office of Economic Development at [email protected] or (206) 684-8090. 

Too many of our small businesses and neighborhoods have struggled during the pandemic. Since the initial days of COVID-19, we have worked to help small business owners and community organizations help keep their doors open. With funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, we can give our neighborhoods and small businesses the tools to build back better. As Seattle recovers from this pandemic, we must reactivate public spaces, restore neighborhoods, and bring our community back together. 

As always, please continue to write me at [email protected], reach out via Twitter [ [link removed] ] and Facebook [ [link removed] ], and stay up-to-date on the work we’re doing for the people of Seattle on my blog [ [link removed] ].     

Mayor Jenny Durkan's Signature________________________________________________________________________

Masking Up and Getting Vaccinated

Graphic showing that King County has reached a 70% vaccination rate

This week, more than 70% of the eligible population received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine! We know what works to protect ourselves against this virus: vaccines, masks, testing, going outdoors, and distancing. Vaccines are widely available across Seattle and King County.

You can visit [link removed] [ [link removed] ] to find a vaccine appointment near you. Remember to wear masks indoors – even if you’re vaccinated. If you are exposed or have symptoms, visit one of our rapid, accessible, and free testing sites [ [link removed] ], which are still crucial for preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our communities. Mask up, and get vaccinated to curb the spread of the Delta variant, save lives, and protect our most vulnerable populations.  

Read more [ [link removed] ] 
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FDA Approves First COVID-19 Vaccine

"Approval Signifies Key Achievement for Public Health" 

This week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first COVID-19 vaccine. The vaccine has been known as the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine, and will now be marketed as Comirnaty (koe-mir’-na-tee), for the prevention of COVID-19 disease in individuals 16 years of age and older. The vaccine also continues to be available under emergency use authorization (EUA), including for individuals 12 through 15 years of age and for the administration of a third dose in certain immunocompromised individuals. 

Read more [ [link removed] ] 
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Back to School: Keeping Kids Safe and Helping Them Use Transit

Children and families using a crosswalk

Photo credit: SDOT

School goes back into session starting next week! That means sharing the road with children walking, biking and taking the bus to school. We all have a part to play to keep kids and families safe: drive the speed limit, obey signs, and expect more families and kids on our sidewalks and streets.    


* School zone safety cameras [ [link removed] ] are being turned on starting September 1. The speed limit in school zones is 20 mph when the lights are flashing, so drive slow and pay attention to keep kids and families safe and avoid getting a ticket.   
* Schools, PTAs, and community groups can apply for a Safe Routes to School Mini-Gran [ [link removed] ]t and get up to $1,000 to encourage kids to walk and bike to school.  
* We built 23 Safe Routes to School  [ [link removed] ]projects in 2020 and so far in 2021. We are continuing to build new improvements to make it easier and safer for students to walk, roll, and bike to school.   
* School Streets [ [link removed] ] close some streets to most cars and open them to students and guardians walking, biking, and rolling to and from school. 
* And, we give free ORCA  [ [link removed] ]cards to all high school and income-eligible middle school students attending Seattle Public Schools. These ORCA cards are good for unlimited free rides to encourage students to take transit. 

Read more [ [link removed] ] 
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The 2021 Environmental Justice Fund application period is open!

Youth gardening and using a planter box

"Proposals are due by 4pm on September 13th" 

Big news! This year, up to $750,000 is available for Environmental Justice Fund grants thanks to City Council and Mayor Durkan’s adoption of the Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force Recommendations. The Equitable Communities Initiative Task Force is a diverse group of people of color and community leaders representing a cross-section of industries, including environmental justice, who came together to spearhead the process of developing recommendations for a $30 million investment into our BIPOC communities.  

Read more [ [link removed] ] 
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WEEKEND READ: Biden praises WNBA champion Seattle Storm for their work on and off the court during White House visit

President Joe Biden accepts a jersey on Monday from Jewell Lloyd and Breanna Stewart in the East Room of the White House.

By Jason Hoffman 

President Joe Biden  [ [link removed] ]honored the WNBA champion Seattle Storm at the White House Monday, [ [link removed] ] praising the team for its actions both on and off the court -- especially work the team has done on social justice issues. 

"What makes this team remarkable is they don't just win games, they change lives. Encouraging people to get vaccinated  [ [link removed] ]so we can beat this pandemic, speaking out and standing up for racial justice and voting rights, supporting education and ... mentorship programs for young people and fighting to protect trans youth from an epidemic of violence and discrimination," Biden said. 

"That's what winners do. They shine the light, they lift people up, they are a force for change. That's the Seattle Storm, that's the WNBA, that's what they do," he added. 

The Storm become the first woman's professional sports team to visit the White House during the Biden administration, something notable in its own right as no WNBA team has visited the White House since 2016, President Barack Obama's final year in office. 

"As people who are part of women's sports, it feels good to be back in this place and to have our achievements celebrated in this way," Storm star Sue Bird said. 

Bird, who is married to soccer star Megan Rapinoe, said she would not truly be representing the league if she didn't discuss "the work that still needs to be done in our country and our communities." Rapinoe also visited the White House earlier this year, marking Equal Pay Day, something Biden said was long overdue during Monday's remarks. 

Read more [ [link removed] ] 
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