KIRO Newsradio Headlines: Monkeypox declared public health emergency

Monkeypox now a public emergency

The federal government is declaring a public emergency for monkeypox.

The declaration frees up federal funding and cuts through red tape.

But here in Washington, Andy Rose with the State Department of Health says we’re not declaring a similar emergency.

He says if our case rates grow significantly or we feel like we can’t handle the response, this could change.

Data mistake briefly misreported Snohomish County primary tallies

The AM Newsdesk Minutes: Monkeypox gets worse while people hunt for vaccines

A mapping error upended ballot counts in a pair of Snohomish County precincts on Tuesday, leading to different results showing up on the state elections website, but no changed outcomes in a handful of races.

County and state election officials discovered votes cast in one precinct were counted twice, while those from another precinct did not get counted at all.

When uploaded to the state’s website, a precinct got tallied twice, throwing the numbers off. The error was quickly fixed.

Clean Water Act celebrates 50th birthday

Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the Clean Water Act and local authorities are celebrating by holding an event at the Aurora Bridge Bioswale project.

A bioswale is an industrial-sized rained garden.

The EPA will join state and local officials tomorrow at 9 a.m. to recognize Seattle’s leadership in protecting and preserving Puget Sound.

Hospitals nearing full capacity

Hospitals are at 92% capacity, but COVID patients only occupy approximately 12%.

Summer injuries, delayed care, people who can’t get into nursing homes, and low staffing are just some of the reasons for nearly overflowing amount of patients. COVID-19 is not directly causing the health strain, but its indirect effects are impacting it.

Seattle wants more public input for next Chief of Police

Seattle added more events to hear from the public about what they want in the city’s next permanent police chief.

The two additional in-person community-led conversations are meant to build on a series of discussions the city hosted last month to help inform the ongoing search for the next SPD Chief. The goal is to give community members the chance to voice what priorities and values they want elevated in the search.

The first of the two additional meetings will be held next Wednesday from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Holgate Street Church with community groups Village of Hope, White Center Community Development Association, and King County Equity Now on hand to co-facilitate with the city.

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