Each week on The Newsfeed, host Paris Jackson and a team of veteran journalists dive deep into one topic and provide impactful reporting, interviews and community insights from sources you can trust. Each day this week, this post will be updated with a new story from the team.
Snohomish County farms face long rebuild after December flooding
By Venice Buhain, story published 03/23/2026
In rural Snohomish County, preparing for floods is just reality.
Even as heavy rains continued to threaten floods this spring, farmers here are still mopping up after December’s major flooding.
For 18 days in mid-December, three storm systems hit Washington, forcing 100,000 people to evacuate. 13 counties declared disaster and nearly 4,000 homes were damaged. One person in Snohomish died.
In Snohomish County, the flood caused at least $18 million damage to public infrastructure and at least $5.5 million damage to private property, but that’s not counting damage to agriculture or future impacts, the county says. Statewide, the flooding did $182.3 million damage to public infrastructure, the largest amount submitted to FEMA in Washington state in more than 40 years, according to Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office.
Snohomish County Emergency Management Director Lucia Schmit said the county mitigates risks through warning systems, emergency planning and water management.
“Because what you see in places where they try to control rivers is rivers don't appreciate being controlled. And so eventually they will break through the dikes, and then you have really catastrophic flooding,” she said. “And so what our surface water management folks have been doing is just trying to give the river room to breathe. They've been purchasing lots of land down in the estuary of the Snohomish to give the river room to spread out.”
Agriculture is the second largest industry in Snohomish County, with 1,400 farms and 70,000 acres of farmland. Some farms here face a long rebuild.
“We’re not going to know until the fall, until next season, whether some of these plants survive, particularly when you look at the Christmas trees and the blueberry bushes and some of those crops that really represent years of investment,” said Snohomish County Emergency Management Director Lucia Schmit.
Linda Neunzig, Snohomish County Agriculture Coordinator, said December’s flood washed out topsoil that farms are now working to replace.
“One of our largest producers, he said it may be a complete crop loss this year, or maybe he'll get a third of his production. That's huge. That's a big economic loss to that producer. And we have multiple farms that were like that in here,” she said.
Fr. Jim Eichner of Food Bank Farms in Snohomish said the nonprofit farm, which grows produce for food banks and food programs, was lucky. It was able to draw from donations and volunteers as they rebuild, as well as from insurance coverage from The Episcopal Church of the Holy Cross in Redmond, which operates the farm.
“Tons of volunteer labor. So those were resources I had, that that other people might not be able to get to,” he said.
Neunzig said Snohomish County’s Ag Tech program, which provides state-of-the-art materials and equipment to farmers that don’t have the capital resources that industrialized farms have.
To help farmers clean up after the December flooding, the county is working with a South Korean supplier to provide new plastic covering for greenhouses, Neunzig said.
Despite the widespread damage, county and state officials still are waiting for FEMA to declare the December storm a disaster, which would unlock aid from the US Department of Agriculture.
The Small Business Administration, which does not have to wait for that declaration to release aid, is offering loans to homeowners and small businesses. Homeowners have access to loans of up to $500,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed property. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $100,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property, including personal vehicles. Businesses may also be eligible for up to $2 million for both physical and economic losses due to storm damage. The deadline for homeowners to apply for SBA help is April 27.
Businesses may also be eligible for up to $2 million for both physical and economic losses due to storm damage.
But Eichner said no one should underestimate the resilience of farmers.
“They don’t want any pity,” he said. “They just want people to buy their produce, their products, their bales of hay, their beef and all of the things that they that they produce out here.”
Outreach group helps elders facing isolation
By Paris Jackson, story published 03/23/2026
A Snohomish County senior center is prioritizing community among Black elders to combat isolation and foster connection.
Every Tuesday, a group of Black seniors meet to share meals, fellowship and participate in activities through culturally-specific programs curated by Homage Senior Services inside the Carl Gipson Senior Center in Everett.
Last month, the seniors in the Black Elder Outreach Program rode Community Transit buses to learn how to ride public transportation and help maintain their independence.
Emma Nuckles, 84, is one of the Elder Outreach Program members. She says she’s the only Black person in her senior living building and has enjoyed the company of the other Black seniors since the group’s inception 3 years ago.
“It makes me feel wonderful because as you know, in this area - and we talk about it all the time - you know, there's not very many of us. And being sheltered and in-home most of our lives, especially when we get to the age, we are and not seeing people like us,” Nuckles said.
In 1961, Nuckles moved to Washington state from Louisiana and settled in Spokane, where she and her husband started a family. She moved to Everett in the 1990s and has lived in the area ever since, but now that’s she older, she says the senior center is another place to go outside of her church.
“To be able to come out and meet and do activities together, and to reminisce about old times, recipes, and children and grandchildren. You know, and it's just good to get out of the house,” Nuckles said.
Carl Gipson staff say the 60-plus age group is the highest growing population in the county. They say many seniors face isolation, which leads to increased rates of dementia.
“I see it every day, you know, I come across... elders they're sitting or they're just at the grocery store by themselves, not really shopping, but just walking to get out of the house. And, I wish that everyone knew that there are programs such as this,” said Shree Smith, an elder advocate with Homage Senior Services.
For the last year, Smith has led the elders with intentionality behind the effort she puts in.
“I even plan for my meetings. My group, meetings, a week in advance. I sit and I think, what can I do that will be enjoyable? It will make it worthwhile that they get dressed and came to the meeting this morning. They've been coming. I have some members that are consistent. I don't care if it's raining. Snowing. They are here and I want to make it worth their while. And so far, I think I'm doing that because they continue to come.” Smith said.
There are also 6 other ethnically tailored senior support groups at Carl Gipson.
