|
Washington is home to an estimated 100,000 Ukrainians. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Gov. Jay Inslee reinforced his support for Washington’s Ukrainian community and efforts to defend democracy.
“All Washingtonians should be outraged both by Russia’s unprovoked and destructive attack on Ukraine, a peaceful nation that has embraced democracy. I stand with President Biden in his steadfast support of NATO and his efforts to protect our country at home,” Inslee said. “All Washingtonians should be outraged both by Russia’s unprovoked and destructive attack on Ukraine, a peaceful nation that has embraced democracy. Trudi and I are thinking of all those experiencing terrible suffering as a result of this unjust attack, especially the many members of the Ukrainian community living in Washington state. We stand united in our shared defense of democracy.”
The Seattle Times details how Washingtonians can help. The U.S. Department of State is providing security and travel updates for Ukraine.
The federal Department of Commerce yesterday announced that Washington has been awarded a $30 million grant to support broadband infrastructure in Ferry, Jefferson, Kittitas, Okanogan and Stevens counties.
The Washington State Broadband Office is pursuing an aggressive effort to bring high-speed internet access to all Washingtonians by 2024. This grant is one example of the office’s success in partnering with local communities to compete for historic federal funding opportunities.
“The announcement from the NTIA is a big win for rural Washington communities,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “This funding supports our efforts to lead with equity and connect every Washingtonian to quality and affordable broadband service. Achieving that goal will require sustained investment from state, federal and local partners. Today’s announcement gets us one step closer.”
Read more details from Commerce.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee visited Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in Richland to learn how their work in energy storage and artificial intelligence is supporting the transition to clean energy.
The Energy Sciences Center at PNNL includes equipment funded by $8 million from the state Clean Energy Fund. Research in the Energy Sciences Center will help the state meet its decarbonization goals by reducing vehicle emissions, developing carbon-based fuel alternatives, providing improved methods for capturing CO2, and turning waste carbon into fuels and products more efficiently and economically.
"The clean energy future is emerging here and now. Incredible work underway at PNNL," Inslee tweeted.
 Inslee also attended a roundtable hosted by United Way to talk with local leaders about affordable housing homelessness. Representatives included local government officials and housing leaders, the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, human service providers and others. The group discussed how the pandemic has made more people vulnerable to housing insecurity and the importance of rapid housing options and support services. Housing and homelessness are among the governor’s top priorities for this session.
 The governor finsished his day in Tri-Cities with a visit to The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). The governor helped secure federal funding for the facility while he served in Congress.
LIGO’s founders received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017 for their work, which led to the first ever direct observation of gravitational waves – ripples in the fabric of space and time predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years earlier. The detections ushered in a new era of gravitational-wave astronomy.
 On Wednesday, Gov. Jay Inslee toured the UW Clean Energy Institute’s (CEI) Testbeds facility for an update on their latest research. The governor helped launch CEI, which opened in 2017.
These testbeds have served more than 500 researchers, 60 companies, and 10 research institutions. The facilities provide students and researchers access to cutting edge equipment so they can research and develop new technologies in solar, batteries, grid systems, built environment, printed electronics, climatetech, and medical applications.
 Gov. Jay Inslee also met with Washington Maritime Blue and coalition partners about their effort to secure a major federal Build Back Better award from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Their Build Back Blue initiative is transforming the state’s maritime industry and creating jobs across the state.
Washington Maritime Blue is one of 60 finalists chosen from more than 500 nationwide applicants for the initial phase of the competition, and is the only finalist from Washington state.
"It was exciting to hear from Maritime Blue and coalition partners today about their Build Back Blue proposal for a major federal grant that could spur jobs statewide," Inslee tweeted.
“This is an incredible achievement for the Maritime Blue team and all coalition members and partners involved in the Build Back Better efforts,” said Lisa Brown, director of the Washington State Department of Commerce. “As the consortium led by Maritime Blue moves on to the final phase, we’re proud to see Washington state’s commitment to building a clean energy and Blue Economy future recognized, especially because this shows the potential of our emerging innovation cluster strategy.”
The Centers for Disease Control yesterday announced updated guidance regarding indoor face mask use. Inslee announced earlier this month the state was planning for a March 21 end date for the statewide requirements. He issued a short statement today saying the state is reviewing new federal guidance, and will have more to say next week.
"Our office and our state Department of Health are reviewing the updated guidance from the CDC and evaluating their data, metrics and approach," Inslee said. "March 21 remains the current date for ending the state’s indoor mask requirements, and we’ll have more to say next week."
|
