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 In early twentieth century, Washington timber helped build the Panama Canal and the city of San Francisco after their great fire of 1906. Much of that lumber was treated with creosote on Bainbridge Island at the Wycoff plant. When you walk the site today, the chemical smell lingers – so does ecological harm. Creosote is still seeping through the soil and trickling into groundwater.
But thanks to an $80 million investment from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the site will finally get cleaned up. That’s not to say no work has been done over the years – the site has been listed as an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site for 37 years – but this new influx will allow the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to completely address contaminants and prepare the site for reuse.
On Thursday, Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Derek Kilmer, EPA Region 10 Administrator Casey Sixkiller, and other regional and local leaders visited the site to announce the new funding and tour the site.
“One of the things we know about industrial uses – it’s really easy to cause a lot of damage over a long time. And it’s really complicated to restore,” said Sixkiller. “Because of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re accelerating cleanups across the Northwest that have been waiting for this investment.”
Just down Puget Sound in Bremerton, the Suquamish Tribe is again able to fish on its traditional waters near the old Gasworks site, and a commercial marina and fishery now operate there. A little further down in Tacoma, the old, polluted waterfront is now a gorgeous attraction. EPA Superfund sites are in reuse all over the state. Each is a reminder of the mammoth cost of pollution – both to natural life and to taxpayers down the line.
Gov. Jay Inslee and DSHS Secretary Jilma Meneses cut a ribbon last November to open Olympic Heritage Behavioral Health just months after purchase.
Just a year or so ago, hundreds of defendants with severe mental illness sat in jails indefinitely. They hadn’t stood trial yet – they were deemed ‘incompetent’ by a judge – so they were remanded back to jails to await psychiatric treatment at a state hospital before returning for trial. But the beds were all full, so these defendants were left to wait for months on end. Under the terms of the Trueblood settlement, the state paid over $100 million in fines for these delays.
Today, that waitlist is clear. Defendants are waiting just days for treatment, and the state is finally within Trueblood’s terms.
It’s a huge victory. And it took a huge effort to achieve by the state’s Department of Social and Health Services. They snap-purchased a private hospital and converted it for state use in two months. They opened new beds at Maple Lane in Centralia, and they opened new competency restoration beds across the state. Behavioral health capacity has been a steady focus of the Legislature and the governor – that focus is showing results.
At last, capacity is catching up to surging demand for competency restoration services. At last, waitlists are shrinking. And at last, defendants with mental illness are getting the restoration treatment they need so they can get their day in court.
 Gov. Jay Inslee addresses a gathering of the Washington State Labor Council last winter.
You can set your watch to it – Washington was again ranked as a top state for workers by OxFam America.
Washington placed fifth on OxFam’s 2024 list of the Best States to Work, earning sterling ratings for its protections for organized workers, safety provisions, and high minimum wage.
Compared to the federal rate of $7.25, Washington’s nation-leading minimum wage is $16.28. While states like Texas and Florida are rescinding guaranteed water breaks and heat protections, Washington state is among the five states improving safety standards for workers. And this year, Washington passed a new law banning “captive audience” meetings in which employers pressure their workers not to join unions.
The report also cited Washington’s new warehouse worker protections, responsive to a booming sector of warehouse logistics workers and a boom of related safety issues.
In Washington, a hard day’s work doesn’t come at the cost of your life or safety. We're also a leading state to do business, a leading state for student aid, a leading state for healthcare affordability, a leading state for job creation and economy, and again leading state for workers. The rest of the country has some catching up to do.
New dashboard offers easy way to see how and where Climate Commitment Act funds are being put to work
Projects supported by funding from the Climate Commitment Act are springing up statewide, as shown by a new project map compiled by the state Office of Financial Management. The interactive map offers an easy way for people to track how, where and by whom CCA funding is being put to work.
September is National Suicide Prevention Month
#BeThe1 – that’s the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s message to Washingtonians and all Americans this September. You could be the one to save a life by recognizing signs of crisis and dialing 9-8-8 for help. Washington state is investing in its 988 Lifeline to offer callers someone to call, someone to respond, and a place to go. There is more help available than ever for Washingtonians in crisis – it’s all just three digits away.
The wheels are going round and round on electric school buses statewide
School districts across WA are taking advantage of federal and state funding to purchase electric school buses. Exhaust from diesel buses has been linked to numerous health conditions in children, including asthma. These newer buses help slash air pollution statewide and have the potential to improve kids’ health and well-being. So far, 220 diesel buses have been replaced by electric models across the state.
Funds from illegal magazine sale lawsuit will fund gun violence prevention
The Office of the Washington State Attorney General successfully sued and won $2 million from a gun store in Federal Way that had been illegally selling high-capacity firearm magazines. The proceeds will be disbursed to police local police departments and tribal law enforcement organizations to promote gun violence prevention.
‘Dreamers’ now eligible to become police officers in Washington
Immigrants who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals status (DACA), or Dreamers as they are commonly called, are now eligible to serve as police officers in WA. The state’s rule change comes as departments statewide are struggling to recruit officers to fill vacancies. WA offers DACA recipients a number of other privileges not available nationwide, including the access to higher education financial aid and the ability to earn professional licenses in fields like nursing and teaching.
Keep an eye out for invasive, destructive green grabs
WA state officials continue to mount an effort to contain the population of invasive green crabs in the Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. The aquatic pests pose a threat to native wildlife, shoreline ecosystems and the commercial shellfish industry. The Legislature appropriated $12 million last year to fund a sustained trapping and management effort. Report sightings to the Washington Invasive Species Council.
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