New state hospital, impaired drivers, ghost guns, Vice President and Dolly Parton visit



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State buys shuttered hospital to address urgent behavioral health needs
DSHS leaders got a tour Wednesday at the department's recently-purchased hospital.

DSHS purchased a recently-closed private hospital in Tukwila to repurpose it as a behavioral health facility. DSHS leaders toured the facility Wednesday to begin planning the move-in process.

The June announcement of the closure of Cascade Behavioral Health Hospital [ [link removed] ] in Tukwila was a blow to King County. The county is short on behavioral health capacity, and the closure of the largest such private hospital in the state would mean the loss of 137 beds. But that closure presented an opportunity, and the state seized it Wednesday by announcing plans to purchase [ [link removed] ] and use the hospital for behavioral health care.

?I appreciate the work of the department to act quickly so the state could prepare a competitive bid,? said Gov. Jay Inslee. ?We will move as quickly as we can to prepare the hospital to serve patients.?

The hospital is in good condition and was operational until its closure in July. The state Department of Social and Health Services expects to make beds available in a matter of weeks.

?We believe this was a prime opportunity for us to add immediate capacity in a location that is easily accessible for staff, patients, and their families,? DSHS secretary Jilma Meneses said.

Meneses and assistant secretary Kevin Bovenkamp toured the hospital Wednesday to begin planning the move-in process. Most of the hospital?s amenities and technology are move-in ready, but there is something missing: people. Nearly 300 employees were laid off when Cascade Behavioral Health Hospital closed, and DSHS is actively looking to hire a good number back.

?Our goal is to move in as fast as we possibly can, given our ability to get it staffed and running safely and properly,? said Bovenkamp.

Read the full story on Gov. Jay Inslee's Medium. [ [link removed] ]

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New tech and tactics help road safety and reduce fentanyl in prisons
A new Washington State Patrol toxicology lab will soon open in Federal Way.

The Washington State Patrol is soon to open this new toxicology lab in Federal Way to process evidence and reduce delays in holding impaired drivers accountable.

2022 was the deadliest year [ [link removed] ] on Washington state roadways since 1990, back around the time when seatbelt laws were just becoming commonplace. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission sited alcohol impairment as a leading factor. One-third of last year?s fatal crashes were caused by alcohol-positive drivers.

The Washington State Patrol operates a toxicology lab to process blood evidence results from suspected drunk drivers, and they will soon open another [ [link removed] ] in Federal Way. The new lab will reduce delays in processing and help hold impaired drivers accountable.

WSP also recently adopted a new statewide hit-and-run [ [link removed] ] alert system. When a hit-and-run causes serious injury, an alert with a description of the suspect may be released to a subscriber list of media. The faster word gets out, the better the odds of finding the suspect.

The state Department of Corrections has been innovating, too. They are now training dogs to sniff out fentanyl [ [link removed] ] to prevent its import into correctional facilities. According to data from the National Institutes of Health, as much as 85% of the American prison population actively uses drugs. If corrections officers can arrest the flow of narcotics, they can limit drug use and help ensure that inmates are on a path to recovery and rehabilitation. DOC?s goal is to positively transform lives and make the people in their care better neighbors when released.

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'Ghost guns' banned again - for now

Untraceable "ghost guns" are illegal again, for now. The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay on Tuesday [ [link removed] ]of a district court judgment that had invalidated the Biden Administration's ban on untraceable firearms. The stay has temporarily revived the rule, but the legal challenge is ongoing.

"I applaud the Supreme Court's decision to allow the regulation of ghost guns while the legal challenge continues. Washington state stands united with many other states in our pursuit of safer communities. Thank you to @AGOWA and?all others who are working for safer communities," tweeted Gov. Jay Inslee [ [link removed] ].

"Ghost guns" are unserialized firearms, often self-manufactured. Some use parts made by 3D printers and readily-available plans, and others use production-grade parts sold by manufacturers as unfinished. In most cases, these parts are easily finished to become operable [ [link removed] ]. In effect, lethal and untraceable guns can be sold around state and federal laws, absent background checks, and absent any accountable chain of custody.

In Washington state, manufacture of "ghost guns" with intent to sell them is a felony [ [link removed] ]. But as untraceable parts are so easily bought, sold, and distributed, federal inaction likely allowed ghost guns to keep flowing in. Attorney General Bob Ferguson joined 21 other attorneys general last month to issue an amicus brief [ [link removed] ] in support of the Biden Administration's ban.

?We cannot allow untraceable weapons to continue flooding our communities, which makes it much harder for law enforcement to solve crimes and makes it far too easy for felons, domestic abusers, juveniles, and others to illegally acquire deadly weapons,? said Ferguson.

?There is a natural limit to states? abilities to combat a nationwide problem that crosses state borders. Absent federal enforcement, ghost guns have continued to proliferate, including in the very states that have been trying to keep them out.?

Gov. Jay Inslee signs a bill to ban assault weapons in Washington state.

Gov. Jay Inslee has signed gun violence prevention bills that limit magazine capacity, ban assault weapons, and prohibit "ghost guns." With enforcement difficult under a patchwork of statutes around the country, Washington state also needs federal action to regulate unserialized and untraceable firearms in circulation.

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News you might have missed:

Washington-based task force to assist Hawaiian wildfire response

The island of Maui has been torched by a deadly wildfire. High winds from a passing hurricane fanned the flames, which consumed entire towns. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said the fire is likely the largest natural disaster in the state?s history. Washington state is sending a task force [ [link removed] ] of 45 people to assist with search and rescue, emergency medical care, and other duties. At least 50 people have died in the fires. The death toll is expected to rise, according to Green. The Office of the Governor of Hawai'i [ [link removed] ] has directed prospective donors to the Hawai'i Community Foundation, and has directed those in search of loved ones to the Red Cross.

Vice President Kamala Harris to visit Seattle Tuesday to mark one year since passage of Inflation Reduction Act

The Biden-Harris Administration?s Inflation Reduction Act contained historic federal investments towards emissions reduction. More than $3 billion has been allocated to Washington state to repair bridges and roads, and to electrify transportation. Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tiebreaking vote to pass the law, and she?ll visit Seattle [ [link removed] ] on Tuesday to tout its impact.

Dolly Parton to visit Tacoma Tuesday to invite families to join Imagination Library

Country music icon Dolly Parton will visit Tacoma on Tuesday to promote childhood literacy. Parton founded the Imagination Library program in 1995 to distribute books to children near her hometown in Sevier County, Tenn. The program is now open [ [link removed] ] to children in all 39 of Washington state's counties, and it now serves 65,000 Washington children. Parton's visit will be livestreamed by TVW [ [link removed] ] at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Hanford melter starts melting

The vitrification plant at the Hanford Site is an engineering marvel designed to melt radioactive and chemical waste into a stable, and more disposable, glass substrate. This week, the melter successfully established a molten glass pool [ [link removed] ] for the very fist time. In recent years, the federal government has committed more resources [ [link removed] ] to the cleanup and the first-of-its-kind melter has overcome early fits and starts in testing. Overall, recent developments have been encouraging. Officials hope to begin treating some of the site?s 56 million gallons of radioactive waste before 2025.

Sourdough Fire closes North Cascades Highway

The ongoing Sourdough Fire has burned more than 1,700 acres, and firefighting crews continue their work to wrangle the blaze. As of Thursday, the fire was 5% contained and some residents near Diablo have been evacuated. SR 20 has been closed for a second time due to the blaze. Refer to the state Department of Transportation?s regional X account [ [link removed] ] for timely updates.










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