Results Washington, "Monster" road closures, poverty reduction, Climate Week, climate grant portal



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Inslee tips cap to Results Washington in final public performance review

Gov. Jay Inslee poses with the Results Washington team.

Gov. Jay Inslee and the Results Washington team pose for a picture after the governor’s 82nd and final public performance review.

Gov. Jay Inslee attended his 82nd and final public performance review [ [link removed] ] hosted by Results Washington on Thursday. Inslee launched the agency in 2013 to improve transparency and efficiency across state government. The agency has earned national acclaim [ [link removed] ].

Results Washington’s mission is twofold: to instill lean methods and performance tracking across state government, and to host public meetings measuring the outcomes of the state’s work. The agency has also centered lived experience in its efforts, ensuring that the Washingtonians and their personal stories are heard as the state plans and evaluates its programs.

Recent public performance reviews have revealed that recidivism has fallen 33% [ [link removed] ] and post-release employment has risen 65% for people leaving prison. Graduation rates improved [ [link removed] ] despite the turbulence of the pandemic. The rate of housing construction has tripled since the bottom of the Great Recession. Our new Working Families Tax Credit [ [link removed] ] has helped over 160,000 households. Infant mortality has fallen 20%, beating the national trend. The electrification of the state’s ferry system [ [link removed] ] is progressing with a goal to reduce the fleet’s carbon emissions by 76% by 2040. Rates of teen substance use [ [link removed] ] are down, and medications for opioid use disorder are proving effective by helping people break the cycle of addiction.

Those sessions have also revealed where more work is needed. Suicide [ [link removed] ] and traffic death [ [link removed] ] has increased. Housing costs [ [link removed] ] have spiked and deadly fentanyl [ [link removed] ] has claimed thousands of lives. Washington state has launched historic efforts to respond to each crisis.

A conspicuous example of Results Washington’s influence was revealed during a recent public performance review on health care provider credentialing [ [link removed] ]. The agency partnered with the Department of Health to address its backlog and reduce processing time across a variety of credentials. In some cases, aspiring providers were waiting more than 200 days for approval. The agencies co-developed quarterly tracking standards and solutions to common causes for delay. Over the last two years, the backlog has been largely erased and DOH is now smoothly processing a record volume of new requests with minimal delay.

“Results Washington has been an effective part of our efforts to help Washington continue its destiny as the best state in the country,” said Inslee [ [link removed] ] on Thursday. “And it's been a very effective organizational tool both to continually seek performance by our agencies so that we never rest in our laurels, and also to make sure that the public has access to what we're doing here and can give us suggestions. You’ve proven your worth, and I want to thank everybody associated.”

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WSDOT warns of “monster weekend” for road closures

WSDOT road construction map Sept. 27, 2024.

WSDOT's map of weekend road construction shows some "monster" closures of major roadways.

This weekend is the biggest planned weekend for road construction of the year. The closures involved are commensurately “monstrous.” I-5 near Fife will close completely overnight on Friday and Saturday.  Southbound SR 167 will close in Kent starting Friday night through early Monday. Northbound I-405 in Renton will close starting Friday night through early Monday. On- and off-ramps to SR 520 in Seattle will close late Friday and reopen early Monday. And the Mercer Street ramps to and from I-5 will close for the same period. Check WSDOT’s mobile app and social media [ [link removed] ] for more information.

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Washington launches FundHubWA to centralize state and federal grants
FundHubWA website interface

FundHubWA includes dozens of state and federal grants to connect people and organizations with climate and clean energy funding.

The state has launched a new easy-to-use portal to help individuals, businesses, governments, Tribes, and agencies discover state and federal funding opportunities. The portal is called FundHubWA [ [link removed] ], and it centralizes a huge variety of grant programs in one convenient place.

There’s more funding than ever to support climate action, infrastructure, technological advancement, and more – but it won’t do any good until difference-makers find out. That’s where FundHubWA comes in.

Individuals can find EV purchase incentives or home energy efficiency credits. Businesses could benefit from tax credits for clean energy. Tribes or local governments can find wetland development grants or climate mitigation funding, for example.

The portal was approved by legislators in the recent session and is administered by the Department of Commerce. It is funded by the Climate Commitment Act.

Additional incentives and rebates for individuals can be found at climate.wa.gov [ [link removed] ].

Read more: Washington state launches site to find climate friendly grants, rebates and tax incentives [ [link removed] ] (Geekwire)

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Inslee, clean jobs initiative take center stage at Climate Week NYC
A collage of Gov. Jay Inslee's appearances at Climate Week NYC

Gov. Jay Inslee, just minted by Forbes as a worldwide sustainability leader, urged “supernational” collaboration on climate action and championed Washington state’s progress. He and the membership of the U.S. Climate Alliance, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, announced a new apprenticeship program to get 1 million Americans into clean tech careers.

Gov. Jay Inslee, who co-founded the bipartisan U.S. Climate Alliance in 2017, joined his co-chairs and national climate advisor Ali Zaidi at Climate Week NYC to announce a new workforce initiative.

The Governors’ Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative [ [link removed] ] will open new career pathways in the climate and clean energy fields. The initiative will create a cumulative 1 million new registered apprentices by 2035 across the Alliance’s member states. This initiative complements programs already underway in Washington state [ [link removed] ] to help more people train for jobs and careers in clean energy, climate resiliency and restoration.

“We’re aligning our ambitious climate policies with workforce development to have one million more workers poised to take these good-paying, union jobs that serve our communities and strengthen our economies,” said Inslee. “These are economy-wide jobs, not just in clean energy but building trades, land management, clean technology and more. Climate Alliance states have a track record of meeting our ambitious goals and that momentum continues today.”

While in New York, the governor addressed some of the world’s leading climate organizations and met with leaders from other states and provinces to discuss partnerships. Just ahead of Climate Week NYC, the governor was named to Forbes’ inaugural Sustainability Leaders list, which recognized the top 50 global leaders in this realm.

Read more: Inslee and governors of 23 states launch ‘climate-ready workforce' initiative [ [link removed] ] (KNKX)

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Data shows poverty rates in Washington are declining

At the request of Gov. Jay Inslee, the Washington Economic Justice Alliance formed in 2021 to implement the 10-Year Plan to Dismantle Poverty developed by the state’s poverty reduction work group in 2017. Alliance partners have since taken more than 270 actions, contributing to Washington having among the lowest poverty rates in the nation. The Alliance this week issued a report detailing its progress to date [ [link removed] ].

Only 8.5% of Washingtonians now live in poverty based on the Official Poverty Measure metric, the 10th-best rate in the nation and a 20-percent improvement since 2018.

But to better capture a household’s economic circumstances, the Alliance is using advanced metrics that better account for regional differences, family composition, and standard living costs.

By those measures, as many as a third of Washingtonians live in a state of economic hardship. And that hardship more commonly befalls people of color and other historically disadvantaged groups. The Alliance has paired this advanced data with tailored actions to great effect. The report’s “action tracker [ [link removed] ]” details the status of various efforts which include the Working Families Tax Credit, Washington’s new Community Reinvestment Project, and more.

Official poverty rates in Washington have declined since 2021, and poverty among people of color and rural communities has declined even faster.

“There is something unique happening in Washington that looks a little different than the rest of the country,” says Lori Pfingst, the Alliance’s executive director. “Thirty-one of 39 counties saw a decline in poverty since our collective efforts began in 2018. We’re making a dent for those experiencing the greatest hardship, and we’re doing that by centering people with lived experience and including them as colleagues in our efforts to support the health and vitality of all Washingtonians.”

Read more: Washington Economic Justice Alliance Impact Report [ [link removed] ]

A selection of poverty metrics for Washington state.

Antiquated poverty metrics disguise the truth: poverty is worse than we think. The Washington Economic Justice Alliance has taken a novel approach to researching poverty and has deployed targeted tactics to alleviate poverty, achieving nation-leading results.

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News you might have missed:

Washington delivers $200 energy bill credits to over 690,000 households

Established by legislators earlier this year and funded by the state’s Climate Commitment Act, the Washington Families Clean Energy Credits Program closed on Sept. 15 with $200 energy bill credits delivered to more than 690,000 low- and moderate-income households [ [link removed] ] across the state. The program reached 23% of all households in the state.

The program was designed with equity in mind, directing the benefits to those who need it most and making the process as easy as possible. The credit made a meaningful difference to utility customers, and the intentionally simple process made it easy to qualify.

"It was very easy to fill out the application,” said Mary Sittinghorse, a Seattle City Light customer. “This will also help me in the upcoming winter as it is a little difficult to warm up my apartment. Thank you so much for your help."

Inslee, Tribes, and state leaders convene for Centennial Accord meeting

Gov. Jay Inslee joined his 12th and final Centennial Accord meeting with leaders from Tribes and the state last week, reflecting on over a decade of joint progress on protecting natural resources, negotiating water rights, economic development, public health, and more. The Centennial Accord is an annual government-to-government convening of Tribes and the state.

Together, Tribes and the State of Washington have struck historic water rights deals. They've jointly fought the opioid epidemic. They've saved lives during COVID-19. And they've collaborated on salmon recovery, making enormous progress to clear barriers, improve water quality, breed juvenile fish, and restore habitat.

"Through respect for Tribal sovereignty and treaty rights, we’ve made sustained progress on a government-to-government basis. We’re building a legacy of prosperity that will serve our descendants for generations to come. Thank you to the Suquamish Tribe for hosting this year’s beautiful event," posted Inslee after the event [ [link removed] ].

Job training program is changing the lives of people who lived in encampments

Over the past few years, the state’s successful Encampment Resolution Program has brought more than 1,000 people inside from homelessness. The state Department of Transportation has engaged some of these people with employment training opportunities, helping them work towards certificates in OSHA regulations, First Aid, CPR, forklift operation, traffic control, and other disciplines. The program boasts an 80% graduation rate. A new story on the WSDOT blog details the program [ [link removed] ] and some of its participants' personal success stories.

Demand is high for new Washington state EV incentive, potential buyers urged to act soon before funding runs out

Rebates are going fast with the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Electric Vehicle (EV) Instant Rebate Program [ [link removed] ], which helps low-income drivers lease or buy EVs. More than 3,300 Washington residents have received rebates in less than 60 days since the program’s launch this summer. The program helps Washingtonians drive off the lot with a brand-new EV for less than $200 per month for some models.

The program is achieving its intended goal of increasing access for low-income households. According to program data from August, the average rebate recipient comes from a household making an annual income of $51,975. There are 308 participating dealers [ [link removed] ] statewide.






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