Police training, Climate Commitment Act, affordable tuition, expanded essential health benefits



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New regional training facilities are accelerating police recruitment

A line of police officers stand behind Gov. Jay Inslee as he speaks at a podium at the opening of a police training center.

Gov. Jay Inslee attended the opening of a new, fifth regional police training campus in Arlington, Wash. on Tuesday, Oct. 22.

On Tuesday, Inslee and state leaders gathered in Arlington to celebrate the latest opening [ [link removed] ] of the state's new regional police training campuses.

Every officer must complete the 720-hour Basic Law Enforcement Academy to be certified to work in Washington. But in recent years, the waitlist to even begin that course was as long as a year. Now, that wait time is less than a month.

Gov. Jay Inslee joined legislators and police chiefs to announce a new effort in 2022 [ [link removed] ] to expand police training to regional campuses. As of Tuesday, three new campuses have opened in Pasco, Vancouver, and now Arlington. Those campuses opened in addition to existing facilities in Burien and Spokane.

“I think we really have something to celebrate here because this location will complete the circle,” said Washington Criminal Justice Training Commission Director Monica Alexander. “We heard you. The governor heard you. Our representatives and senators heard you. And they made it happen.”

In addition to shortening wait times for training, the regional campuses make it easier for police departments to recruit locally.  Nearly all new recruits used to have to attend the weekslong training in Burien, taking time away from their families. The new campuses are much closer to home. As a result, new classes of recruits are more diverse than ever. Women are applying in record numbers [ [link removed] ], as are people with young families.

“There are so many ways to be happy about this,” said Inslee. “I'll just start with the fact that this is one of the great bipartisan successes of the Legislature to get this done. We all have recruiting challenges. The easier it is and the more local it is for people to get trained, the easier it is to get people to come in the law enforcement profession.”

 

The Clark County Sheriff's Department's 13 female deputies pose for a picture.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office has tripled its number of female deputies since 2015, and that number might grow even more thanks to a new, local training academy. “I can’t say enough good things about the new campus – it’s great for us as an agency and as a region,” said Clark County Sheriff’s Office Accreditation Manager Sgt. Chris Skidmore.

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Hydrogen backup, electric school buses, personal pickups: the Climate Commitment Act is at work in Eastern Washington

Gov. Jay Inslee stands in the middle of a group lined up to cut a ceremonial ribbon.

Gov. Jay Inslee and leaders from Klickitat Valley Health cut the ribbon on a new hydrogen-powered backup generator for the hospital on Thursday, Oct. 22.

“It’s a pretty good day when a hospital serving 10,000 people gets more reliable power. It’s an even better day when that power comes from clean energy.”

Gov. Jay Inslee visited Klickitat Valley Health on Thursday to watch them fire up a new backup generator powered by a hydrogen fuel cell [ [link removed] ]. The state’s Climate Commitment Act chipped in $3 million to support the project, and the federal government helped with a $2.5 million appropriation sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray. In addition to the clean generator, the hospital also installed efficient new boilers, water tanks, and air handling systems.

In nearby Ellensburg, the Climate Commitment Act is helping local nonprofit HopeSource get people around and lower their energy bills. Their personal transportation service [ [link removed] ] helps residents with disabilities get to the doctor’s office and the grocery store. Their energy assistance program [ [link removed] ] helps people keep up with their bills.  And their Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates Program [ [link removed] ] helps locals install efficient heat pumps to stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

Two Walla Walla Public Schools administrators pose for a picture with the district's new electric bus.

Walla Walla Public Schools transportation coordinator Gene Thompson and director of transportation John Griffith pose for a picture near one of the district’s new zero-emission electric buses.

And down in Walla Walla, new electric school buses are ‘generating buzz.’ [ [link removed] ] By next year, Walla Walla Public Schools will operate a fleet of 18 electric school buses. The rollout is sponsored by CCA-funded state grants and federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“With 41 school buses hitting the streets on 31 routes in our district, and with diesel buses getting only 4 to 8 miles per gallon, transitioning the fleet to electric just made the most sense,” said district superintendent Wade Smith.

So far, Washington has invested a total $78.3 million to replace about 220 diesel school buses with electric school buses and install associated charging infrastructure. Of those new electric buses, 69 are on the road now. 

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News you might have missed:

College tuition in Washington state bucks inflation trend

A gallon of milk might cost more than it used to, but a premiere college education in Washington state is getting cheaper [ [link removed] ]. Not only is Washington a top state for higher education [ [link removed] ], and not only does the state offer the most generous student aid [ [link removed] ] in the country, but the sticker price to attend a public four-year universities averages $11,850 this year. Adjusted for inflation, that’s 5% lower than the 2019-20 academic year.

WSDOT warns of toll scam

Scammers are using fake websites and text messages about unpaid tolls [ [link removed] ] to phish personal information from Washingtonians. The state Department of Transportation warns 'Good to Go!' customers to visit only MyGoodToGo.com to pay toll bills. Any other website is a scam.

“If you got a text saying you owe a specific dollar amount such as $4.15 you do not need to pay or call us – it is a scam text,” warns the agency.

WA tops list of energy-efficient states

Washington is the most energy-efficient state [ [link removed] ], according to a new WalletHub study based on U.S. Census Bureau data. Washington earned high marks for building efficiency, boosted by recent building performance standards [ [link removed] ] adopted by the Legislature. Washington also earned high marks for efficient vehicles. Washington ranks third in the nation [ [link removed] ] for electric vehicle registrations per capita - 32% of newly-registered vehicles [ [link removed] ] are either electric or hybrid models.

Washington expands essential health benefits to include human donor milk, hearing aids, and artificial insemination

The federal Affordable Care Act requires certain benefits to be covered by all individual and employer health plans. Those “Essential Health Benefits” now include human donor milk for infants, hearing aids, and artificial insemination following Thursday’s announcement [ [link removed] ] by state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler.

“These benefits could be necessary for parents, or prospective parents, and are important coverages to add to our health plans,” said Kreidler.

National Park Service adds Washington site to historic Underground Railroad program

The National Parks Service announced Friday [ [link removed] ] that 14 new sites would be added to their National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, including the Charles Mitchell Escape Site in Washington state.

Charles Mitchell was just seven years old when he was enslaved and brought to Olympia by his enslaver. He escaped in 1860 and stowed away on a steamship bound for Victoria, British Columbia. He was caught, but a crowd of anti-slavery activists intervened and he was declared free by Canadian courts the next day.






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