NEWS

(OLYMPIA)– After a thorough review of Washington’s Roadside Memorial Program, which honors victims of traffic collisions with roadside memorial signs, the Washington State Department of Transportation has released updated program guidelines. The guidelines for the memorial signs were developed with feedback from the victims’ families and the public, according to a news release from WSDOT. The updated policy allows sponsors to renew signs every ten years, indefinitely. The signs include victim names and a safety message. They are placed as close as possible to the collision site. Secretary of Transportation Julie Meredith directed WSDOT leaders to give the program     (read more)

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- The Skagit County Board of Commissioners has adopted a moratorium on new data centers in Skagit County. “We’ve worked for generations as a community to protect the Skagit Valley for farming, fisheries and the natural environment,” said Skagit County Board of Commissioners Chair Ron Wesen. “Data centers have significant impacts, and it is important that we approach this issue carefully and thoughtfully.” For the purposes of the moratorium, data centers are defined as facilities meant to house computers and related equipment that are larger than 2,000 square feet or have a total anticipated load of two megawatts     (read more)

(BURLINGTON)– The left lane of northbound Interstate 5 will close overnight Tuesday and Wednesday, June 2-3, at Samish River (milepost 234) north of Burlington for maintenance. There will be a daytime left lane closure of southbound I-5 at Nulle Road (milepost 243) north of Alger Wednesday, June 3. Washington State Department of Transportation maintenance crews will mow along the freeway overnight and perform daytime guardrail repairs during the lane reductions, according to a news release from WSDOT. - From 9:30 p.m. to 5 a.m. nightly Tuesday, June 2, to 5 a.m. Thursday, June 4, the left lane of northbound I-5 will close at the Samish River     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)– The Washington Department of Ecology n Monday proposed regulatory changes that will facilitate linkage between Washington’s Cap-and-Invest carbon market and the joint California-Québec carbon market. The proposed regulatory changes include technical adjustments that will make Washington’s market compatible with California and Quebec’s, such as making sure each jurisdiction has the same deadlines for turning in carbon allowances. The proposed changes come on the heels of a draft linkage agreement between the jurisdictions, and an analysis showing that linkage would deliver greater greenhouse gas reductions at lower costs. These recent milestones position Washington to sign a     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)– The Productivity Board, a state employee incentive program of the Office of the Secretary of State, voted unanimously, Thursday, to approve recognition of three teams of Washington state employees and two individual state workers for their suggestions to reduce costs, saving over $1.09 million in taxpayer money. In total, 20 employees across three teams submitted their cost-savings ideas through the Productivity Board’s Teamwork Incentive Program and are eligible for cash awards up to $10,000 or 25% of the savings derived from the project period, whichever is less, according to a news release from the Office of the Secretary of State. One team,     (read more)