In The News
Beutler and Kilmer add provision to address national shortage of psychiatric beds
The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment that included language offered by Representatives Derek Kilmer (WA-06) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) to address the severe national shortage of psychiatric beds for patients in need. The language would direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to present a report to the committee on how the government can best assist state, local, and tribal governments to increase the number of inpatient hospital beds and access to quality men… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Republican platform: Sell off public lands in the West, log national forests
by Joel Connelly
A Republican president, Gerald Ford, urged on by GOP Gov. Dan Evans, signed into law legislation creating our wildly popular Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area, between Stevens and Snoqualmie Passes, exactly 40 years ago. The drafters of the national 2016 Republican platform marked the anniversary by calling for a mass sell-off of federal lands in the West, and stepped-up logging in national forests. The platform is a kind of Theodore Roosevelt-in-reverse document, which renounces even policies of R… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Kilmer Enlists State Department For Canadian Sewage Issues
Derek Kilmer has just contributed a clause in legislation aimed at putting a halt to the dumping of raw sewage by Victoria, Canada. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee passed a bill that includes a provision authored by Representative Derek Kilmer seeking to make progress on the dumping of raw sewage from Canada into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The report accompanying the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill includes language encouraging the U.S. State Department to work… Continue Reading
07.13.16
Kilmer and forest group meet with public in Quilcene
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, 6th District, D, visits Quilcene on Thursday, July 21 to attend the latest of a series of public meetings together with timber, conservation and government representatives of the Olympic Peninsula Forest Collaborative. The meeting provides an opportunity for the collaborative to engage the public in its efforts. The event is set for 1 p.m. at the Quilcene Masonic Lodge, 170 Herbert St. Members of the collaborative are set to give presentations on the group's gov… Continue Reading
07.12.16
Kilmer urges action on British Columbia sewage releases into Strait of Juan de Fuca
The House Appropriations Committee passed Tuesday a bill that includes a provision authored by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer seeking to make progress on the dumping of raw sewage from Canada into the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The report accompanying the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2016 includes language encouraging the U.S. State Department to work with Canadian counterparts on a solution to Victoria's sewage problem. "It's time for Canada to take care of this mess,… Continue Reading
07.11.16
Jefferson commissioners open bids for Undie Road rerouting project on West End
by Charlie Bermant
The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners opened bids Monday for rerouting part of Undie Road around a section with significant damage in West Jefferson County.The commissioners hope to award the bid at their next regular meeting at 9 a.m. Monday, July 18 in chambers at Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St. The 0.8-mile stretch of Undie Road on the north bank of the Bogachiel River south of Forks was severely damaged during fall and winter storms and is now reduced to one barely navi… Continue Reading
07.11.16
Kilmer’s Opioid Bill Passes House
A bill from Congressman Derek Kilmer that would help Americans hit by the opioid epidemic has overwhelmingly passed the US House of representatives. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act passed on a 407-5 vote and now to the senate for approval.… Continue Reading
07.10.16
U.S. Rep. Kilmer, others introduce Timber Innovation Act aimed at boosting building construction, rural communities
by Rob Ollikainen
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer is among members of Congress who have introduced a bill to accelerate wood building construction and help rural communities affected by mill closures.Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, and three congressional colleagues introduced Wednesday bipartisan legislation that would create federal grants to encourage the use of less expensive and less carbon-intensive construction materials in tall buildings.The Timber Innovation Act (H.R. 5628) would spur the use of highly flexible, sturdy and… Continue Reading
07.09.16
City Hall may expand in Bremerton government center
by Josh Farley
Bremerton City Hall is set to expand its footprint within the Norm Dicks Government Center, under a plan unveiled this past week by city leaders. The city is prepared to pay Housing Kitsap just over $2 million to take over 9,000 square feet of space on the first and fifth floors of the Sixth Street government center. No formal paperwork has been signed but both Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent and Housing Kitsap Executive Director Stuart Grogan confirmed the deal is moving forward. Lent said the pla… Continue Reading
07.08.16
Gun safety on Washington ballot, gun research axed in Washington, D.C.
by Joel Connelly
Washington voters will have a gun safety initiative on their statewide ballot this November for the second time in three years, this time one allowing courts to disarm those deemed a risk to themselves, family and loved ones. A pair of happenings Thursday, at opposite ends of the country, demonstrate a yawning gap between action in Washington state and continued inaction on guns in Washington, D.C. The sponsors of Washington Initiative 1491 turned in 330,000 signatures at the Olympia office of… Continue Reading
07.08.16
A mixed summer message: Visit the Olympics but stay away from the goats
by Joel Connelly
Olympic National Park is enjoying a burst of popularity, its wildness drawing people from across the country, with nearby residents coming to understand that a once-controversial park now drives a recreation industry. The popularity is leading to a mixed message these days. With some fanfare, at the start of the month, REI and Patagonia announced a "Destination Wild Olympics" recreation map. It is available at REI retail stores and can be downloaded from the www.wildolympics.org website. The… Continue Reading
07.08.16
Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - July 8, 2016
07.07.16
Senate Approves Resolution Recognizing 70th Anniversary of Fulbright Program
07.05.16
Port Angeles to use federal grant to attract an airline service
by Chris McDaniel
PORT ANGELES - The Port of Port Angeles will use a $200,000 federal grant to attract a commercial passenger airline operator to William R. Fairchild International Airport, said Executive Director Karen Goschen. The grant is from the Small Community Air Service Development Program from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Thursday that $5.15 million in grant money is going to nine small communities - including Port Angeles - to help them improve… Continue Reading
07.05.16
REI and Patagonia throw their weight behind Wild Olympics
SEATTLE - REI and Patagonia, giants in the outdoor equipment retailing industry, are putting their support behind the Wild Olympics proposal that asks Congress to add more than 100,000 acres to land that is permanently protected on the Olympic Peninsula. The partnership was announced Thursday in Seattle, with Peninsula-area advocates on hand. The support includes a component designed to steer the companies' customers to the Olympic Peninsula for outdoor opportunities. The Wild Olympics Wildern… Continue Reading
07.05.16
Festival for Trade Justice in Tacoma
by CTC
Hundreds of people gathered at the Festival for Trade Justice to rally against the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) at Wright Park in Tacoma in late June 2016. At the gathering, leaders from local labor, environmental, and community organizations gave speeches demonstrating diverse opposition to the controversial trade deal. A trade-themed festival followed the rally with live music, performances, craft stations and games. For over two years, a diverse coalition of local organizations - from lab… Continue Reading
06.29.16
Washington Political and Forestry Leaders Celebrate 75th Anniversary of First U.S. Tree Farm
GRAYS HARBOR - U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer and Tom Martin, President of the American Forest Foundation, will be among the elected officials and other leaders celebrating the 75th Anniversary of America's first tree farm in Montesano, Wash., on Saturday. The nation's first tree farm, founded in the Washington coastal town in 1941, ushered in an era of certified sustainable forestry and family forestry. The Clemons Tree Farm was the first ever certified tree farm, and the U.S now has 80,000 family-own… Continue Reading
06.29.16
NCAI 2016 mid-year Conference: President Cladoosby announces $3.6 million grant from W.K. Kellogg Foundation
by Levi Rickert
SPOKANE- The opening session of the National Congress of American Indians 2016 Mid Year Conference & Marketplace was kicked off in Spokane, Washington. Its theme is "Changing Climates, Inspiring Hope." The conference is being attended by some 1,000 tribal leaders and officials. During this president's report, NCAI President Brian Cladoosby recounted various court cases that have been won by tribal nations within recent weeks, including the U.S. Supreme Court case won by the Mississippi Band… Continue Reading
06.29.16
No Vietnam vet has received this honor - it's time!
by Rees Lloyd
Maj. Gen. Patrick H. Brady (USA, ret.), who received the Medal of Honor as a "Dust Off" medivac pilot in Vietnam and is considered America's most decorated living veteran, has issued a call to all veterans, and all Americans, to belatedly recognize and honor "America's most reviled and neglected veterans - the Vietnam veteran," by urging Congress to adopt the Dust Off Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 2268 in the Senate, H.R. 5299 in the House). "Amazingly, no individual… Continue Reading
06.23.16
Clallam, Jefferson, and Kitsap counties working together to tackle opioid abuse
by Jesse Major
PORT ANGELES -- Olympic Community of Health and behavioral health organizations in Clallam, Jefferson and Kitsap counties are working toward a regional plan to address opioid abuse. "There are a number of people trying to figure out how the three counties can work together," said Dr. Christopher Frank, Clallam County public health officer. "The Olympic Community of Health is looking for ideas."Frank said the three-county opioid response plan is still in its early stages. He sees it as somethi… Continue Reading