It's been 5 years since Washington received its first electric school bus. This is part 1 of a 2-part blog series to mark the anniversary.
When John Griffith, director of transportation at Walla Walla Public Schools, heard that district leadership wanted to purchase electric school buses, he wasn’t immediately on board.
“I was like — I don’t think so,” Griffith recalled. “But our superintendent said, ‘John, we have to think about the next generation, the people who are going to follow you.’” Griffith agreed to see how things went with the first three buses and go from there. “And these buses have just performed amazingly,” he said when Ecology visited Walla Walla in September.
Since those three buses rolled out in 2023, Walla Walla Public Schools has received funding for an additional 15 that are scheduled to arrive over the next year, giving it one of the biggest electric school bus fleets in Washington. Funding for their purchase comes from a combination of Ecology and EPA grants — money that made the project possible, even for a smaller school district.
On board with electric
For Walla Walla School District, the transition to electric has been a team effort.
“None of this happens without a team,” said Griffith. “This isn’t about me. This is about how we all came together to make this happen — from the superintendent to the electricity providers to the bus drivers.”
Great leadership also helps. Wade Smith, superintendent of public instruction for Walla Walla Public Schools, has been a driving force in figuring out how to reduce his district’s carbon footprint over the long term. He didn’t need much convincing to see the merits of electric buses.
“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,” Smith said.
And, of course, having broad support helped pave the way. He said everyone leaned into the effort, including school district staff, board members, and students from Walla Walla High School’s Green Club. The most rewarding part for Smith was seeing the smiles on the students’ faces when the electric buses first arrived and knowing the students could see they made a difference.
That difference includes major cost savings — each electric school bus saves the school district about $400 per operational month.
“When you multiply that by 15 buses, that’s $50,000 a year we can spend on other things, or that can help offset the cost of future electric buses if we’re able to secure more grant funding,” said Smith.
The power of grants
Grants from Ecology have been key to Walla Walla’s success.
The cost of an electric bus is currently three times that of a diesel bus. So how could the school district shift to a more environmentally friendly transportation system without breaking their budget? That was the question on everyone’s mind.
“We did our research,” said Griffith. “We knew electric was the direction we wanted to head, and we knew money was out there, that there were grants that could make this happen.”
Indeed, the first three electric school buses were funded with help from a $1.04 million grant from Ecology’s clean diesel grants. The district used a second $1.05 million Ecology grant from the next funding round, as well as a $3.75 million grant from EPA’s Clean School Bus Initiative Grant Program to help purchase the next 15 electric buses. By next July, nearly half of their school bus fleet will be electric.
“The fact that we got these grants for 15 new school buses — that created a buzz within the district.” said Griffith. “It was very exciting.”
Washington’s vision
Right now, a small fraction of school buses across Washington are electric. However, that picture is quickly changing. Every year, the number of electric school buses continues to increase. Washington’s goal is for all new school bus sales to be electric by 2035.
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.
From 2023 to 2025, the legislature set aside an unprecedented $53.7 million to help school districts transition diesel school buses to zero-emission alternatives — with $20 million coming from Climate Commitment Act (CCA) funds, and another $4 million from CCA funds pending election results in November.
With such a large transition comes an increased need for adequate education and training about how to maintain an electric fleet. That's why some of Ecology’s grants are given to help teach local mechanics how to service and maintain electric buses. Walla Walla Public Schools has received one of these grants. They foresee it helping them as well as the many smaller school districts that are part of their transportation cooperative. These other districts can then rely on Walla Walla’s trained mechanics to service their electric buses, too.
"We’ve been creative in aligning some of Ecology’s resources with EPA's,” Smith said. “Ecology has really helped us navigate the complexities of the grant process. They've been great to work with."/DOE
In other State news headlines:
AG Ferguson: Washington successfully defends ban on the sale and distribution of DIY rape kits./WAAG
Washington Supreme Court Returns to the Temple of Justice on Capitol Campus in Olympia
October 23, 2024
The Washington Supreme Court will return to the Capitol Campus in Olympia next week, following a two-year renovation of the 112-year-old Temple of Justice building./WA COURTS
https://www.courts.wa.gov/newsinfo/?fa=newsinfo.internetdetail&newsid=50529
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Department of Commerce sign agreement formalizing three-tiered approach to relations./ WA COMMERCE DEPT.
Paid Family & Medical Leave premiums to increase in 2025
OLYMPIA – More than 175,000 Washington workers have received Paid Family and Medical Leave benefits in 2024 thus far, totaling $1.35 billion — a record compared to the first nine months of previous years.
With the rise in demand, the Paid Leave premium rate will increase. Starting Jan. 1, 2025:
The premium rate will be 0.92%. The rate for 2024 is 0.74%.
Employers will pay 28.48% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.52% — a ratio similar to 2024./ESD
https://www.esd.wa.gov/newsroom/paid-leave-premiums-to-increase-in-2025
WDFW plans prescribed fire on Cowlitz Wildlife Area in Lewis County.
RIDGEFIELD – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) plans to conduct prescribed burns to improve habitat conditions on the Cowlitz Wildlife Area in Lewis County beginning as early as Oct. 23./WDFW
NEWS FROM OUR COMGRESSIONAL DELEGATION:
Washington Rail Systems to Receive $115M in Infrastructure Upgrades
Nine projects awarded include $37.7M for RR that moves Eastern WA wheat, $26.3M for Port of Kalama rail expansion to load grain exports faster./From press release issued for 10.24.24
https://www.murray.senate.gov/washington-rail-systems-to-receive-115m-in-infrastructure-upgrades/
Senator Murray Establishes & Funds Scientific Consortium in Washington State, Expanding NASA Footprint in PNW
Murray wrote and passed the funding bill that provided the resources for this award and directly authored the provision to establish the BioS-ENDURES Consortium./from press release issued 10.24.24
Congressional Democrats File Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit Court to Affirm that EMTALA Requires Hospitals to Provide Emergency Stabilizing Care Including Abortion Care, Preempts Idaho’s Draconian Abortion Ban./From press release issued 10.22.24
Cantwell, Law Enforcement, & Elected Leaders Talk New Tools to Fight Spokane’s Fentanyl Epidemic
Spokane Fire Station 1 is busiest in the state & responds to triple the typical number of calls, driven largely by drug overdoses; Bill intro’d by Cantwell - and endorsed by SPD chief and Spokane sheriff - could help halt the flow of fentanyl into Spokane./From press release issued 10.24.24
WORLD< NATION< BUSNESS<
WORLD:
Women Must be Involved in Peace Processes, Participate in Decision-making on Equal Footing with Men, President Tells Security Council Open Debate
Women remain starkly under-represented from peace talks and conflict resolution efforts, including in some of today’s most intractable conflicts, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told the Security Council today, opening its annual day-long open debate on women, peace and security./UN PRESS RELEASE
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15862.doc.htm
We Must Amplify Voices of Young People, ‘Promote Their Meaningful Participation in Urban Decision-making’, Says Secretary-General, in Message for World Cities Day
Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Cities Day, observed on 31 October/UN PRESS RELEASE
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sgsm22423.doc.htm
Promise of Artificial Intelligence Must Not Blind Us to Risks’, Third Committee Told, amid Fears of Undermined Social Skills, Widening Educational Disparities/ UN PRESS RELEASE
https://press.un.org/en/2024/gashc4418.doc.htm
Announcing Initiative to Include Women’s Participation in Peace Processes, Deputy Secretary-General Urges Security Council to Advance Gender Equality/UN PRESS RELEASE
https://press.un.org/en/2024/dsgsm1947.doc.htm
Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield at a UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace, and Security./USUN
Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi Before Their Meeting./US STATE DEPT.
NATION:
President Biden Touts Historic Support for Indian Country and Transformation of the Nation-to-Nation Relationship with Tribal Nations./WH
'Maritime Big Play' in Pacific Demonstrates AUKUS Partner Compatibility./DOD
Georgia Woman Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for $30M COVID-19 Unemployment Fraud Scheme and Firearms Charge./DOJ
Secretary Miguel Cardona Calls for Authentic Family Engagement in Education.
In a speech to the National Assembly for Family Engagement in Education, Secretary Cardona highlighted the importance of authentic parent-family engagement in education, called out the use of “parents’ rights” rhetoric by some to divide school communities, and emphasized that the future of public education is at stake in a way it never has been before./DEPT. of EDUCATION
HUD Announces New Partnership with North Carolina Central University to Strengthen America’s Fair Housing Workforce
Partnership with North Carolina Central University’s School of Law will advance fair housing enforcement across America and develop the next-generation of policy and litigation leaders./HUD
https://www.hud.gov/press/press_releases_media_advisories/HUD_No_24_281
BUSINESS:
Biden-Harris Administration Invests in Clean, More Affordable Energy for Seven Rural Electric Cooperatives from South Carolina to Colorado as Part of Investing in America Agenda./USDA
Defense Contractor Sentenced to 15 Months in Prison for Fraud, Money Laundering, and Unlawful Export of Technical Data./DOJ
Opening Remarks
Governor Michelle W. Bowman
At the Eighth Annual Fintech Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania./ THE FED
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bowman20241023a.htm
Departments of Labor, Commerce, Education renew memorandum of understanding with Switzerland to expand Registered Apprenticeship in US./ LABOR DEPT.
https://www.dol.gov/newsroom/releases/ilab/ilab20241024
Federal Trade Commission Announces Final “Click-to-Cancel” Rule Making It Easier for Consumers to End Recurring Subscriptions and Memberships
Agency acts after receiving more than 16,000 comments from the public./FTC
IN FOCUS: DNR Starts New Project to Remove Tens of Thousands of Polluting Tires from Puget Sound.
The agency kicked off the large-scale cleanup with a pilot project off Tolmie State Park.
One more threat to the health of Puget Sound is being removed, as the Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has begun the first removal of makeshift tire reefs as part of the agency’s new Tire Pile Removal Program.
The tires, which were installed as artificial reefs in the 1960s-80s by several Washington state groups to increase habitat for dwindling rockfish and lingcod populations, pose an increasing environmental threat. One that DNR is working to alleviate through this program.
“The health of Puget Sound is at the root of who we are as Washingtonians,” said Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz. “That’s why it’s so important we remove pollutants like these tire reefs now before they become a larger problem across the Puget Sound.”
DNR has identified 14 sites with tire reefs in the Puget Sound. DNR crews spent several years intensively mapping these tire reefs with multibeam sonar and GIS. The project is part of DNR’s Watershed Resilience Action Plan (WRAP) to protect and restore salmon habitat.
The first of these removal projects began removals last week as crews using an excavator and dive team began removing approximately 2,500 tires from the site off Tolmie State Park near the mouth of the Nisqually River.
“This has been a long time coming.” said Nisqually Indian Tribe Chairman, Ken Choke. “Although the intention was to provide somewhat of a safety mechanism, there was no clear understanding of what type of danger these tires imposed to our resources, and how they would still be impacting the waters of Puget Sound still to this day.”
The polypropylene rope holding bundles of tires together is wearing down, causing tires to drift and pollute waterways and beaches. Once on land, the tires break down faster which can result in microplastics spreading into the environment. The piles also collect fishing line and other debris underwater that can entangle wildlife.
With so many removal sites left, the agency hopes to secure more funding for more removals in the upcoming legislative session.
Cataloging and surveying the tire piles of Puget Sound has been a joint effort and wouldn't be possible without the collaboration of the Washington Department of Ecology (DOE), the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission (WSPRC), the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), the Washington Scuba Alliance (WSA) and Nations and Tribes of Washington State.
Photos and videos of the project are available here.
About DNR: Ensuring Washington’s Aquatic Lands Remain Healthy and Productive
As stewards of more than 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands, we are responsible for ensuring protection of habitat and fostering public access and water-dependent activities for future generations. DNR generates revenue by selling the rights to harvest renewable resources like wild geoducks and other shellfish and from leasing and licensing state-owned aquatic lands. That revenue is reinvested to manage and restore Washington's aquatic ecosystems; keep them free of derelict maritime equipment; protect their health and productivity, and fund local projects that ensure the public can enjoy our aquatic lands.
ref. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/news/dnr-starts-new-project-remove-tens-thousands-polluting-tires-puget-sound
CLALLAM COUNTY MEETINGS
Clallam County Commission Work session for 10.28.24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10282024-1331
Clallam County Commission meeting for 10.29.24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10292024-1335
Housing solution committee meeting for 11.1.24
https://www.clallamcountywa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_11012024-1333
City of Sequim Council meeting for 10.28.24
https://sequimwa.civicweb.net/Portal/MeetingInformation.aspx?Org=Cal&Id=125
City of Forks Council meeting for 10.28.24
https://forkswashington.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Agenda_20241028.pdf
Clallam County PUD meeting for 10.28.24
https://go.boarddocs.com/wa/clallampud/Board.nsf/Public
JEFFERSON COUNTY MEETINGS:
Jefferson County Commission meeting for 10.28.24
https://media.avcaptureall.cloud/meeting/8ac055e3-970e-465b-8f2e-aecc1c9f1f84
Weekly devotional
BIBLE VERSE:
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (New International Version)
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Weekly Bible Lesson:
Second Coming of Christ - Part 1
There is much speculation, and there are many false ideas about the return of Christ. Some say He will return to reign here on earth for a literal 1,000 years. --TFTW
https://truthfortheworld.org/second-coming-of-christ-part-1
Free bible studies (WBS)
https://www.worldbibleschool.org/
Learn English using the bible as text (WEI)
http://www.worldenglishinstitute.org/
(Join us in worship every Sunday starting at 10:30AM Church of Christ)
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Come and See
https://www.comeandseefoundation.org/
THIS WEEKS VIDEOS:
Election 2024: How the Global Elite Control What You See, Think, and Feel.
We’re now less than two weeks away from a monumental election, and the media, Big Tech, and global elites — including British Labour Party members — are all working in overdrive to get Kamala Harris elected. This “propaganda industrial complex” is laying the groundwork for post-election censorship, but Glenn exposed it all in his new book, “Propaganda Wars.” In this episode of "Glenn TV," he reviews some of the highlights: Why are elites so obsessed with censorship? How far will they go to ensure that Donald Trump doesn’t win in November? And how can the average American learn to cut through the propaganda and find the TRUTH? Glenn also reviews some of the latest attacks on free speech, including the British-based Center for Countering Digital Hate’s targeting of X and Elon Musk and Kamala Harris’ terrifying use of the vice presidential office to compare Trump to Hitler. Plus, the co-author of “Propaganda Wars,” Justin Haskins, joins to ask a disturbing question: Will this election’s “October surprise” be a deepfake?--Glenn Beck
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di6SiQMrUe0
Mark Levin Audio Rewind - 10/25/24
On Friday’s Mark Levin Show, in breaking news, Israel has begun precise strikes on military targets in Iran. China and Russia said they will stand behind Iran, while President Biden and Kamala Harris won’t let Israel defeat Iran the way they want to. Israel informed the Biden administration right before the strike. They had to do that because this administration would have leaked their plan. Also, Harris's last desperate attempt to win the presidency is to push the Hitler campaign strategy. This is evil and diabolical. Harris and the Democrats are obsessed with Hitler and Fascism, but the Democrat party today is the party of the Neo-Nazis. This is the party that surrounds themselves with antisemites. The party that cuts off arms to Israel. Now, Hillary Clinton is comparing MAGA to Neo-Nazis.
Hillary Clinton is the most loathsome and vile demagogue in American politics in half a century, and given all the reprobates who've been out there, that's saying something. Later, Captain Sam Brown calls in with an update on his election Senate run in Nevada. He’s leading in the early vote count, but Americans cannot let up on voting. Finally, Dave McCormick calls in and says thankfully Benjamin Netanyahu didn’t listen to Biden about a ceasefire. Israel’s existence is under attack, and we need to show absolute conviction with Israel in their fight. His race for Senate in Pennsylvania is close but Americans still need to turn out and vote.---Mark Levin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95rq9QjQd_Y
Joe Rogan Experience #2219 - Donald Trump
Donald Trump is currently the 2024 Presidential Candidate of the Republican Party. He previously served as America’s 45th president, and is also a businessman and media personality.---Joe Rogan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hBMoPUAeLnY&t=274s
We Need President Donald Trump--
Tulsi Gabbard
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF_7aycKqeY
Sunday Worship 10/20/2024--Four Lakes C. of C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzPWZ-Un6kk&t=1642s
Other News Sources:
The PR Fallout of Trump on Rogan: Four Steps Forward, One Giant Step Backwards./PJ MEDIA
NIGHT OWL COMICS
https://pjrnightowlcomics.blogspot.com/
The Port Angeles Globe is a weekly Publication, every Saturday-- Publisher, Peter Ripley
