On Monday morning, Inslee joined leaders from the City of Auburn and King County for the opening of a new supportive shelter funded by the county’s Health Through Housing Initiative.
Don's Place is a triumph because 90 people will be brought inside from street homelessness. But it's also a triumph because the city and county worked with businesses and neighbors to address concerns and shift opposition to support.
In the afternoon, the governor visited Seattle's Wing Luke Museum and Bellevue's Factoria Recycling & Transfer Station.
A man vandalized the Wing Luke Museum during a hate crime incident in September. He smashed out windows with a sledgehammer and shouted vile epithets as he swung. It was frightening for staff and for the entire Chinatown-International District.
Now, new 'healing murals' shine where those windows were broken. Inslee joined Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and state Department of Commerce Director Mike Fong to help unveil the new murals. The City of Seattle and Commerce each contributed $50,000 to repair the damage and sponsor the murals.
At least two-thirds of the heaps of waste to be landfilled at the Factoria Recycling & Transfer Center could have been kept out of the ground, per King County officials. Consumer confusion, inconsistent local recycling standards, and unclear product labeling result in landfilling of potentially recyclable substrates. New trends are alarming, as well. Packagers are mixing materials and over-packaging goods, preventing reuse and creating waste. And consumers are ordering takeout and online merchandise more than ever; both are heavy on packaging likely to be landfilled.
Inslee supports legislation (HB 2049 sponsored by Rep. Liz Berry and SB 6005 sponsored by Sen. Liz Lovelett) to improve the state's recycling rate. The "ReWRAP Act" would invite industry to improve packaging practices and material choices. And it would extend curbside recycling service to Washingtonians in 11 counties who don't yet have it. In total, it would improve the state's recycling rate by at least 20%.
