| Friends and Neighbors,
I know that addressing ferry service disruptions and improving access to safe housing continue to be two of the highest priorities of our community. Both remain at the center of my efforts as your legislator, as I work closely with partners at the state and local level to develop meaningful, long-lasting solutions to the problems our families and neighbors face each day. I wanted to take a moment to provide a quick update on my latest work on these issues and to invite you to an upcoming virtual briefing on the steps being taken to address ferry service interruptions. Ferry Service Disruption Update
Earlier this month, Sen. Liz Lovelett, Rep. Debra Lekanoff, and I met with Gov. Inslee and Washington State Ferries to discuss the current staffing crisis contributing to significant disruptions in ferry service throughout our region. Our unified message has been, and continues to be, that we must prioritize service reliability for the residents and families who rely on our marine highway. By reducing scheduled sailings in the short-term, I believe that we can avoid having sailings canceled at the last minute – preventing our families, friends, and neighbors who have made plans, appointments, and reservations from being left in a terrible bind. We have much more work to do to alleviate this staffing crisis and to reestablish the reliability of our ferry service. As a member of the legislative Ferry Caucus, I will keep pushing for greater investments in our ferry system’s workforce, landings, and vessels. You can also read the recent statement, Sen. Lovelett, Rep. Lekanoff, and I made about the problems and potential solutions for our ferry system by clicking here. Lopez Island Visit
I recently had the chance to connect with a number of Lopez Island residents to talk about the immediate challenges they are facing with ferry service disruptions, as well as the long-term plans to improve the ferry landing on the island. Lopez has been uniquely impacted and has long periods without ferry service under the current schedule, and unlike other islands, doesn’t have reservations due to the size and configuration of the landing. I appreciated that chance to hear about the pros and cons of changes that are being considered. Upcoming Ferry Service Briefing Please join your 40th LD delegation on Zoom on Tuesday, Nov. 9, from 5:30-6:30 p.m. to learn about the steps that are being taken to address the ferry service interruptions, missed sailings, and reduced schedule. In addition to Sen. Lovelett, Rep. Lekanoff, and myself, we are excited to welcome Chair Rep. Jake Fey & Vice Chair Rep. Dan Bronoske of the House Transportation Committee, Vice Chair Rebecca Saldana of the Senate Transportation Committee, as well as special guests from Washington State Ferries and the Governor’s office. If you’d like to join us for this important update, please register by clicking here. New Gardenview Housing Village
Every Washington resident deserves to have access to safe and secure housing, no matter who they are or where they’re from. I was pleased to have Gov. Inslee and First Lady Inslee visit the City of Bellingham’s new Gardenview housing village recently to highlight important steps to find temporary homes and help get folks back on their feet. This tremendous project gives people experiencing homelessness a safe place to sleep and a chance to rebuild and transition to more permanent housing in the future. Funding for the project came together from city, county, and state sources; as project manager Tara Sundin said, “it’s taken a village to build this village.” Management of the village will be provided by nonprofit organizations Road2Home and the Low Income Housing Institute. The houses in the village were built by a private company in Ferndale and assembled largely by community volunteers organized by Road2Home. State Building Code Council Update As you may already know, I recently had the honor of becoming a new member of the Washington State Building Code Council. The Council was created to provide independent analysis and objective advice to the legislature and the Governor’s office on state building code changes necessary to promote the health, safety, and welfare of the people of Washington. I asked for this appointment because of my experience in helping implement energy efficiency improvements through the Community Energy Challenge. My first motion was to begin a public comment and rule-making period for a new construction commercial energy code including: heat pumps for space and water heat; electric outlets near gas appliances; on-site renewables; and much more. The motion passed, and so we will begin the process to develop and finalize these rules the next time the energy code is updated. I’m looking forward to this work in the months ahead and encourage you to continue sharing with me what you feel is most important when it comes to using clean/renewable energy in your home. In Service,
Rep. Alex Ramel |
