Updated standard is required for all affordable housing projects seeking state capital funding OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington State Department of Commerce today released Version 4.0 of the Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard (ESDS). Compliance with the updated ESDS will be required of all affordable housing projects applying for funds from the state Housing Trust Fund in 2021. Projects that received awards from other funders in 2020, but were not fully…
Author Archives: Penny Thomas
Unique public-private partnership funds capital grants that will create more options for people to get multiple levels of crisis stabilization care locally in communities throughout the state OLYMPIA, WA — The Washington State Department of Commerce today announced $2.24 million in capital grants to three behavioral health care providers across the state. Funding is provided through an innovative partnership with Premera Blue Cross – the first of its kind in…
ScaleUp: The Rebuild Edition adds three new session dates targeted to established small businesses looking to grow in wake of COVID OLYMPIA, WA – ScaleUp: The Rebuild Edition, a partnership between the Washington State Department of Commerce and Thurston Economic Development Council, has scheduled three new tracks for small businesses interested in achieving significant growth in the wake of COVID. The online courses are once a week for eight weeks.…
Over the last year, Washington state has provided small businesses throughout the state with more than $125 million in grants to address the economic outfall of COVID-19. This effort continues with a new round of grant opportunities being managed by the Washington State Department of Commerce. The state Legislature approved $240 million for this latest round, making it our largest so far. Working Washington Grants Round 4 offers grant relief funds…
Shalisa Hayes is a mother with a mission. In August 2011, she experienced the deepest pain a mother could feel — the loss of her young son who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Billy Ray Shirley III was 17 years old. He was shot and killed leaving a party in Tacoma, WA. For Hayes, this wasn’t her first brush with gun violence. She had lost her…
Last week, I joined Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Hilary Franz, Congressman Dan Newhouse, Reps. Tom Dent and Judy Warnick and several other local leaders in Moses Lake for a demonstration of the Global Supertanker. Once a commercial aircraft, it’s now the world’s largest firefighting airtanker. Our state is hoping to make a home for it at Moses Lake where it can not only be readily deployed to combat increasingly…
Commerce now has in-country representation in 10 countries helping our state’s small businesses grow through exporting and international business partnerships The math speaks for itself. Export opportunities are a winning opportunity for Washington businesses. Jobs: At least one in four jobs in Washington state is connected to exports. The state’s economy is more closely aligned with international trade than any other state. Markets: More than 80% of the world’s purchasing…
It seems so long ago and yet just like yesterday when countries around the world began initiating shutdowns in response to a deadly virus we knew almost nothing about. Companies shifted millions of employees to telework. Schools closed. Offices and storefronts were shuttered. In-person events were canceled. For a while we wondered if these changes would be temporary. They were not. One year later, in this historic economic downturn, we’re…
Partnership adds a dozen new organizations statewide providing outreach and technical assistance in nearly 40 languages to small business owners affected by COVID-19 OLYMPIA, Wash. – The needs of small business owners trying to recover from the pandemic are vast and varied. While many business owners have connections and resources that help them tap into government and philanthropic aid programs, significant barriers exist that prevent many others from accessing those…
Commerce now has in-country representation in 10 countries helping our state’s small businesses grow through exporting and international business partnerships The math speaks for itself. Export opportunities are a winning opportunity for Washington businesses. · Jobs: At least one in four jobs in Washington state is connected to exports. The state’s economy is more closely aligned with international trade than any other state. · Markets: More than 80% of the…