Senate Bill 5395, passed by the legislature and Washington voters in 2020, requires all public schools to provide comprehensive sexual health education by the 2022-23 school year. Instruction must be age-appropriate, medically and scientifically accurate, and inclusive of all students, using language and strategies that recognize all members of protected classes. Implementation requirements vary by grade. See OSPI’s website for additional information about the law’s requirements. The curricula must include…
Find Ventures and Department of Commerce open applications for new Equitable Innovations Accelerator
Groundbreaking new program seeks to fund tech start-up founders from underserved communities SEATTLE, WA — Find Ventures, a Washington state-based nonprofit whose mission is to fund entrepreneurs, in partnership with the Washington State Department of Commerce, today launched a new Equitable innovations Accelerator to fuel the start-up community at the earliest stage of business development. This program aims to make “entrepreneurship for all” a reality by prioritizing entrepreneurs from underserved…
Instead of tweaking individual cells in your data set, make adjustments to a whole table, row or column. Which spreadsheet would you prefer to work with? à Table 1: Before Formatting Fun …
No dataset is perfect, but good data helps improve the good work already being done to help people experiencing homelessness across Washington. Data is important, and there is a report for that. It is the Data Quality Report (DQR). What is the DQR? The DQR reviews data quality for many HMIS data elements and helps us understand how our programs and projects are doing with data quality. For an overview…
The power of data filters is that they can help you find information quickly and increase efficiency. Hours of slowly scrolling a large dataset for a certain piece of information can be replaced by a few clicks. What is a Filter? A filter finds and displays all cell values that match a certain criterion. The data in your spreadsheet can be filtered by text, number or color. How to turn…
Over 200 businesses and non-profits affected by COVID-related border restrictions to receive Working Washington Border Business Relief grants OLYMPIA, WA – Continuing its efforts to provide financial assistance to businesses and nonprofits severely affected by the pandemic, the Washington State Department of Commerce today announced $2.6 million in Border Business Relief grants to 206 businesses and nonprofits in 10 counties that rely on an open border for customers, tourism and…
Funding for housing action plans and transit-oriented development helps communities address years of underbuilding that left middle and lower-income residents priced out of housing as state’s population boomed. A 2020 report tagged Washington state with one of the 10 worst housing shortages in the nation, underbuilding by over a quarter of a million homes over the prior 15 years. Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies documented the nationwide housing shortage and…
Yakima’s Jessica Camacho to lead statewide Small Business Resiliency Network; Karlena Brailey and Norma Chavez take on community engagement posts in the Olympic Peninsula and south central regions. OLYMPIA, WA — Three recent hires by the Washington State Department of Commerce significantly increase the agency’s Community Engagement and Outreach team dedicated to promoting equity and opportunity for rural and underserved communities, small businesses and organizations. Jessica Camacho of Yakima will…
Leading professionals to conduct online sessions to spur new business starts and inspire entrepreneurship statewide OLYMPIA, WA — As Washington state turns the corner on the pandemic, record numbers of entrepreneurs are starting their own businesses. Compared to 2020, new business starts are up 19.8% statewide, increasing from 55,539 through October last year to 69,301 new businesses this year. (US Census Bureau Business Formations Dashboard). With that in mind, the…
Multifamily residential buildings such as apartment and condominium buildings are not subject to new standard OLYMPIA, WA – The Washington State Department of Commerce mailed notification letters last week to owners of large commercial buildings who might need to comply with Washington’s new Clean Buildings Performance Standard. The standard applies to certain commercial buildings larger than 50,000 gross square feet, excluding the parking garage area. The notifications are a first…