skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, January 23, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump targets DEI and civil service protections, striking fear in some federal workers; WA bill would expand automatic voter registration; IA farmers on board with corn-based jet fuel; New wildfire near Los Angeles explodes to 8,000 acres, forces evacuations; ND back on familiar ground in debating ballot-question threshold.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump's pardons of January 6th participants spark mixed reactions, federal DEI suspensions raise equity concerns, diversity in medicine faces challenges post-affirmative action and Citizens United continues to amplify big money in politics.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Winter blues? Alaskans cure theirs at the Cordova Iceworm Festival, Trump's energy plans will impact rural folks, legislation in Virginia aims to ensure rural communities get adequate EV charging stations, and a retreat for BIPOC women earns rave reviews.

$90 million in federal infrastructure funding headed to WA

play audio
Play

Wednesday, July 3, 2024   

Washington state is receiving nearly $90 million in federal infrastructure funding, from the Biden Administration. The funds were distributed by the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE program and will boost eight projects in Washington.

One recipient is the Kitsap County Public Transportation Authority, which is using the grant money to upgrade its transportation hub and clean up its bus fleet.

John Clauso, executive director of Kitsap Transit, said they're constructing a full-service maintenance facility, and not only to work on their diesel buses.

"Also, we're in the transition phase of converting all of our buses to battery electric buses, as well as we're exploring and wanting to move into the hydrogen fuel cell technology," he said.

The project is receiving $17 million from the RAISE program. It will help Kitsap Transit in its goals of a fully electrified fleet by 2050.

Clauson said the grant is also helping with the purchase of electric double decker buses, which are needed for the increasing demand Kitsap Transit is seeing. He said the funds from the RAISE program are critically important to moving this project forward.

"The facility that we've put in for fueling and the bus-washing - that is all designed for a double deck coach that we have no where to maintain one. So, we've held off on the acquisition of double deck buses simply because we don't have a facility that we could maintain those buses in," he said.

The RAISE program is distributing funds from the infrastructure law passed in 2021. The eight Washington state projects were part of a larger announcement from the U.S. Transportation Department about its distribution of $1.8 billion in funds to nearly 150 projects across the country.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
The CAvsHate telephone hotline connects people with culturally-competent services in 200 languages. (CA Civil Rights Dept.)

Social Issues

play sound

State data show that hate-crime reports almost doubled between 2019 and 2023 - so the Civil Rights Division is promoting its new CA vs Hate hotline…


Environment

play sound

Some Wisconsin farmers are now able to see the environmental effects from their sustainable farming practices through a new conservation program that …

Social Issues

play sound

In Mississippi's capital, once dubbed "America's Deadliest City," a new initiative in Jackson seeks to turn the tide on violence through …


AARP Community Challenge Grants can range from several hundred dollars for small, short-term activities to tens of thousands for larger projects. (Robert Cowie)

Social Issues

play sound

Sometimes small changes can have a big impact. For the Southern Oregon town of Chiloquin, a park that used to be a parking lot is creating space for …

Social Issues

play sound

A bill in Olympia would further expand Washington state's automatic voter registration process. Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, introduced Senate …

Social Issues

play sound

The North Dakota Legislature isn't done trying to reshape approval requirements for future ballot questions that cover constitutional amendments…

Social Issues

play sound

Nurses in Minnesota and other parts of the country are calling attention to an issue felt by many parts of society - the growing influence of artifici…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021