NEWS
(PORTLAND, OR)- The Pacific Northwest Region of the USDA Forest Service is hiring permanent wildland firefighters for the 2025 fire year across national forests and grasslands in Washington and Oregon. Positions include aviation officers, dispatchers, equipment operators, fire engine operators, fire management officers, fire planners, fire prevention specialists, forestry aids and technicians, handcrew members, helitack crew members, hotshot crew members, pilots, prescribed fire and fuels specialists, smokejumpers, and more. Pay plans include Wage Grade, Wage Leader, and General Schedule levels 3–13, according to a news release from the Forest Service. Job information, including duty locations, pay plans, pay levels and application (read more)
(WASHINGTON)- National Work Zone Awareness Week is an annual spring campaign held at the start of construction season to encourage safe driving through highway work zones. The goal is to raise awareness for people traveling through work zones to take extra caution to keep our crews safe, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT, honors Work zone awareness for the entire month. The National Work Zone Awareness Week is April 21-25. By raising awareness, WSDOT aims to protect workers, first responders and travelers on Washington’s roadways. In 2024, Washington state had 1,607 work zone-related (read more)
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Skagit County has announced the release of the draft update to the Critical Areas Ordinance that is being completed as part of the 2025 Comprehensive Plan update. These documents are now available for public review. The draft will be presented at the Planning Commission Meeting as a work session item on April 22, 2025 at 6:00 p.m. Planning Commission meetings are held in a hybrid format. The agenda and other materials can be found on the Planning Commission meeting achieves website. Updates to the development regulations in the Skagit County Unified Development Code will be released on Monday, April 21, 2025 and (read more)
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Glass will again be accepted for recycling at Skagit County Transfer Stations starting Friday, April 18, 2025. Glass recycling had been paused for eight months because a regional glass bottle manufacturing facility in Seattle closed, which meant there was no local manufacturer to purchase our recycled glass. A second regional glass recycler in Seattle has since found new markets out of state to sell the glass so they are now able to accept glass from Skagit County, according to a news release from the county. Glass from households is accepted by residential drop-off at all three transfer stations in (read more)
(NORTHWEST WASHINGTON)- The Northwest Clean Air Agency will provide up to $3 million in funding for two local climate mitigation and resilience projects that offer clear, tangible, positive benefits to local communities. The money comes from a 2023 settlement with Petrogas West LLC that resolved multiple air quality issues tied to the company’s Cherry Point facility in Whatcom County, according to a news release from NWCAA. The City of Bellingham will receive up to $1.7 million for a proposed community solar installation to reduce emissions and benefit vulnerable community members. It aims to generate $69,000 per year in cost savings for an (read more)