(RICK BANNAN/Centralia Chronicle)

Recognizing signs and realizing impacts are faced by everyone important aspects of resilience during pandemic, experts say…

Gov. Jay Inslee took time to address mental health impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic as well as other crises in the state, such as the wildfires this month, saying “it’s normal to feel abnormal” as the disease continues to affect daily life.

Inslee hosted a press conference with experts Sept. 17 where he addressed common struggles with mental health faced during crisis events. He acknowledged that apart from COVID-19, the recent wildfires that have burned roughly 620,000 acres of the state could have led to increased impacts.

Inslee said it was important to recognize the need for help with mental health, referencing information from the state Department of Health that said upwards of three million Washingtonians would likely experience “clinically significant behavioral health symptoms” during the current situation.

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(STAFF REPORTS/Centralia Chronicle)

During a press conference Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee addressed most recent data on the COVID-19 pandemic, saying the prior day Washington had surpassed 2,000 deaths of those with COVID-19, with more than 80,000 confirmed cases of the disease in the state.

Inslee mentioned he had a “productive” meeting in Pullman with Washington State University communities last week to discuss ways to avoid a spike in COVID-19 like the college town saw where the governor said some 800 cases were confirmed following the return of students to campus.

Inslee said there would be continuing discussions statewide in other college towns to address ways to avoid similar spikes in cases as students return, including enforcement action.

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(RICK BANNAN/Centralia Chronicle)

Gov. Jay Inslee addresses the media on Tuesday, Sept. 15.

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(RICK BANNAN/For the Centralia Chronicle)

Gov. Jay Inslee speaks to the media while touring the sites of large fires this week. (Governor’s Office)

More than 600,000  acres have burned in five days of fires…

The current wildfires burning across Washington state are indicative of an ongoing climate crisis, Gov. Jay Inslee said Friday.

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(PRESS RELEASE/Washington DNR)

Ongoing fires and critical fire danger lead to extension through Thursday, September 17…

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is extending the closure of all of the lands it manages east of the Cascades to recreation due to high fire danger through Thursday, September 17. DNR staff will evaluate the possibility of extending the closure, originally enacted Tuesday, as the next week progresses.

Critical wildfire danger and ongoing fires in the area warranted the extension of the closure, as Labor Day saw a rash of new fires ignite all around the state, with one destroying the town of Malden, and another leading to the death of a 1-year-old.

“Closing recreation to the public is a difficult decision, and one we do not take lightly, but the risk to public safety and our firefighters is too great to take chances with,” said Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, the elected official who oversees DNR. “Hundreds of thousands of acres of land have burned since Monday, and our resources are fully deployed. But we cannot risk having more human-caused fires right now.

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(PRESS RELEASE/Washington Attorney General Office) 

Ferguson asserts JUUL committed tens of thousands of violations of the Consumer Protection Act…

Attorney General Bob Ferguson today filed a consumer protection lawsuit against e-cigarette company JUUL. Ferguson’s lawsuit, filed in King County Superior Court, asserts JUUL violated the state Consumer Protection Act by designing and marketing its products to appeal to underage consumers and deceiving consumers about the addictiveness of its product. JUUL’s unlawful conduct fueled a pervasive and staggering rise in e-cigarette use and nicotine addiction among youth.

In addition, Ferguson’s lawsuit asserts that JUUL failed to meet Washington’s tobacco vapor product licensing requirements. From August 2016 until April 2018, every sale of a JUUL device in Washington was unlawful.

“JUUL put profits before people,” Ferguson said. “Pushing unfair and deceptive marketing strategies appealing to youth, the company fueled a staggering rise in vaping among teens. JUUL’s conduct reversed decades of progress fighting nicotine addiction, and they must be held accountable.” More

(RICK BANNAN/Centralia Chronicle)

During a media briefing Sept. 2, Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman said potential vaccines for COVID-19 are still in clinical trials…

State health officials are preparing for the completion of development for a COVID-19 vaccine, though the state’s health department head wants to make sure any vaccine going to distribution is thoroughly tested before the public can receive their coronavirus shots.

During a media briefing Sept. 2, Washington State Secretary of Health John Wiesman said potential vaccines for COVID-19 are still in clinical trials to evaluate their safety and effectiveness. Wiesman said it is the Washington Department of Health’s belief that vaccines go through the broader third phase of trials before they are available to the public, unless an independent board of scientists said trials should be stopped.

While potential vaccines are tried, Wiesman said the state has already begun building an infrastructure for distribution of vaccines at the state level. As to what that infrastructure looks like, he explained it involved everything from ordering, receiving, administering and tracking when vaccines are administered. More

(PRESS RELEASE/Washington Secretary of State)

In coordination with Washington’s 39 county election officials, the Office of the Secretary of State Wednesday issued an emergency rule change that requires county officials to use First Class mail when sending ballot packets to voters beginning at least 15 days before Election Day.

“Closer to Election Day, many counties throughout Washington already switch over to First Class mail to ensure voters receive materials with enough time to cast their ballots,” said Secretary of State Kim Wyman. “This will provide more consistency statewide, and give voters some peace of mind heading into the Nov. 3 General Election.” More

(PRESS RELEASE/SECRETARY OF STATE)

Today the Office of the Secretary of State certified Washington’s Aug. 4 Primary Election, in which more than 2.51 million people — or 54.44% of all registered voters in Washington — cast their ballots. The turnout rate is the highest on record for a Primary since 1964 when over 840,000 people voted, representing a 56.06% turnout.

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