Legislature considering Governor's transportation revenue package

2012 Legislative Session

The Washington State Legislature is considering Governor Christine Gregoire's proposed transportation revenue package during the early stages of the 2012 Legislative Session.

The bill numbers for the revenue components of the package are HB 2660 in the House and SB 6455 in the Senate. There are associated policy bills being considered by the House and Senate Transportation Committees, as well.

Connecting Washington

The current package is one outcome of the Governor's Connecting Washington Task Force effort. The Governor "...charged the Connecting Washington Task Force with reviewing statewide transportation needs, recommending the most promising investment options and revenue sources to address top priorities." The group was comprised of locally elected officials, members of State Legislative Transportation Committees, tribal members, organized labor, and trade associations and businesses.

The results of the effort are presented in a final report dated January 6, 2012.

Jefferson and Other Counties

If adopted, the package could have the following impacts on Jefferson County and other counties.

MV Chetzemoka gets ship christening

On Sunday, November 14, the MV Chetzemoka, the newest vessel in the fleet of Washington State Ferries, received its ship's christenting, a 4,000-year old tradition. 

The Chetzemoka is the first replacement ferry for the Port Townsend - Coupeville route.  The vessel is named after S'Klallam Indian Chief Chetzemoka (1808-1888).

Click "Read more..." below for more info and a picture of the new on-board bike racks.

Gov. Gregoire congratulates Port Townsend students for submitting winning vessel class name

Gov. Chris Gregoire visited Blue Heron Middle School in Port Townsend on Thursday, April 22, 2010 to congratulate students for naming the new Washington State Ferries (WSF) vessel class. WSF conducted a contest to name the new classification of 64-car ferries with fourth-grade students from Chimacum, Port Townsend and Whidbey Island.

Blue Heron student Rose Dunlap submitted the winning entry, Kwa-di Tabil (pronounced kwah DEE tah-bayle), which translated from the Quileute dialect means “Little Boat.” The first Kwa-di Tabil Class ferry, Chetzemoka, is scheduled to begin service in late summer 2010. WSF is building two more Kwa-di Tabil Class ferries, which will begin service in 2011 and 2012. Click here to see photos of the event and construction progress.