Inslee promotes Climate Commitment Act while touring Wenatchee

WENATCHEE – Gov. Jay Inslee toured Wenatchee to visit different facilities linked to the state, and the Diamond Foundry on Thursday.

“It has been extremely promising, the things that are going on here are so positive,” Inslee said in an interview with the Wenatchee World.

Inslee’s first stop was at the Department of Licensing to thank the local state employees for their service.

He then went to a celebration of the opening of the Wenatchee Valley Reentry Center where more than 100 people attended.

The re-entry program gives people leaving Washington prison systems an opportunity to find a job and start going to outpatient treatment programs, while still under heavy supervision.

It is the 13th residential re-entry center in the state.

“We went to the re-entry program inauguration, this is the first one in 20 years in the state of Washington and it’s part of our crime-fighting effort to try and keep people who come out of prison to make sure they don’t go back in,” Inslee said.

He and his team then toured the Diamond Foundry, a diamond manufacturer on Hawley Street. Media was not invited to the tour.

“We went to the Diamond Foundry and saw this super impressive company which is not only making jewelry, but they have a process that can make cars more energy efficient by managing the thermal properties of their inverters and enormous potential,” Inslee said. “They already got about 100 employees and they can grow dramatically and we would like them to grow here.”

Inslee said he had discussions with the company on how the state can help with training new technicians to increase employment.

He then got a first-hand look at the Chelan-Douglas Community Action Council and a few of their projects that the state helps fund.

Inslee toured the action council’s new food distribution center, the former C & O Nursery at 1700 N. Wenatchee Ave.

Then he went to the home of Wenatchee resident, Kay “Kendall” MacIntyre, who’s home had environmental improvements through the action council’s weatherization and home health program.

“We’re here today to see an example of the kind of things we’re doing with the Climate Commitment Act, to generate over a billion of dollars to try to fight pollution, and it helps people like Kay here insulate their homes so they don’t have to pay so much,” Inslee said. “She’s at a 75% reduction of her energy costs and so to see the success of that kind of program is what we’re doing with our Climate Commitment Act.”

Among other improvements, the action council replaced her front and back doors, installed energy-efficient windows, installed new fans throughout her home and added new flooring.

“It was nice to meet him face-to-face,” MacIntyre said. “He came to see what they did to the house.”

MacIntyre told the governor after the home was improved she gave her neighbors contact information from the action council.

“So there’s just a lot of positive things going on in Wenatchee,” Inslee said. “The state is involved in almost all of them.”