Burn Ban & Majority Coalition Caucus

I'm Lacy Gray with Washington Ag Today.

According to the Washington Department of Ecology a Stage 1 burn ban has been extended until 10 a.m. Monday, Dec. 16, in Chelan, Douglas and Okanogan counties. A Stage 1 ban applies to the use of uncertified wood-burning devices, which includes wood stoves, inserts and fireplaces, unless they are a home's only adequate heat source. The ban also applies to all outdoor burning, including residential, agricultural and forest burning. To view burn bans by county visit waburnbans.net.

During a recent media conference the Washington State Senate Majority Coalition Caucus reflected on the Coalition's achievements and challenges during its first year, and noted how their approach to governing is continuing to put Washington families and employers first. Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom made these comments.

TOM: We stayed to our core principles. There's lots of things that we might disagree on, but the things that we agree on and that really matter to the citizens of Washington state are jobs, education and a sustainable budget - and we lived up to that.

As far as crafting a state transportation package Tom had this to say.

TOM: We've got 39 counties in this state and we have a lot of complicated needs, a lot of different areas. You have very rural areas, very congested suburban and urban areas and they need a very different solution. So I think having an overall, over encompassing statewide package, and then tailoring those local options to the needs of the individual localities is a smart way to go about it.

That's Washington Ag Today.

I'm Lacy Gray on the Ag Information Network.