By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
There’s been no explanation in the weeks since Matt Jones stepped down as director of Washington’s Department of Enterprise Services for his departure. This week, his temporary replacement, Cami Feek, took over at the helm of the agency charged with managing state facilities, with more than 900 employees, a $280 million operating budget, and a $1.2 billion capital program.
Feek’s career in state government goes back 30 years. She’s been the commissioner of the Employment Security Department since 2021. She’ll be in the interim job until Jones’ permanent replacement is hired.
“I am planning to come back to ESD,” Feek said in a recent interview with the Standard. “I will pour my heart into DES while I’m there, and I will come home.”
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Cami Feek, commissioner of Washington's Employment Security Department, is temporarily leading the Department of Enterprise Services. (Photo courtesy of the Employment Security Department)
By Jerry Cornfield
Feek couldn’t speak to why Jones abruptly took personal leave and then quit his role atop the Department of Enterprise Services. Nor is she intimately familiar with details underlying the exits of several top-level agency administrators in Jones’ tenure. She hopes to bring calm and revive enthusiasm with a style built on transparency and shared vision in a time of tumult for employees. And she’s focused on the department’s future, not dwelling on its past.
(Photo by Stephen Ausmus/U.S. Department of Agriculture)
By Aspen Ford
State officials confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer after two people passing through Vancouver spotted the insect on their windshield in early August. The emerald ash borer, a metallic green beetle that feeds on wood, has never been successfully eradicated, according to the state’s Department of Agriculture. The insect has wiped out more than 100 million ash trees in the United States since its initial detection 20 years ago.
By Aaron Hedge, Range
The Spokane County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a four-month pause on new permits for data centers. This despite one of the commissioners calling data center critics “anti-American.” The four-month moratorium can be extended and is intended to give commissioners time to develop zoning regulations for them.
By Levi Sumagaysay, CalMatters
Lawyers for insurance giant State Farm in California litigation cited “cases that do not exist, quotes that do not exist, and holdings that do not exist,” according to an opposing attorney. The legal industry is increasingly turning to AI: 41% of law firms and 47% of corporate legal departments said they are using generative AI, according to a recent survey.
ICYMI
Cost to battle 20 wildfires in WA has topped $200M | by Aspen Ford
Ferguson, Baumgartner seek meeting with Trump on wildfires | by Jake Goldstein-Street
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