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Business & Tech

New Research Demonstrates the Urgency and Payoff if Washington Directs Resources to High-Quality Digital Skills Training Programs

Community Contributor

As students and parents in Bellevue and across Washington state welcome the new school year, they’re stocking up on pencils, notebooks, and backpacks—the supplies needed to succeed. However, the most crucial supplies for students in the modern economy may be digital skills and access to broadband.

According to the National Skills Coalition, the digital divide isn’t just about access to broadband, computers, and other hardware; it’s also about access to skills. Massive investments made through the bipartisan infrastructure law will send billions of dollars to states and localities across the U.S. over the next five years to help close the digital divide. This includes $1.2 billion, slated to flow to Washington State through the Digital Equity Act and the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program.

New research demonstrates the urgency and the payoff if Washington directs a significant portion of these resources to high-quality digital skills training programs. 92% of today’s jobs need digital skills, and demand is consistently high across industries in Washington, including information (99%); healthcare (95%); arts, entertainment, and recreation (90%); and agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting (86%). What’s more, these jobs, on average, earn 23% more money.

Even among young people entering the workforce, though, digital skills still need to be nurtured, built, and reinforced in school and at home with devices that can access the Internet. Internet Essentials tries to tackle the main issues faced by those in Bellevue and across Washington State who have access to broadband at home but haven’t adopted it yet. The program provides low-cost devices, affordable broadband, and digital inclusion services to show the relevancy of the Internet and how learning digital skills is critical to advancing in today’s economy.

Over a decade, Internet Essentials has connected 82,000 households in King County and more than 200,000 households statewide to the Internet, many for the first time. In a survey of Internet Essentials customers in Washington, 84% reported the service benefited their children’s education, like doing homework, studying, or participating in online learning. Further, 74% said it helped them manage personal finances, like paying bills, monitoring accounts, checking their credit score, or applying for loans. These success stories are a testament to the transformative power of digital skills training and broadband access.

Find out what's happening in Bellevuewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

More infrastructure is needed in rural areas of Washington. Fortunately, the federal government is investing billions nationwide to bring high-speed Internet to the 7% of households the FCC broadband maps find don’t have access to broadband. Comcast is proud to participate in this expansion effort with communities across our footprint. The urgency of the situation is clear, and time is of the essence to get everyone connected.

Through our Internet Essentials Partner Program, school districts, cities, and community-based organizations can sponsor high-speed Internet services for low-income families, particularly those with K-12 students. We’ve also opened free WiFi in 92 non-profit organizations and community centers across the state through our Lift Zones program. Some also offer Digital Navigators – trusted individuals who can educate people about the importance of getting online and provide their clients with advice and the tools to do so.

As we embark on this academic year, one thing is clear: the symphony of actions to get students online will prepare the next generation for a lifetime of digital learning — one child at a time. Comcast is committed to this cause and will continue to advocate for digital skills training and broadband access in Washington State.

Disclaimer: Andy Colley is a senior director and copywriter for Comcast NBCUniversal.

As of October 2024, the average solar panel system costs $2.62/W including installation in Bellevue, WA. For a 5 kW installation, this comes out to about $13,114 before incentives, though prices range from $11,147 to $15,081. After the federal tax credit, the average price drops by 30%.

You'll probably pay even less than what we show here. It doesn't include the federal ITC or Bellevue, WA state incentives, which will lower this price by at least a few thousand dollars.

It may seem obvious but larger solar panel systems cost more money. We use cost per watt ($/W) so you can easily compare quotes, controlling for slight variations in system size.

While a 5 kW system will only cost you $13,114 in Bellevue, WA, doubling the system size effectively doubles the price, so you'll pay about twice that for a 10 kW system. The higher the price tag, though, the more you'll get back as a credit towards your federal tax bill.

Average solar cost by system size in Bellevue, WA

If you can't shell out $13,114 in cash to pay for solar, don't sweat it. You can choose to finance your system with a loan instead. Some companies even offer $0-down loans so you can start saving on day one if your loan payments are less than your current electric bills. Just keep in mind that your long-term savings will be lower with a loan due to interest rates.

The numbers we're showing are averages. The price you'll pay for solar depends on many factors unique to you and your home:

If you're looking for solar companies in WA, here are some popular suggestions:

Solar is a major purchase, but you can get the price tag to come down a bit by being an educated shopper. Taking advantage of incentives and rebates and shopping around for quotes can bring down your cost of solar in Bellevue, WA.

As long as your federal tax bill is high enough, you can take advantage of the federal tax credit in Bellevue, WA. This incentive allows you to apply 30% of your solar installation and equipment costs toward your federal tax bill. If the amount exceeds your tax bill, you can roll over the remaining credit to the following year. Many states also offer great local incentives and rebates.

Comparing multiple solar quotes can save you money through competition and transparency. Each additional quote you receive for solar will help you find the right solar panel system at the right price.

This is where EnergySage can help. With funding from the Department of Energy’s SunShot Prize, EnergySage opened the country’s first (and now the largest) marketplace for home solar panel installations. We gather custom solar quotes from local installers on your behalf and put them in an easy-to-compare format. When you compare quotes for solar panels on the EnergySage Marketplace, you can expect to see prices up to 20% lower than if you work with a single solar company.

Budget process includes hearings and information sessions to involve community members in investment strategies

The City Council is holding a series of public hearings and information sessions about the preliminary 2025-2026 operating budget and 2025-2034 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Plan for the city. Community members can share their thoughts and learn how the city invests for the future, including where it plans to prioritize spending during the next budget cycle.

The first hearing, on July 9, allowed the council and community to review budget priorities and new financial policies. The city is holding a second public budget hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 24, and will host three interactive budget information sessions. At the sessions, community members can learn how the city budgets for its investments and ask questions about the preliminary budget and the process.

They will also get a better understanding of how the city is making strategic investments for Bellevue today and into the future with a budget that supports continued financial stability, resilience in a variety of areas, and equitable investments and policies. The proposed budget includes investments to help support small businesses, improve climate resilience, address housing and human services needs, provide neighborhood-level improvements and more.

Attendees will learn all the ways they can provide feedback to the council as councilmembers prepare to take action on the city’s biennial budget later this fall. No registration is necessary for the information sessions. Food will be provided.

Several updates were made to the budget process this year, including adoption of guiding principles related to financial strategy emphasizing stewardship, transparency, balanced risk and flexibility. Additionally, the city now has a budget equity toolkit, which tracks department diversity, equity and inclusion resourcing while assessing opportunities to grow in this area.

Learn more at Budget Public Involvement.

For alternate formats, interpreters or reasonable accommodations please phone at least 48 hours in advance 425-452-7881 (voice) or email fam@bellevuewa.gov. For complaints regarding accommodations, contact Bellevue’s ADA/Title VI administrator at 425-452-6168. If you are deaf or hard of hearing, dial 711.