You’ll read about this in our Monday edition, but now you can say you heard it here first.

Former North Kitsap Commissioner Chris Endresen has left U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell’s office to join the Puget Sound Regional Council. Friday was her first day as director of economic development for the agency, which oversees transportation, growth management and economic development in Kitsap, King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

“This is a great opportunity for me to work regionally with a diverse group of people,” Endresen said. “I absolutely love the organization and its mission.”

Endresen served as Kitsap County commissioner from January, 1997 until June, 2007, when, part-way through her third term, she announced that she was to head up Cantwell’s Washington State office.

During her term on the county’s board of commissioners, Endresen served on PSRC’s executive board and transportation policy board. The state of the economy puts the Puget Sound region at a pivotal point, she said.
“The challenges of economic development in the state present really great opportunities for us as a region and statewide,” Endresen said.

I stand corrected. If you read the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal, you heard it there first. Chris Henry, reporter