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How the Washington state voter guide became a 110-year democratic tradition
Starting next week, many Washington counties will send out voter guides for the state’s Aug. 6 primary. The sometimes 100-plus-page pamphlets are the pride and joy of many Washington election officials, providing free information on candidates, ballot measures and election resources directly to voters’ mailboxes. Though what’s in the booklet, how much it costs and […]
Strain of rent on wages in WA is among highest in U.S., report finds
Most workers in Washington are spending too much of their income on rent, according to a new report. The report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition found that Washington has the fifth highest “housing wage” in the country. That’s the amount a person must make to afford a two-bedroom home without spending more than […]
Vote nears on ending ‘endangered’ status for WA wolves
The Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission will decide next month on lowering gray wolves’ status under the state’s endangered species law. Environmentalists and others say this would lead to inadequate protection for the animals when they still haven’t recovered in parts of the state. State Department of Fish and Wildlife officials and others contend […]
Democrats have control in Washington. They don’t want to lose it.
BELLEVUE – Democrats know they’ve been winning in Washington. They hold all statewide elected offices. They have a near supermajority in the Legislature. And there’s been a Democratic governor since the 1980s. But to the hundreds of delegates who gathered at their party convention on Saturday, there is more work to do in the Evergreen […]
Judge blocks parts of WA’s new parental rights law
Most of the parental “bill of rights” the Legislature approved earlier this year can remain in effect, for now, but pieces related to when parents can access medical and mental health records can’t go forward, a judge ruled Friday. King County Superior Court Judge Michael Scott granted a request to temporarily block parts of the […]
Opposition heats up over proposed wood pellet mill in western Washington
Environmental groups and residents are pushing back against a wood pellet production facility proposed on the south end of the Olympic Peninsula, the second plant of its kind approved in southwest Washington. Conservation groups are challenging an air quality permit for the proposed wood pellet mill, arguing the approval is based on faulty data and […]
Five takeaways from the first WA attorney general debate
Washington’s three candidates for attorney general talked Trump, public safety and consumer protection during a debate Tuesday night. The League of Women Voters of Washington and Benton and Franklin counties hosted a forum in Richland between former U.S. Attorney Nick Brown, state Sen. Manka Dhingra and Pasco Mayor Pete Serrano. All are vying to run […]
WA voters want more child care investments, new poll finds
Washington voters want more money invested in child care and support more taxes on wealthy people and businesses to pay for it. And, in a poll released Thursday, 87% of those surveyed said child care and early education will be priorities for them when casting ballots this November. A coalition comprised of Children’s Campaign Fund […]
Local governments want say in crafting Washington’s new wildfire protection rules
The last time the state Building Code Council crafted rules for protecting homes from the threat of wildfire, city and county officials criticized them as confusing, expensive and overreaching. Those rules are gone. As the state looks at drawing new wildfire risk maps and implementing new codes, local governments want more say in hopes of […]
Inslee affirms WA’s position that hospitals must provide emergency abortion services
Washington medical providers must continue to perform emergency abortion services for patients, Gov. Jay Inslee emphasized on Tuesday. As the country awaits a U.S. Supreme Court ruling over how a federal law governing emergency medical treatment affects abortion in states with bans and other strict limits on the procedure, Inslee issued a directive to the […]
WSU receives grant to study bird flu, other diseases in livestock
Washington State University will get $1.5 million to study respiratory diseases in livestock, like bird flu, in the Pacific Northwest and their potential spread to humans. Since 2021, the newest avian influenza strain –- H5N1 – has infected poultry across the world, but its spread to wild birds, other mammals and now dairy cows worries […]
Judge rejects attempt to keep budget effects of November initiatives off ballots
Information about how a trio of ballot measures would affect Washington’s budget can be printed on ballots this November, a judge ruled Friday. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Allyson Zipp denied a request from Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh and Mainstream Republicans of Washington Chair Deanna Martinez to keep the “public investment impact disclosures” for […]