DURKEE, Ore. — Bert Siddoway heard the fire before he saw it, no seconds at all between the flash of lightning and the boom of thunder. The strike “shook the whole flipping town,” he said, and immediately ignited a wildfire in a hard-to-reach spot in the hills above the community where he is both a […]

Let’s Go Washington was fined $20,000 on Wednesday for failing to report spending by companies hired to gather signatures for its six statewide initiatives and for slow-walking delivery of documents to investigators. The state Public Disclosure Commission assessed the civil penalty in a written ruling issued one week after a lengthy hearing and nearly 15 […]

A University of Washington professor received the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work designing new proteins, the building blocks of life.  David Baker, professor of biochemistry at the University of Washington School of Medicine and director of the school’s Institute for Protein Design, received the prize for computational protein design, along with Demis Hassabis […]

Planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution could dramatically drop in the West if a dozen electrical energy transmission projects currently proposed or being built are completed in the next five years, a new report found. It said that the 12 projects – adding 3,000 miles of new energy transmission across 14 states – could reduce carbon dioxide […]

The candidates vying to represent Washington in the U.S. Senate went head-to-head on Tuesday at a debate in Spokane, sparring over affordability, immigration, foreign affairs and fentanyl.  Democratic incumbent Maria Cantwell and Republican Raul Garcia, a Yakima emergency room doctor, met at the Myrtle Woldson Performing Arts Center at Gonzaga University for a debate hosted […]

An Oklahoma City man has been charged with planning an Election Day terrorist attack, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday. Authorities allege that Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, and an unnamed juvenile obtained AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition and conspired to provide support to ISIS to conduct an attack, according to a press release. Authorities […]

Washington women were more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer despite receiving fewer mammograms than the national average in recent years, according to a new report from the American Cancer Society.  About 137 women per 100,000 Washington residents were diagnosed with breast cancer between 2017 and 2021, the ninth-highest rate in the nation.  But […]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices Tuesday grappled with whether the Biden administration exceeded its authority when it set regulations for kits that can be assembled into untraceable firearms, and a majority of justices seemed somewhat skeptical the rule was an overreach. In Garland v. VanDerStok, the nine justices are tasked with determining whether a rule […]

Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican Joe Kent’s contrasting personalities and policies came into sharper focus during a debate Monday as a new poll showed their race to represent southwest Washington in Congress in a dead heat. In a televised debate, the two candidates clashed on immigration, the war in Ukraine, and a […]

PORTLAND, Ore. — The pitch intrigued nearly everyone who encountered a petition gatherer seeking signatures in Oregon: Would you like a $750 annual rebate from the state, for each member of your household? Paid for “by making giant corporations pay their fair share”? Voters signed on to the concept in droves, catapulting the initiative commonly […]

State officials and contractors will begin using a copper-based chemical in the Snake River near Twin Falls on Tuesday in an effort to kill off invasive quagga mussels that were detected again last month. For 10 days Idaho State Department of Agriculture officials and contractors will use the chemical called Natrix downriver of Hansen Bridge […]

Many voters are willing to accept misinformation from political leaders – even when they know it’s factually inaccurate. According to our research, voters often recognize when their parties’ claims are not based on objective evidence. Yet they still respond positively, if they believe these inaccurate statements evoke a deeper, more important “truth.” Our team conducted […]

Starting next month, eligible families across Washington will gain access to new state support to help cover child care costs. The expanded assistance will be available under a state law approved earlier this year and will be open to families enrolled in subsidized state child care programs for children under 3 and to staff at […]

Among the many ballot questions American voters will consider next month, housing experts are paying close attention to California and a question known as Proposition 33 — a proposed repeal of the state’s restrictions on local rent control. If passed, the measure would give authority back to local governments to enact or change laws on […]

In Washington, there have been inaugural balls at the state’s Capitol pretty much every four years since statehood.  But the pandemic derailed the event in 2021 and the organizing committee has pulled out of the one scheduled for 2025, leaving the quadrennial tradition’s future uncertain.  It was back in January 1957, 11 men and women […]

Sherrie Tinoco has never been more frightened about the future of her work helping survivors of domestic violence than she is right now.  That’s because the main funding source for victim services in Washington is projected to be cut in half before the end of next year. It’s called the Victims of Crime Act State […]

This article was first published by the Yakima Herald-Republic. Sometimes, it’s good to focus on the positives. Yes, we’ve had two consecutive drought years — the first time that’s happened in 30 years. Yes, estimated losses for growers during a prorated water year like this one can be between 18.1% and 30.4%, according to the Washington State […]

A month before voters cast their ballots, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing a strong labor market with growing wages, a lower unemployment rate, and the addition of 254,000 jobs to the economy. Eighty-one percent of registered voters say the economy is key to their vote for president this fall, according to a September Pew […]

If you feel like everyone around you has been lacking manners lately, Gonzaga University has a new certificate that might help.  It’s called the Etiquette Consulting Certificate, and it’s the first of its kind offered by a university in Washington state. The two-day training is meant to give people the knowledge needed to start a […]

Six low-intensity earthquakes rumbled beneath Mount Adams during September, according to the U.S. Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory.  That’s an unusual amount of seismic activity at the 12,276-foot volcano in southwest Washington, marking the most earthquakes at the mountain in a month since monitoring began there in 1982. Even so, officials say there’s no imminent […]