Local News in Washington
348 articles · Page 16 of 18
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Face mask ban for police in Washington is signed into law
SEATTLE — Law enforcement officers in Washington state can no longer cover their faces to conceal their identities. The law, signed Thursday by Gov. Bob Ferguson, seeks to unmask federal immigration agents detaining people under President Donald Trump. But Senate Bill 5855 also applies equally to state and local police. It takes effect immediately. Ferguson […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead Homeland Security advances to US Senate floor
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Thursday voted to move forward Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to lead the Department of Homeland Security. After the 8-7 vote, Mullin’s nomination will head to the Senate floor. Thursday’s vote comes a day after Mullin, a Republican, appeared before the committee in a […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
New law seeks to help clear up Washington’s DUI testing backlog
Thousands of cases have piled up in Washington as they await state testing to confirm if a driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Prosecutors say this is leaving people on the road despite potentially having driven impaired, while authorities await results. To relieve pressure on the Washington State Patrol’s toxicology lab, a […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Transparency battles are getting more difficult in WA
Protecting the people’s right to know in Washington state is a constant battle that is getting even harder. That’s a tough message to deliver, especially during Sunshine Week. Sunshine Week runs March 15-21 this year. It’s meant to educate, recommit and celebrate the fight for openness in government, believing it is the best way to ensure accountability […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Washington state clarifies what is an ‘election’
A new state law aims to erase any confusion about Washington’s ban on voting more than once in an election. Its approval follows a court decision that officials warned could incite voter fraud. Longstanding Washington law makes it illegal for a person to cast more than one ballot in any election in the state, or […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Trump’s tariffs were ruled illegal. Where’s the refund of $166 billion — plus interest?
WASHINGTON — Arizona coffee roaster Gabe Hagen is wondering if he’ll ever recoup the tens of thousands of dollars he paid in tariffs to import beans from the world’s major coffee-growing regions in South America, Africa and the Indo-Pacific. Weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs as illegal, Hagen […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA students attending private universities to see state financial aid cut
This fall, students in Washington who attend private universities and receive state financial aid will see their tuition awards reduced by nearly a third. Though a bill to prevent this garnered bipartisan support and made headway in both chambers of the state Legislature, it ultimately did not get a House floor vote before this year’s […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
US Senate Republicans launch debate on SAVE Act requiring photo ID to vote
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans pressed forward Tuesday with a bill that would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot, despite long odds the legislation will ever become law amid bipartisan opposition. The 51-48 vote to formally begin debate on the measure, which GOP lawmakers have […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Elections officials decry costs heaped on states in SAVE America voting bill
The voting overhaul measure that the U.S. Senate began debating Tuesday would cause major headaches for underfunded state and local election officials, without meaningfully stopping fraud, according to a collection of voting rights advocates and elections officers. The so-called SAVE America Act, which President Donald Trump is relentlessly pushing, would create chaos for state and […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA and Oregon scale back I-5 bridge ambitions as cost balloons to $14.4B
The price tag for a new Interstate 5 bridge across the Columbia River, linking Washington and Oregon, has doubled to $14.4 billion and the timeline to get it built has slipped again. Elements of the massive undertaking will be delayed as the focus, and all available dollars, will be directed at building the new bridge […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA’s Joe Kent leaving Trump administration over war in Iran
Joe Kent, the former congressional candidate from southwest Washington, is leaving his post as the Trump administration’s top counterterrorism official, saying he opposes the war in Iran. “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote on social media early Tuesday. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Woe Canada! WA State Ferries enters 7th season without cross-border service
In her two years as the Anacortes Town Crier, Julie Nester has proclaimed and oyez, oyez, oyez’d at the community’s Christmas tree lighting, the Fourth of July parade and sister cities golf tournament. But one plum assignment is still missing from her town crier resume: the annual Anacortes to Sidney, British Columbia ferry route reopening […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Doctors warn of a deadly complication from measles outbreaks
The first sign came when Deepanwita Dasgupta was 5 and started stumbling more while playing at her home in Bangalore in southern India. The girl was always up to something, so her parents figured extra bumps and bruises were just symptoms of an active childhood. Maybe, they thought, it was ill-fitting shoes. Relatives described the […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA is close to letting Rivian and Lucid sell directly to customers at showrooms
Rivian and Lucid could soon be able to sell cars from a showroom in the same way Tesla has done for more than a decade. Late-arriving legislation that sped through the process would open the door wider for consumers to purchase an electric vehicle directly from its manufacturer. Senate Bill 6354 received bipartisan support en […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Idaho committee rejects bill to repeal childhood vaccine requirements
An Idaho House committee on Friday rejected a bill meant to repeal vaccine requirements, but which critics said could have restricted access to medical care. House Bill 808 proposed expanding on Idaho law passed last year that banned businesses, schools and governments from requiring people get medical treatment, diagnosis or vaccines. Last year’s law drew […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Spokane area rides an economic upswing
SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane is having a moment. The generally sleepy economy of the state’s second-largest city is getting a shakeup, thanks to surging employment and incomes. The U.S. Senate got into the action in January, approving up to $70 million in federal funds to boost the aerospace industry here. This money would go to […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Washington law will make it easier for state to distribute its abortion pill stockpile
Washington earlier this year had to return 30,000 expiring doses from its abortion pill stockpile to the manufacturer. A state law signed Saturday seeks to ensure remaining pills the state has on hand are easier to access and use. Before Senate Bill 5917, the state needed to sell its mifepristone pills for at least the […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Winners, losers and takeaways from WA’s legislative session
The curtain fell Thursday night on the Washington Legislature’s 60-day session. A lot happened before it did. Passage of Democrats’ income tax on millionaire earners was the big storyline. It followed House debate on the bill that was one of the longest in the state’s legislative history. Here are some highlights, plus who came out ahead […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Alaska legislators have few firm facts as they consider a proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline
In a speech to the Alaska Legislature this week, Alaska Rep. Nick Begich III urged state lawmakers to boost the development of a proposed trans-Alaska natural gas pipeline. “The federal path is largely cleared, but investors also need state level clarity, fiscal predictability and simplicity,” Begich said. “Scrutinize it carefully, model it thoroughly. But my […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA sheriffs urge partial veto of bill setting new standards for their jobs
Washington sheriffs are pushing Gov. Bob Ferguson to veto parts of a controversial bill that would set new standards for them and could lead to removal from office. In a letter this week, four sheriffs pointed to sections of Senate Bill 5974 they want excised when the Democratic governor takes action. They say the legislation […]
State News – Washington
