Local News in Washington
100 articles · Page 2 of 5
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Washington Legislature not ready to set sail with ship exhaust crackdown
This article was first published by Salish Current. An international bid to reduce air pollution from ocean-going ships may be increasing water pollution in the Salish Sea. But a proposal to untangle this paradox went aground this winter for the second year in a row in the Washington Legislature. Policymakers are zeroing in on the fuels […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Washington courts rarely discipline guardians ad litem accused of misconduct in custody cases
This article was first published by InvestigateWest. Stephanie Maya thought the facts were on her side in the custody case for her 3-year-old son. She’d recently escaped an abusive relationship with her ex-boyfriend, the father of her son. He had been arrested for physically assaulting and strangling her, an experience that Maya says happened repeatedly […]
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Feds launch probe into Washington program to redress housing discrimination
Washington’s program offering no-interest home loans to residents harmed by historical discrimination has landed in the Trump administration’s crosshairs. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Tuesday it was investigating the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, which runs the Covenant Homeownership Program. The state Legislature created the program in 2023 to address generations […]
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Trump EPA to ease restrictions on summer ethanol-blend sales as gas prices soar
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will allow gas stations to sell a blended fuel containing 15% ethanol into the summer season in an effort to lower gas prices, Administrator Lee Zeldin said Wednesday. The blend, known as E15, is usually barred in many Midwest states over the summer to reduce smog, though the federal government […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
State savings weaken as budget pressures increase, analysis warns
State rainy day funds — money reserved to cover unexpected expenses and patch short-term budget holes — are declining nationally as states face increased costs, lower tax revenue and federal budget cuts, a new analysis found. The decline follows a period of strong reserves bolstered by federal pandemic aid and higher-than-expected tax collections, the report […]
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NBA vote clears way for expansion to Seattle
After nearly a generation of heartache, the NBA is on the precipice of returning to Seattle. The league’s Board of Governors on Wednesday voted to formally explore expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas, kicking off a process that could bring a team back for the 2028-29 season. “For two decades, Washingtonians have mourned the loss […]
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Gas prices rise again as some states consider tax holidays
Gas prices are climbing again across the United States — with little clarity on where prices are headed next — spurring proposals for state gas tax holidays in the hopes of offering drivers some relief. The national average hit $3.96 per gallon Monday, up from $3.72 the week before, according to the U.S. Energy Information […]
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TSA officers working without pay demand progress from Congress on funding talks
Transportation Security Administration officers are struggling to afford basic necessities as they approach their second missed full paycheck since a funding lapse began last month, union leaders said at a virtual press conference Tuesday. Officials from the American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 44,000 TSA officers nationwide, urged Congress to immediately find […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Ferguson signs law to undo WA estate tax increase enacted last year
Washington will soon end its reign as the state with the nation’s highest estate tax. Gov. Bob Ferguson signed legislation Tuesday to erase an increase in estate tax rates that he and Democratic lawmakers pushed through last year to help overcome a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall. The tax is paid when people die, and their property […]
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Lawmakers spar over Homeland Security funding deal as shutdown strains airport security
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Tuesday were waiting to hear back from Democrats after they sent them a new offer to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which has been shut down since mid-February. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the proposal would fund many of the agencies within DHS, including the Federal […]
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Mullin pledges to ‘protect everybody’ as he takes over Department of Homeland Security
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hailed his new Homeland Security head, former U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, as “strong, professional and fair” during an Oval Office swearing-in ceremony Tuesday. Mullin, who until Monday was one of Oklahoma’s Republican senators, takes the reins at the Department of Homeland Security amid a weekslong partial shutdown in the aftermath […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Amazon and Walmart fined for selling banned refrigerant in WA
Retail giants Amazon and Walmart are collectively facing over a million dollars in environmental fines from Washington state’s Department of Ecology for selling coolant products that contain potent greenhouse gases. In 2021, the state Legislature passed a law restricting the sale of products containing hydrofluorocarbons, synthetic gases that can trap up to thousands of times […]
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Trump administration will pay $1B to block 2 offshore wind farms
The U.S. government will pay a French energy firm nearly $1 billion to cancel its plans to build a pair of wind farms off the East Coast, the Trump administration announced Monday in its latest move to stymie offshore wind. The French firm TotalEnergies will forfeit its leases for projects off the coasts of New […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Medicaid cuts could add pressure to already-stressed psychiatric units
Federal Medicaid cuts could exact a heavy toll on psychiatric units at hospitals across the country, many of which are already struggling to keep their doors open but provide essential mental health care to people who need it. Psychiatric units are costly and, like labor and delivery services, typically lose money for hospitals and tend […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
US Senate confirms Mullin as next Homeland Security boss
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, which is responsible for carrying out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. The 54-45 vote means that Mullin, a Republican senator from Oklahoma, will take over the department in the midst of a five-week shutdown. He will replace outgoing […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Rounding out debate, Ferguson signs bill addressing retailers’ penny problem
A new Washington state law offers a way to make change in an era without pennies. The federal government stopped making pennies last year but intends to keep the roughly 114 billion pennies in existence in circulation for as long as possible. Plenty of retailers aren’t stocking pennies in their tills already. It’s forced states […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Airport chaos: TSA agents skip work, security lines expand, Trump sends in ICE to assist
Airport security workers missed work Monday at the highest rate since a partial government shutdown began in mid-February, the Department of Homeland Security said, and the Trump administration sent immigration officials to some airports in an attempt to keep lines moving. Travelers reported hourslong security lines at major airports in Atlanta and Houston, while waits […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
New WA law nixes mortgage lender tax break to boost wildfire funding
At the close of last year’s Washington state legislative session, a key bucket of wildfire prevention funding was slashed nearly in half by lawmakers attempting to offset a budget deficit. If it wasn’t restored this year, the Department of Natural Resources was prepared to cut staff and eliminate grants for communities facing wildfires. Rep. Shaun […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Supreme Court skeptical of allowing states to count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day
The U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on Monday appeared skeptical of the validity of mail-in ballots that arrive after Election Day, in a case that could potentially affect hundreds of thousands of voters during the upcoming midterm elections. The high court heard arguments on whether federal law overrides a Mississippi law that requires mail-in ballots […]
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US Supreme Court to hear case to decide where migrants can apply for asylum
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Tuesday in a case to determine if a migrant on Mexico’s side of a border crossing with the United States can legally apply for asylum when arriving at a U.S. port of entry. The case, which stems from a policy during President Donald Trump’s first term […]
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