Local News in Washington
104 articles · Page 5 of 6
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Bike and walking trails lose hundreds of millions under Trump
Cities and states are filing lawsuits and scrambling for alternative sources of money as the Trump administration seeks to shut off the federal funding spigot for biking and walking trails. Since the early 1990s, there has been fairly consistent — and largely bipartisan — federal support for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Federal funding for such […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Income tax bill heads to WA governor for signature
Democratic state senators in Washington pushed a state income tax across the legislative finish line Wednesday after Republicans’ last-ditch attempt to derail it failed. On a 27-21 vote, Democrats approved Senate Bill 6346, clearing the way for it to go to Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, who is eagerly waiting to sign it. Passage didn’t occur […]
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Businesses can’t require microchip implants for workers under new WA law
Injected under the skin, usually between the thumb and index finger, microchip implants can serve as identification or make contactless payments smoother. But Washington workers don’t need to worry about their employers forcing them to get “chipped”. Under House Bill 2303, signed Wednesday, companies can’t ask or require that. The peculiar practice hasn’t been reported […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Democrats settle on plan for patching up WA’s strained budget
Democrats in the Washington Legislature released a budget deal Wednesday balanced with one-time maneuvers, siphoning of rainy day reserves and slashing of child care funding. “There will be a lot of people who are disappointed by this budget. We knew that,” Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, said Wednesday […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Long security lines start popping up at airports as TSA officers go without pay
Passengers at a handful of airports this week waited in hours-long security lines as the government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security dragged on. Though Transportation Security Administration officers are required by law to work during a lapse in funding, more than usual have been absent after receiving only a partial paycheck during the […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
29 states and DC now reject federal vaccine guidance
Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now reject at least some federal vaccine guidance as the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to de-emphasize the importance of childhood vaccinations under U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., according to research by KFF, a nonprofit health policy organization based in […]
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New targeted tax in WA aims to keep coal power plant shut down
Tax legislation Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Wednesday targets the last coal-fired power plant in the Pacific Northwest. But if the coal tax and a related climate pollution fee work as the Legislature intended, the state treasury will never collect a dime under the new law. That is because the idled Centralia, Washington, generating plant […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
After marathon debate, WA House advances income tax
It took over 24 hours of grinding floor debate, but Democrats in the Washington House approved an income tax Tuesday on households earning over $1 million a year. The state is now closer to enacting a tax on wages than it has been in nearly a century. For the bill to become law, it must […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Democrats sue Trump administration for information on possible plans for troops at polls
WASHINGTON — The Democratic National Committee Tuesday filed a lawsuit in federal court aiming to force the Trump administration to admit if it plans to send armed federal law enforcement or U.S. troops to polling locations in the upcoming midterm elections. The suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia charges that 11 […]
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Republican in WA House draws GOP challenger
An incumbent Washington Republican state lawmaker is facing an intraparty challenge from an associate pastor of a Wenatchee church who’s raised close to $300,000. Adam James, who helped establish Grace City Church, launched a campaign this month to unseat state Rep. Mike Steele of Chelan in the 12th Legislative District that encompasses communities on both […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Kalshi and Polymarket are skirting laws on sports betting, states say
Online prediction markets allow users to put money on the outcome of almost anything — this weekend’s NBA game between the Warriors and the Thunder, the next supreme leader of Iran, whether the government will confirm the existence of aliens. But those markets have no state oversight and operate even in states that ban gambling. […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
First grants awarded under WA’s new $100M police hiring program
The first two grants from Washington’s new $100 million effort to boost law enforcement hiring have been awarded to local police departments, after months of frustration over the program’s rollout. The Kent Police Department plans to use over $1.9 million in state funding to hire 20 new entry-level officers, according to the state Criminal Justice […]
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Nannies, housekeepers and other domestic workers to gain state protections in WA
New protections for domestic workers in Washington will take effect next year under a bill Gov. Bob Ferguson signed Monday. Before the bill signing, close to 100 people gathered on the north steps of the state Capitol to celebrate the passage of the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Sponsored by Rep. Brianna Thomas, D-West Seattle, House […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Investment companies block access to tens of thousands of acres in Wahkiakum, Pacific counties
ELOCHOMAN RIVER VALLEY — Investment companies have whittled away the land hunters can use in Wahkiakum and Pacific counties. Access to tens of thousands of acres of locally treasured, longtime hunting grounds is now blocked because a new generation of private landowners won’t offer access. The landowners are often investment companies, not based in the region […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Republicans target public lands protections in a new way
Over the past year, GOP leaders and the Trump administration have used a law known as the Congressional Review Act to push for coal mining in Montana, oil drilling in Alaska and copper mining in Minnesota, while also attempting to reverse protections for a national monument in Utah. The rarely used act gives Congress a […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Seattle litigator appointed to Washington Supreme Court
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Monday appointed Seattle litigator Theo Angelis to the state Supreme Court to replace outgoing Justice Barbara Madsen. Angelis, 53, comes to the high court from law firm K&L Gates, where he worked with Ferguson more than 20 years ago, before the governor sought public office. The two teamed up on […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Judge blocks Portland ICE facility agents from using tear gas leaking into nearby apartments
A federal judge on Friday barred federal agents outside Portland’s waterfront Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility from using tear gas and chemical munitions in a manner that could seep into a nearby affordable housing complex unless there is an “imminent threat to life.” Residents and Reach Community Development, which operates the apartment complex Gray’s Landing, […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Fee on health insurers to fund abortion services debated in WA Legislature
Insurers in Washington could soon need to foot the bill for additional abortion funding. A proposal under consideration in the state Legislature would require health carriers with insurance plans offered on the Washington Health Benefit Exchange to pay a tax. Senate Bill 6182 would impose an assessment of $0.82 per month of coverage for each […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
Data center tax break close to getting zapped by WA Legislature
Tax breaks for data center operators could soon be stripped from Washington state law. On Saturday, the House Finance Committee voted 8 to 6 to approve Senate Bill 6231. The bill next awaits a House floor vote. As it stands, data center operators in most Washington counties do not pay the 6.5% sales tax on […]
State News – Washington - LocalWA
WA Senate’s Democratic majority leader draws challenger from the left
Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, who has served in the Legislature for two decades, faces the prospect of a fellow Democrat challenging him in this year’s election. Hannah Sabio-Howell, a progressive activist who previously worked as a state Senate staffer, intends to formally announce her candidacy Monday in Seattle’s 43rd District. She outlined her plan […]
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