Some parents with kids in crisis in Washington are making a heart wrenching decision. They’re sending their children to out-of-state therapeutic boarding schools. And taxpayers are picking up the tab. While these are outlier cases, they highlight ongoing gaps in in-state services — gaps that were laid bare during the COVID pandemic. Read More
There are more questions than answers in the case of a missing former foster child from Grays Harbor County. Five-year-old Oakley Carlson has been unaccounted for since February of last year. Police say her parents aren’t cooperating with the investigation. Oakley’s former foster mom questions why Oakley was sent back to live with her parents after more than two years in Read More
Three large opioid distributors will pay the state of Washington $476 million as part of an agreement to end litigation that began more than three years ago. Continue Reading Washington Attorney General Announces $476M Settlement Read More
A Sumner, Washington seafood company that makes imitation crab and other products has been fined $56,000 in connection with a 2021 COVID outbreak that left one employee dead. Continue Reading Washington Seafood Company Fined Following COVID DeathRead More
In recent years, Washington’s Legislature has grown more diverse. And majority Democrats have emphasized diversity and equity as core values. But now three members of color, out of nearly 30, are stepping down from the Legislature after serving just one full term. One of them describes the legislative work environment as toxic. Read More
Washington’s long-time elected insurance commissioner has used offensive terms in the workplace to describe people of different races and ethnicities, as well as people who are transgender. That’s according to former agency insiders who’ve come forward in recent weeks. Meanwhile, other former employees are giving new accounts of what they say is Commissioner Mike Read More
Matthew, a 14-year-old who is autistic and nonverbal, watches YouTube and holds a fidget device. After being removed from his group home last September, Matthew was stuck in a hospital in Everett for more than five months while the state of Washington and advocates looked for appropriate placement options for him. He eventually ended up… Read More
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson takes capital gains tax appeal straight to the state Supreme Court OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Listen Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports on the Washington State AG’s appeal of a decision to stop a new proposed capital gains tax / Runtime: 50 seconds Read The legal battle over Washington’s capital… Read More
Gov. Inslee signs new gun laws, including one that limits high capacity gun magazines Listen: Austin Jenkins reports on reaction to Gov. Inslee signing three gun-related bills into law / Runtime – 1:52 READ Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed into law three gun-related bills, including one that will prohibit the sale of gun… Read More
The WA Legislature adjourns its 60 day session Listen: Capitol Correspondent Austin Jenkins wraps up the legislative session / Runtime: 4 minutes Austin Jenkins/NW News NetworkExcept for a few visitors and lobbyists, the rotunda of the Washington state Capitol was quiet on the last day of the 2022 session. For the second year in a… Read More
Washington’s Democratic-majority legislature approves 2-year budget plan with new spending and less tax cuts Read Listen: Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports on the budget deal. (Runtime: 59 seconds) Majority Democrats in the Washington House and Senate on Wednesday have struck a deal on an update to the state’s two-year budget. The agreement comes with Read More
Many bills are dying in the final days of the WA legislative session Listen Read This is the final week of Washington’s legislative session. But already a number of proposals have met their demise – especially following a key cut-off deadline on Friday. A big topic of conversation this year was emergency powers reform. Current… Read More
Hundreds gathered Saturday at the Washington State Capitol to protest COVID mandates. Photo Credit: AP Listen Read Washington’s mask mandate will lift next Saturday. But that didn’t stop hundreds of people from rallying at the state Capitol Saturday in opposition to COVID-related restrictions. There was music, and a small convoy of honking big rigs. But… Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee, pictured in this file photo, signed two measures that “fix” issues in the state’s police reform laws Listen Read Washington Governor Jay Inslee has signed into law two so called “fixes” to last year’s sweeping police reform measures. One makes clear that police can use 50 caliber or greater less-than-lethal rounds. The… Read More
Mike Kreidler, Washington’s longtime insurance commissioner, is facing allegations that he verbally mistreats staff. Current and former employees say it’s part of a pattern that’s gotten worse in recent months and is contributing to high turnover in the office. Kreidler says he has high standards for his staff, but said he will work to be more careful in how he deals with Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee on May 4, 2021, signed into law a new capital gains tax. Listen Read Washington’s attorney general says he will appeal after a judge in Douglas County tossed out the state’s new capital gains tax. In his ruling, Judge Brian Huber said the capital gains tax on the sale of such things… Read More
Washington State’s mask mandate will end early CREDIT: Noam Galai/Getty Images Read With COVID cases and hospitalizations dropping fast, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Monday that the state’s indoor mask mandate will lift on Saturday, March 12, 10 days earlier than previously announced. Oregon and California were also expected to adopt the March 12 Read More
In an act of labor solidarity, scores of Democratic staffers in the Washington Legislature staged a “sick-out” Wednesday after a bill that would have allowed them to unionize failed to advance before a key cutoff deadline. Continue Read More
Gov. Inslee has announced Washington's indoor mask mandate will end on March 21,with a few exceptions Continue Reading Washington mask mandate to end March 21Read More
In an act of labor solidarity, scores of Democratic staffers in the Washington Legislature staged a “sick-out” Wednesday after a bill that would have allowed them to unionize failed to advance before a key cutoff deadline. Continue Read More
A measure backed by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee that would have made it a crime for elected officials and candidates for office to incite lawlessness by making false statements about elections appears to have died in the state Legislature. Continue Read More
As states from Oregon to New York announce plans to end mask mandates, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday announced that he’s lifting outdoor masking requirements and plans to announce next week a date when the face-covering rules for public indoor spaces and schools will be lifted. Read More
As the 2022 midterm elections loom, a partisan battle over access to the ballot box continues to be fought in Congress and in state legislatures across the country. Red states are passing new restrictions, while many blue states are making voting more accessible. That includes Washington. Read More
Washington’s COVID-19 state of emergency is approaching its two-year anniversary. Under current law, the governor has broad emergency powers. But the Legislature is considering new restrictions on that authority. Continue Read More
The Washington State Patrol permanently stripped its staff psychologist of his power to approve or reject trooper candidates, a role that for nearly 30 years shaped the agency’s ranks. Continue Reading Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday signed into law a bill that delays the start of a controversial long-term care benefit program known as WA Cares for 18 months. A second measure signed by Inslee will allow certain workers to opt out of the first-in-the-nation program. Read More
A proposal in the Washington Legislature would make it a crime to use or sell a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. The sponsor says he wants to deter people from even considering the ruse, but he also wants to send a signal to prosecutors to prioritize these cases as a matter of protecting public health. Read More
Following widespread criticisms and voter pushback, the Washington state House on Wednesday voted to delay the collection of a new payroll tax to fund a state-run, long-term care insurance program called WA Cares. Continue Reading Washington Read More
Following the lead of Oregon and other states, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that he will deploy 100 members of the National Guard to assist hospitals struggling to respond to a spike in COVID-19 patients due to the highly-contagious omicron variant. Read More
Guns and other weapons would be banned from election-related locations and at school board meetings in Washington under a pair of proposals that received a public hearing in the Democratically-controlled state Legislature on Wednesday. Read More
A year ago, a chain link fence, National Guard members and scores of state troopers surrounded the Capitol in an unprecedented show of defensive force. The temporary bulwark and troop deployment was a response to the January 6 pro-Trump mob attack on the U.S. Capitol, a major security breach that same day at the governor’s residence in Olympia and threats by far-right Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee says the state is racing to expand access to testing, masks and vaccines, but has no immediate plans to impose new rollbacks, mandates or restrictions in the face of an unprecedented wave of new COVID-19 cases driven by the omicron variant. Read More
So much for the best laid plans for Washington’s 2022 legislative session. The highly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 has upended what was supposed to be a mostly in-person start to the 60-day session, at least in the House of Representatives. Read More
For the second time, Washington lawmakers are suing Gov. Jay Inslee over his use of the veto pen. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court, the Legislature asserts Inslee exceeded his veto power earlier this year when he line-item vetoed parts of the state transportation budget and eliminated a subsection of a low carbon fuels bill. Read More
Longtime Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a Whatcom County Republican, has died following a COVID-19 diagnosis while traveling in El Salvador last month. Continue Reading Washington State Senator Doug Ericksen Dead At 52; Follows Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Democratic leaders in the Legislature announced Friday a delay in the collection of a payroll tax to pay for a new long-term care insurance benefit for workers. Continue Reading Inslee Orders Delay In Read More
It's a growing problem in Washington: kids with developmental disabilities and complex behaviors who are stuck in the hospital with no reason for being there. Usually, they end up in the hospital after a crisis or an incident. But once the child is medically cleared to leave, their parents or their group home won't come get them citing inadequate supports to manage the Read More
Mysterious bruises. An unreported burn. Two vulnerable clients left alone overnight. These are just some of the complaints that families are leveling against Aacres WA — a troubled residential care provider that gets tens of millions of dollars a year from the state to care for people with developmental disabilities. Now state officials say they’re investigating. Read More
In a surprise order Friday morning, the Washington Supreme Court declined to take on the job of drafting new congressional and legislative maps. Instead, the court declared that the state's Redistricting Commission had finished its work on time last month. Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday that he would support a delay in the implementation of a new payroll tax to fund a first-in-the-nation long-term care benefit program called WA Cares. Continue Reading Inslee Read More
For months, minority Republicans in the Washington Legislature have called for limits on the governor’s emergency powers. But now even some Democrats are expressing concerns about the open-endedness of the COVID-19 state of emergency and the limited role of state lawmakers. Read More
Washington has nine independently elected statewide officeholders. All but one of those elected officials has required their employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The holdout was the lone Republican. Continue Reading A Read More
For the third time this month, Deschutes Parkway, which curves past Capitol Lake along the edge of Washington’s Capitol Campus, has been closed due to a violent crime. Continue Reading Third Violent Incident Closes Parkway On Washington’s Read More
Potential candidates to replace Washington Secretary of State Kim Wyman are already stepping forward after Wyman, a Republican, announced she will resign next month to take an election security position with the Biden administration. Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, will appoint Wyman's replacement. That could spell the end of a nearly six decades Republican lock on the Read More
Washington’s prison population has dropped to levels not seen in nearly a generation. COVID is a major factor, but what’s not clear is whether the downward trend is here to stay. Continue Reading Washington’s Prison Population Plummets During COVID Read More
Roughly nine in 10 employees of the state of Washington are now vaccinated against COVID-19. Gov. Jay Inslee considers that a huge success and a win for public health. But his vaccine mandate has also led to the departure of hundreds of state employees. Now there are questions about the implications for some state services. Read More
Ninety two percent of Washington state employees are vaccinated against COVID-19. Continue Reading Vaccine Rate Is 92% For WA State EmployeesRead More
The Washington State Patrol says it’s lost 127 employees as a result of Governor Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. That’s about six percent of the workforce. And it includes more than 70 troopers and other sworn members of the agency. Read More
Washington Governor Jay Inslee’s vaccine mandate has survived an 11th hour court challenge. On Monday, Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy denied a motion for an injunction to block the mandate from taking effect. Continue Reading Read More