More than half of all metro areas in the United States have a housing shortage and affordable housing is difficult to come by. Rural areas are no exception. This lack of affordable housing impacts daily life, even including those who already have a home. This is part one in a series on rural housing. The Lewiston Tribune’s Elaine Williams reports. Read More
Thirty-three states, including Washington, Idaho and Oregon, exempt clergy from laws requiring professionals such as teachers and doctors to report information about alleged child abuse to police or child welfare officials if the church deems the information privileged, an Associated Press review has found. Read More
Wet weather and varying temperatures had impacts on Washington farming in February Listen Read By Brandon Hollingsworth For Washington’s agricultural interests, February was marked by wet weather and temperature shifts.… Continue Reading Weather impacts Read More
More natural gas could be pumped through Washington State to meet demand Listen Read By Bradley Parks The Canadian company T-C Energy wants to increase the flow of natural gas… Continue Reading Company wants to expand flow of natural gas through Read More
The Washington Attorney General has banned an Illinois company from conducting COVID testing in Washington. Continue Reading Washington AG bans company from doing COVID testingRead More
Walla Walla public schools have heard from community members for several months to remove books from the district. In order to continue to respond to complaints the school district developed a new review policy Continue Reading Read More
Benton County recently published their 2021 Annual Report on Homelessness. Lack of affordable housing is listed as a major factor for the growing problem. So where do people go when they can’t afford a home or rent? Living in their cars or RVs Continue Reading Read More
Israel Arrascue’s petition for release from the Northwest Detention in Tacoma was denied last week. Continue Reading Update On Petition For Release Filed At Northwest Detention Center In TacomaRead More
Franklin County Commissioners voted to raise taxes a tenth of a percent to fund mental health and drug treatment. Continue Reading Franklin County Votes To Raise Taxes For Mental Health and Drug Treatment ProgramRead More
A new alert system could be the first step towards addressing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P) crisis in WA. Representative Debra Lekanoff announced the move last Friday during the first task force meetings in Toppenish. Read More
The United States Supreme Court continues debate on the merits of Roe v Wade and access to abortion: the matter could be sent back to each individual state. In Washington, the law was established 30 years ago. Continue Reading Reproductive Rights in Washington Read More
The Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P) Task Force held its first meetings in Toppenish. Continue Reading First Meeting of the Washington State Missing and Murdered Read More
COVID fatigue is a real problem. As with any public health measure that continues for a long time people begin to tire of new information or staying vigilant. Continue Reading Acknowledging COVID Information Fatigue As Variant Omicron Read More
As one of the top agricultural industries in the state, the Washington wine industry had to weather a significant downturn because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some are now seeing a return to profits. Continue Reading Washington Wine Industry Weathers COVIDRead More
Sixty thousand Washington kids ages five to eleven got their first COVID-19 shot as of November 15th according to the Washington State Department of Health. Nationwide about ten percent of kids age five to eleven were vaccinated as soon as approval went through for the Pfizer vaccine. Read More
As one of the top agricultural industries in the state, the Washington wine industry had to weather a significant downturn because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some are now seeing a return to profits now. NWPB’s. Continue Reading Washington Wine Industry Weathers Read More
Benton County Commissioners approved to move forward with a new sales and use tax. Continue Reading Benton County Approves Tax For Mental Health ServicesRead More
Thousands of theaters world-wide will perform the same musical revue this weekend. “All Together Now” will be performed at 2,500 theaters including some in Prosser and Richland. Continue Reading All Together Now Musical ReviewRead More
There’s an aviation museum in Pasco that holds a special connection to United Airlines Continue Reading Pasco Aviation Museum Opens For Veterans DayRead More
Funds from a proposed sales and use tax in Benton County would create a facility to provide chemical dependency and mental health services. The Benton County Commissioners are holding a public hearing next week to authorize the tax. If the tax is adopted, it would collect a point 1 percent sales and use tax. Read More
A needs assessment by the Innovia foundation and Lewis Clark Valley Healthcare Foundation found that among the many health care barriers residents face, one of the biggest is affordability. Continue Reading Lack Of Read More
Emergency authorization for the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 was given last week by the CDC. Parents of kids that age have lots of questions. Continue Reading Vaccines For Kids Ages 5 To 11Read More
School Resource Officers should be following the state’s vaccination mandate. But that isn’t the case for some officers who serve schools in Benton County. Continue Reading Contracted School Resource Officers Read More
The Washington State Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and People (MMIW/P) Task Force will have its first meetings on December 2nd and 3rd. Continue Reading WA Missing And Murdered Indigenous Women And People Meeting To Start Read More
Yakima Valley Libraries are breaking down barriers for special-needs patrons with their services. They’ll provide more access to entertainment and information resources to build a stronger community. Continue Reading Building A More Inclusive Library In YakimaRead More
Organizations in Yakima County are motivating Latinx voters to get to the polls on Elections Day. Informational sessions and events are part of the strategies. Continue Reading Yakima Nonprofit Organizations Encourage Latinos To VoteRead More
In several areas of the state, school resource officers are contracted employees from sheriff’s departments. Pierce and Benton county both supply sheriff deputies to local school districts as school resource officers. In the Kiona Benton school district, the school resource officer is sheriff deputy Brad Klippert, who is also a state representative. Read More
The Afghan resettlement has begun in Washington. The Islamic Center of the Tri-Cities is helping families to settle in the area. One of the first families here is a young couple with a two-year-old child. They traveled nearly seven thousand miles to arrive at Pasco airport. Read More
There’s a new tool to prevent pesticide exposure and illness among Latinx farmworkers. The University of Washington created the app, “Pesticide Labels, Now!’ to address language barriers on technical labels written in English. Continue Read More
Nez Perce Tribe install Tesla Megapack for soloar power at wastewater facility. Continue Reading Nez Perce Tribe Installs Tesla MegapackRead More
Washington State University's new football coach Jake Dickert began his new responsibilities Tuesday as interim head coach. That's after the school fired Nick Rolovich and four assistants for not complying with the state’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement. Read More
Washington’s eight-billion-dollar wine industry relies heavily on its workers, many of whom do not have easy access to healthcare. A non-profit winery called Vital Wines is looking to change that. Ashley Trout founded the non-profit in 2016. Continue Read More
Researchers at Washington State University are developing a new way to measure soil health that could be a game changer in agriculture. Continue Reading WSU Researchers Measure Electrical Currents To Determine Soil HealthRead More
A literature review from Washington State University of 296 studies shows that access to nature can significantly benefit children’s health, especially for kids in marginalized communities. Continue Reading Nature Can Significantly Benefit Children’s Read More
A new exhibit at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of art at Washington State University is shining a light on racial injustice and the Black Lives Matter movement with the works of 20 artists from around Washington. Continue Reading Read More
Good news for parents of kids that are between five and eleven. Dr. Person, the Health Officer for Benton Franklin Health Department believes by the middle of November kids should be able to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Continue Reading Read More
A geological survey in Idaho could pave the way for future mining of cobalt, which is considered a critical mineral for defense and electronics. The survey is funded through a partnership with The Idaho Geological Survey, U.S. Geological survey, and funds from the Idaho Cobalt Company, New Jersey Mining Company and Idaho’s Revival Gold Incorporated Read More
Washington State University head football coach Nick Rolovich was terminated Monday after he failed to comply with Governor Jay Inslee's vaccine mandate. Continue Reading WSU Fires Head Football Coach Nick Rolovich For Failing To Read More
Franklin County started the hearings for redrawing electoral district boundaries, and the Latino population wants more information available in Spanish. The redistricting committee began public hearings on Tuesday in Pasco. In the middle of litigation regarding the violation of the Washington Voting Rights Act 2018, the committee is working on the electoral district maps Read More
WSU researchers unlock key to elk hoof disease mystery. Continue Reading Unlocking An Elk Hoof Disease MysteryRead More
The Tri Cities area will see 40 Afgham refugees resettled there. What are organziations are doing to assist them? Continue Reading Helping Afghan Refugees In The Tri CitiesRead More
ICB Survey of the area East of the Salmon River where cobalt is being sought. Courtesy of IGS. BY RACHEL SUN Work to provide information on cobalt deposits in Idaho’s… Continue Reading Geological Survey Explores Idaho’s Salmon Region For Read More
Black Lives Matter artist grant exhibit at the Schnitzer Museum at WSU. Continue Reading Washington Artists Explore Hopes, Fears, In Black Lives Matter ExhibitRead More
KUOW special on Malden Washington's recovery after devastating fire. Continue Reading A Wildfire Burned 85% Of This Washington Town – This Is Their Recovery StoryRead More
Past as Prologue essay about gendered epithets in Pacific Northwest politics and beyond. Continue Reading Past As Prologue: Gendered Epithets In Pacific Northwest Politics And BeyondRead More
When Vancouver hosted a modern expo in 1986, it joined the Northwest’s other major cities, Portland (1905), Seattle (1909, 1962) and Spokane (1974) as exposition hosts. In the years since Expo ’86, Vancouver’s has also gained important symbolism as the last expo hosted in North America. It was a kind of golden moment. Read More
This year in north-central Washington has echoes of 2015, when the complex of fires across Okanogan County burned tens of thousands of acres on the reservation, closer to Omak, and shut down Highway 155 across the reservation for long stretches. What was true then is very possible now: The fires took out a lot of timber that the tribes harvest and use for revenue. Read More
More manatees have died already this year than in any other year in Florida's recorded history, primarily from starvation due to the loss of seagrass beds, state officials said. Continue Reading Florida Breaks Annual Manatee Death Record In Read More
Starting in mid-2022, people in Washington will be able to dial 988 instead of 911 to access different types of services in a mental health crisis. Continue Reading Washington’s New Suicide Prevention Program Read More
“Wildfire is presenting an imminent threat to life, property, and the environment, and we need all hands on deck,” Gov. Brad Little said in a statement. “I appreciate our firefighters and fire managers for working so hard under such challenging conditions, and I am grateful that our guardsmen are able to step in once again to support Idaho communities.” Read More