Government
Husband of Gov. Gregoire has colon cancer surgery
OLYMPIA -- The husband of Gov. Chris Gregoire is recovering from surgery to remove recently discovered cancer in his colon.
Date: 05/30/2012 | Northwest
Judge rules tax initiative violates constitution
SEATTLE -- A voter-approved initiative that requires a two-thirds majority of the Legislature to raise taxes or close tax loopholes violates the state constitution, a judge ruled Wednesday.
Date: 05/30/2012 | Northwest
Sen. Haugen schedules 4 town halls
Haugen to hold Q&A sessionsState Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, will answer questions on the state budget, transportation, same-sex marriage and other issues at four town hall meetings this week.
Date: 05/30/2012 | Local News
Obama calls Romney; congratulates him on GOP nod
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama called Mitt Romney to congratulate him on winning the Republican nomination on Wednesday, just as the Democrat's campaign opened a new critique of Romney by focusing attention on his economic record as governor of Massachusetts.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Nation & World
Woman injured during I-5 chase sues county, deputies
EVERETT -- Three Snohomish County sheriff's deputies are being sued by an Everett woman whose arm was nearly ripped off in 2010 when a felon trying to outrun the deputies crashed into her van on I-5.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Local News
Workforce Development names 5 board members
Workforce Development names 5 new board members
Date: 05/29/2012 | Bizblog
Man accused of threatening governor called ‘delusional’
EVERETT -- An Everett man accused of sending threatening emails to Gov. Chris Gregoire earlier this month might have mental health issues, according to the Washington State Patrol.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Local News
GOP's top budget writer in state Senate resigns
OLYMPIA -- The top Republican budget writer in the state Senate is resigning his seat this week.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Northwest
Judge denies injunction in health care lawsuit
SEATTLE -- A King County judge has denied a motion to force Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna to alter his filings with the U.S. Supreme Court on the multistate lawsuit seeking to overturn the federal health care law.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Northwest
GOP Sen. Zarelli to quit Thursday
Republican state Sen. Joseph Zarelli of Ridgefield, who announced two weeks ago he would not seek re-election, has decided to leave office Thursday and not serve out the final six months of his...
Date: 05/29/2012 | The Petri Dish
Date set for governor's aerospace summit
The date has been announced for Gov. Chris Gregoire's last aerospace summit.The governor's seventh annual state aerospace summit will be held Sept. 12 and 13 in Spokane.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Aerospace Blog
2 years, no verdict on Paine Field passenger flights
EVERETT -- Allegiant Air and Horizon Air wrote letters to Snohomish County in 2008, asking to fly passenger jets from Paine Field.
Date: 05/29/2012 | Local News
'America will be there for you,' Obama tells veterans
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama paid tribute Monday to the men and women who have died defending America, and pointed out Vietnam veterans as a sometimes-maligned group of war heroes who remained true to their nation despite an unwelcome homecoming.
Date: 05/28/2012 | Nation & World
Private stores to start selling liquor on Friday
OLYMPIA -- Easy access to booze nearly all hours every day is what many Washington lawmakers wanted to avoid when Prohibition ended in 1933.
Date: 05/28/2012 | Local News
New hero, fresh heartbreak
An Army widow shares memories of her late husband
Date: 05/28/2012 | Business
Edmonds artist remembers fallen soldiers with sketches
For the past eight years, Edmonds artist Michael Reagan has been sketching free portraits of U.S. service members who have lost their lives in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the wars against terrorism.
Date: 05/28/2012 | Local News
2 female Army officers sue to reverse combat ban
RICHMOND, Va. -- Two women in the Army Reserve have sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the Army in a bid to reverse military policies banning women from serving in combat roles.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Nation & World
Kan. Gov. Brownback signs measure blocking Islamic law
TOPEKA, Kan. -- Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed a law aimed at keeping the state's courts or government agencies from basing decisions on Islamic or other foreign legal codes, and a national Muslim group's spokesman said Friday that a court challenge is likely.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Nation & World
Friends in high places
Influential voices line up for Green Mountain lookout
Date: 05/25/2012 | Local News
Extent of fire damage to Navy submarine not yet clear
KITTERY, Maine -- Those who have spent time on Navy submarines will tell you that few combustible materials are aboard. But don't tell that to the firefighters who rushed to the USS Miami when a blaze swept through the billion-dollar nuclear-powered submarine.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Nation & World
Raid admiral's toughest fight: Winning Washington over
TAMPA, Fla. -- The commander in charge of the raid to kill Osama bin Laden is defending his proposal that would give him more authority to send special operations forces overseas to address problems like terrorists or sudden Arab Spring-style unrest.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Nation & World
Aide to Aaron Reardon critical of State Patrol probe
EVERETT -- An aide to embattled Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon wrote all the way to the governor's office early this year to complain about the Washington State Patrol's investigation of his boss.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Local News
Nimitz likely headed to San Francisco
EVERETT -- The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz left Naval Station Everett on Thursday, with sailors in dress uniforms ceremonially "lining the rails" of the deck as the ship was pushed out into Port Gardner.
Date: 05/25/2012 | Local News
On the Record: a selection of government data
Road tripsGovernment travel spending.Who: Grady Persons, paramedic, city of EverettDestination: LeavenworthPurpose: Paramedic lecture series.Dates: March 16-18, 2012Cost: $568 for registration and lodging
Date: 05/25/2012 | Need to Know
Senate acts to extend flood insurance program
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Thursday voted to extend the life of the National Flood Insurance Program for 60 days, giving lawmakers time to work on a long-term extension that would seek to restore fiscal solvency to the debt-ridden plan.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
Obama seeks repeat of Iowa 2008 magic
DES MOINES, Iowa -- President Barack Obama delivered his harshest rebuttal yet to rival Mitt Romney on Thursday, dismissing his challenger's claims as "a cowpie of distortions" while seeking to rekindle the all-but-faded Iowa magic that launched him in 2008. Escalating his criticism of Romney's...
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
Gov. Christie: N.J. will start sports betting on its own
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. -- New Jersey will defy a federal ban and let people bet on the outcomes of football, basketball and other games this fall, Gov. Chris Christie said Thursday.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
AWOL Muslim soldier guilty in Fort Hood bomb plot
WACO, Texas -- A federal jury on Thursday convicted a Muslim soldier on six charges in connection with a failed plot to blow up a Texas restaurant full of Fort Hood troops, his religious mission to get “justice” for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
Obama taps Yucca Mountain critic to lead nuclear agency
WASHINGTON -- Moving quickly to stem a controversy, President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated an expert on nuclear waste to lead the federal agency that regulates the nation's nuclear power plants.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Nation & World
McKenna faces 2 ethics complaints over county work
SEATTLE -- A lawyer and a citizen have each filed ethics complaints against Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna.
Date: 05/24/2012 | Northwest
1st black to graduate from Naval Academy dies
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Retired Lt. Cmdr. Wesley Brown, the first African-American to graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy, has died, the Academy said. He was 85.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
2 county exec hires have ties to friend, legislator
EVERETT -- If you want to work for Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, knowing state Sen. Steve Hobbs might give you a leg up.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Local News
Fire reported on nuke-powered sub at Maine yard
KITTERY, Maine -- A fire on a nuclear-powered submarine at a Maine shipyard has injured four people.Fire crews responded Wednesday to the USS Miami SSN 755 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, located on an island in the small town of Kittery near Portsmouth, N.H.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
Obama team trumpets new polling on gay marriage
WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's re-election campaign is beginning to express some confidence that the president's historic, yet politically risky, embrace of gay marriage may not hurt him in the November election.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
Pakistan convicts doctor who helped find bin Laden
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- A doctor who helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden was convicted Wednesday of conspiring against the state and sentenced to 33 years in prison, adding new strains to an already deeply troubled relationship between the U.S. and Pakistan.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
Investigation launched into veterans charity
HELENA, Mont. -- U.S. Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said Wednesday that the legislative finance committee that he chairs is launching an investigation into a charity it suspects may be exploiting veterans.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
CIA, Pentagon, too close to filmmakers, lawmaker contends
WASHINGTON -- A House committee chairman charged Wednesday that the CIA and Defense Department jeopardized national security by cooperating too closely with filmmakers producing a movie on the raid that killed Osama bin Laden.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
U.S. appeals court clarifies piracy definition
RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday on the legal definition of piracy, saying an armed attack on a U.S. vessel can be considered piracy even if no one ever boards or robs the ship.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Nation & World
Speaking up for tribal women
Tulalip leader lobbies for protection for women
Date: 05/23/2012 | Local News
Senate panel OKs $2.50 hike of airline security fee
WASHINGTON -- A Democratic-controlled Senate panel has approved a $2.50 increase in airline security fees that would double the per-passenger fee for those taking nonstop flights.
Date: 05/23/2012 | Business
State to stagger closure of liquor stores next week
The Washington State Liquor Control Board has announced a phased closure schedule for state liquor stores as we near the June 1 start of private liquor sales. With...
Date: 05/22/2012 | Bizblog
Front Porch: Learn personal protection tips
Personal safety 101Learn the best practices for protecting yourself, your property and your family at the Mountlake Terrace Police Department's seminar, "Home Defense and Firearm Safety," from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Mountlake Terrace Library, 23308 58th Ave. W.
Date: 05/21/2012 | Local News
Ruling sought on split of military benefits in divorce
A disabled veteran has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider anew whether states violate federal law when they allow divorce courts to count a veteran's disability compensation in calculating spousal support.
Date: 05/21/2012 | Business
Guide to the Port of Everett
No entity has controlled and shaped Everett's waterfront more than the Port of Everett. The port's mission is to grow businesses and jobs, and it does that by creating opportunities for others to make money. For example, a business could lease a space at...
Date: 05/20/2012 | Need to Know
Blind Chinese activist who fled house arrest arrives in U.S.
NEWARK, N.J. — A blind Chinese legal activist who was suddenly allowed to leave the country arrived in the U.S. on Saturday, ending a nearly monthlong diplomatic tussle that had tested U.S.-China relations.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Nation & World
Plan to lease Puyallup trout hatchery gets mixed opinions
TACOMA -- The state Department of Fish and Wildlife may lease a trout hatchery in Puyallup to a Portland-based seafood processing and distribution company.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Northwest
State of the Station: Navy belongs in Everett
TULALIP -- Naval Station Everett has a secure future due in no small part to the support of the surrounding communities, the base's executive officer told the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce on Friday.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Local News
China may build new aircraft carriers, Pentagon says
WASHINGTON -- China may have started work on it first domestically built aircraft carrier and is likely to produce a number of carriers over the next decade as part of an aggressive effort to modernize its military, the Pentagon said Friday.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Nation & World
On the Record: a selection of government data
Budget linesSpending gleaned from government consent agendas.Snohomish County: $320,000 to Bridgeport Pharmacy Services of Lakewood for a four-month extension of pharmacy services to inmates at county detention facilities.
Date: 05/19/2012 | Need to Know
Soldier faces murder charges in Iraq base deaths
SEATTLE -- Murder charges have been filed against a sergeant accused of killing four other soldiers and a Navy officer in May 2009 at a mental health clinic in Iraq, the Army said Friday.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Northwest
Zarelli, GOP's top budget writer in state Senate, to retire
OLYMPIA -- The top Republican budget writer in the state Senate is retiring.Ridgefield Sen. Joe Zarelli said in a statement Friday evening that he hopes he left state government better than how he found it. He says the last few years have been both wearing and rewarding.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Northwest
State crime rate dropped in 2011
SPOKANE -- Crime rates dropped across the state in 2011, according to an annual report from the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.The total crime rate fell to 38.3 crimes per 1,000 residents, down 3.4 percent from the 2010 rate.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Northwest
Wenatchee may cut police, firefighters
WENATCHEE -- Wenatchee Mayor Frank Kuntz is proposing cuts in police and fire services to balance the city budget.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Northwest
County executive’s policy address is late this year
EVERETT -- Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon has yet to give his most visible annual speech -- one he usually delivers in the first two months of the year.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Local News
2nd shot to own liquor store
ELLENSBURG -- Washington state is giving people another opportunity to own a liquor store.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Business
Opponents make last bid to halt state liquor law
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Opponents of Washington state's liquor-privatization initiative made a final bid Thursday to invalidate the voter-approved law just two weeks before it is set to take effect.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Business
Conservation topic of fair in Everett on Tuesday
EVERETT -- Learn how to recycle, re-use and reduce at the city's first-ever Conservation Carnival from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Carl Gipson Senior Center, 3025 Lombard Ave.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Local News
Everett mail facility remains on USPS closure list
EVERETT -- The U.S. Postal Service is continuing with its plan to close nearly 250 mail-processing centers, but it is still unknown if the closures include the facility in Everett."It's not 100 percent certain, but it remains on the list," said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Ernie Swanson.
Date: 05/18/2012 | Local News
Abandon theater!
'Battleship' has only its volume going for it, Robert Horton says
Date: 05/18/2012 | Entertainment
Senators try to punish Facebook founder for dodging taxes
WASHINGTON -- Two senators on Thursday denounced Facebook Inc. co-founder Eduardo Saverin as a tax dodger for renouncing his U.S. citizenship ahead of the company's initial public offering and introduced legislation to punish him and others who leave the country to duck big tax bills.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
Elwha River dam removals ahead of schedule
PORT ANGELES-- Work to remove the Glines Canyon Dam on the Elwha River is ahead of schedule and should be completed next year -- a year earlier than expected.A Bureau of Land Management river expert, Tim Randle, updated the Port Angeles City Council Tuesday on the work.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Northwest
Postal Service to begin closing plants this summer
WASHINGTON — The nearly bankrupt U.S. Postal Service is moving forward with a multibillion-dollar cost-cutting plan that will close nearly 250 mail processing centers, saying on Thursday it can no longer wait as Congress remains deadlocked over how to help.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
Push made to bring tankers to Spokane
SPOKANE -- Washington's entire congressional delegation has signed a letter asking the Air Force to select Spokane's Fairchild Air Force Base as the home for new air tankers.The Spokane base is already home to aging KC-135 air tankers.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Northwest
Survivors of Afghan massacre recall horror of GI's assault
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- It was early in the morning, perhaps 2 a.m., when gunfire awoke 14-year-old Rafiullah.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
Mitt Romney all but cedes Massachusetts
BELMONT, Mass. -- Don't bet on Mitt Romney winning his home state. Or even trying."That's not been a topic of discussion," Romney campaign adviser Kevin Madden said when asked if the Republican former Massachusetts governor would compete in the heavily Democratic state.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Nation & World
Gap in trail filled
After 15 years, Snohomish finishes Centennial Trail link
Date: 05/17/2012 | Local News
Woodway pitches smaller plan for Point Wells
WOODWAY -- The town of Woodway has drawn up an alternative vision for Point Wells, the waterfront industrial site where an international developer wants to build 3,100 high-rise condos.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Local News
In digital age, public-records law gets cloudy
Our recent story about at-work campaign activity involving an aide to Aaron Reardon wasn't just about the slow-motion scandal unfolding around the Snohomish County executive.
Date: 05/17/2012 | Need to Know
Navy ships back in port after collision
SAN DIEGO — Sporting crumpled catwalks and smashed lifeboats, the U.S. Navy vessel USS Essex managed to glide into San Diego Bay on Thursday, 24 hours after colliding with a tanker when the aging warship's steering apparently failed.
Date: 05/16/2012 | Nation & World
GI killed in Vietnam War gets Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON — Leslie Sabo's Vietnam War ended in the flash of his own grenade, hurled at an enemy bunker in Cambodia to save surrounded comrades. Forty years later — and a dozen years after the long-lost paperwork turned up in military archives — he was honored by President Obama...
Date: 05/16/2012 | Nation & World
Biofuels firm to repay county
Company failed to fulfill contract for canola project
Date: 05/16/2012 | Local News
Front Porch: USS Nimitz returning
The aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is scheduled to return to Naval Station Everett this morning.
Date: 05/16/2012 | Local News
State audit outlines changes for Everett schools policies
The state auditor's office wants the Everett School District to change the way it lists the charges for some construction projects on its books and have the school district tighten its policies on vehicle use by employees.
Date: 05/16/2012 | Local News
Rename Ebey Slough?
Some call Ebey a bad guy; others say it's not really a slough
Date: 05/16/2012 | Local News
Congress votes to reauthorize Export-Import Bank
WASHINGTON -- The government's vehicle for promoting U.S. export sales, and of specific importance to Boeing, survived a challenge from conservatives Tuesday with a Senate vote to renew the charter of the Export-Import Bank for three years. The vote, coming after the Senate rejected amendments to...
Date: 05/15/2012 | Business
State warns consumers about crowdfunding
The state Department of Financial Institutions today issued a warning to consumers about the emerging practice of crowdfunding. We've written about it before, but the state news release below lays it out pretty well,...
Date: 05/15/2012 | Bizblog
Senate to vote on Export-Import Bank today
WASHINGTON — Legislation to renew the charter of the Export-Import Bank appeared headed for approval by Congress Tuesday after months of debate over the role of the independent federal agency in aiding American exporters.
Date: 05/15/2012 | Business
Guatemala: U.S. refuses to return adopted girl
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala -- The U.S. government has told Guatemala it won't return a girl adopted in 2008 after allegedly being snatched from her Guatemalan mother, because the two countries had not signed the Hague Abduction Convention at the time of the kidnapping, a Guatemalan official said...
Date: 05/15/2012 | Nation & World
County executive's plan to fill budget gap riles council
EVERETT -- Some Snohomish County Council members made their annoyance clear Monday as embattled County Executive Aaron Reardon's finance staff discussed a looming budget shortfall next year of at least $5.5...
Date: 05/15/2012 | Local News
Public hearing Wednesday on county noise ordinance
EVERETT -- The Snohomish County Council on Wednesday is scheduled to consider revising the county noise ordinance to bring it in line with a state Supreme Court decision on excessive horn honking.
Date: 05/15/2012 | Local News
New plan in battle against Alzheimer's
WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration adopts a landmark national strategy to fight Alzheimer's on Tuesday, setting the clock ticking toward a deadline of 2025 to finally find effective ways to treat, or at least stall, the mind-destroying disease.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Nation & World
Americans train Ugandans for Somalia mission
KAKOLA, Uganda -- American military advisers in Uganda are drawing on lessons learned from Iraq and Afghanistan to help train African Union soldiers to fight Somalia's most powerful insurgent group, al-Shabab.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Nation & World
States leaving booze biz
WASHINGTON -- For about a year, Pennsylvania wine-lovers didn't have to go to a state-run Fine Wine & Good Spirits store to pick up a bottle of their favorite cabernet or sauvignon blanc.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Business
Filing begins, including 2 races for same seat
The political season heats up this week, as candidates file for local, state and federal offices.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Local News
Active Duty and Veterans calendar
EventsWhidbey Island Naval Air Station plans to host a ceremony to mark the end of service by the Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron VQ22, the "Rangers." The event is set for May 17 at the base.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Local News
House panel would raise a few, not all, Tricare fees
The House Armed Services Committee has voted to raise drug co-payments for Tricare beneficiaries who have brand-name prescriptions filled at retail pharmacies or through the Tricare mail order program.
Date: 05/14/2012 | Business
USS Nimitz at work
See a gallery of recent photos from the aircraft carrier
Date: 05/14/2012 | Local News
County councilman to run for 1-month Congress post
Snohomish County Council Chairman Brian Sullivan said Sunday he's agreed to be the Democratic Party's candidate in this year's special election to replace former U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee.
Date: 05/13/2012 | Local News
Man pleads guilty to stealing U.S. trade secrets
SALT LAKE CITY -- A scientist accused of stealing secret formulas from a Utah chemistry company has pleaded guilty to a federal computer charge.
Date: 05/13/2012 | Nation & World
Crop subsidies benefit wealthy, critics say
It's a deal that most businesses would relish: Buy an insurance policy to cover losses or falling prices, and the government will foot most of the bill.
Date: 05/13/2012 | Nation & World
Battleship USS Iowa to become museum
RICHMOND, Calif. -- Firing its 16-inch guns in the Arabian Sea, the USS Iowa shuddered. As the sky turned orange, a blast of heat from the massive guns washed over the battleship. This was the Iowa of the late 1980s, at the end of its active duty as it escorted reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers from...
Date: 05/13/2012 | Nation & World
On the Record: a selection of government data
Road tripsGovernment travel spending
Date: 05/12/2012 | Need to Know
China tensions spur deeper U.S.-Philippine alliance
WASHINGTON — China's assertive behavior is breathing life into America's historically tumultuous relationship with the Philippines.
Date: 05/12/2012 | Nation & World
John Edwards to face jury in corruption trial
GREENSBORO, N.C. -- A federal judge refused to throw out campaign corruption charges against John Edwards on Friday, meaning the former presidential hopeful will have to present his case to a jury.
Date: 05/12/2012 | Nation & World
Mukilteo considers fire service partnership
MUKILTEO -- City officials are mulling the idea of a contract for fire protection service.Snohomish County Fire District 1 recently floated the idea during routine talks with Mukilteo, Mayor Joe Marine said.
Date: 05/12/2012 | Local News
F-16 jets intercept small plane as Obama leaves L.A.
LOS ANGELES — Two F-16 fighter jets intercepted a small private plane that violated restricted airspace Friday as President Barack Obama was about to depart from Los Angeles International Airport aboard Air Force One, authorities said.
Date: 05/11/2012 | Nation & World
Navy: Sonar, blasts may hurt more sea life
HONOLULU -- The U.S. Navy says its training and testing using sonar and explosives could potentially hurt more dolphins and whales in Hawaii and California waters than previously thought.
Date: 05/11/2012 | Nation & World
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