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The Wild Horse Wind and Solar Facility about 16 miles east of Ellensburg in central Washington is part of Puget Sound Energy’s clean energy portfolio. (Courtesy of Puget Sound Energy)

Local News

Megabill’s elimination of tax credits for clean energy projects could cost WA $8.7 billion

Washington households could see electricity costs increase $115 per year by 2029; 21,800 workers could lose their jobs…

Guns for sale at Caso’s Gun-A-Rama in Jersey City, New Jersey, which has been open since 1967. (Photo by Aristide Economopoulos/New Jersey Monitor)

Local News

After suing, WA gets carveout from Trump administration plan to return gun conversion devices

The Trump administration has agreed to not distribute devices that turn semi-automatic rifles into machine guns in Washington…

Washington State Ferries said it would deploy its new electric ferries first on the Mukilteo-Clinton run. Additional orders are expected to follow to replace more than a dozen other aging vessels in the fleet. (Photo by Tom Banse)

Local News

Washington state to buy new hybrid electric ferries from Florida shipyard

Gov. Bob Ferguson made the final call to turn down a higher bid from a local boat builder.

The Washington state Capitol. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)

Local News

These Washington laws take effect July 1

Fee hikes for hunting and fishing licenses, workplace protections for immigrants and increased requirements for gun dealers are…

Washington will have the nation’s third-highest state gas tax behind California and Pennsylvania.(Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)

Local News

Gas tax will rise in Washington on July 1

Washington’s century-old fuel tax is going up again.

The BEAD program was created under the federal infrastructure law that former President Joe Biden signed in 2021. It was fashioned as a way to expand high-speed internet service into rural areas and other parts of the country where it was unavailable or lacking. (Stock photo)

Local News

Feds throw Washington’s $1.2B broadband program into disarray

States spent more than two years preparing to distribute the infrastructure funding, now the Trump administration is making…

Photo courtesy of Washington governor’s office Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, center, met with several statewide elected officials on Monday to discuss the how federal funding cuts could impact the state.

Local News

Tax collections tumble again in latest Washington budget forecast

The decline in receipts will force the state to draw down savings, but Gov. Bob Ferguson said he…

Firefighters undertake a prescribed burn at the Upper Applegate Watershed near Medford, Oregon on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Such burns can help reduce the risk of large wildfires. (Kyle Sullivan, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr)

Local News

Trump looks to ‘consolidate’ wildland fire agencies

An executive order signed earlier this month by President Donald Trump would look to “consolidate” five federal wildland…

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Local News

Seattle judge orders Trump administration to unfreeze EV charger funding

The preliminary court ruling would unlock the money for more than a dozen states, including $71 million for…

Nearly three-quarters of acute care hospital inspections were late, as of December, according to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee. One facility hadn’t gotten a state inspection since early 2018. (Stock photo)

Local News

Washington faces major lag in state inspections of hospitals

Washington state inspectors are way behind in their examinations of hospitals and fail to investigate when hospitals report…

A classroom inside College Place Middle School in Lynnwood in 2023. New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across Washington state next month. (Annie Barker / The Herald)

Local News

Washington updates student discipline rules for public schools

New discipline guidelines for public school students will go into effect across Washington state next month.

The Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, which is one of the largest immigrant detention facilities in the western U.S. (Grace Deng/Washington State Standard)

Local News

WA looks to strengthen safety net for children whose parents are deported

Detained immigrant parents worried who will pick their children up from school. Mothers who’ve been deported with infants…

An EV charger in Granite Falls outside of Granite Falls City Hall on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 in Granite Falls, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Local News

Seattle judge considers reversing Trump’s EV charger funding freeze

Congress appropriated $5 billion, but the Trump administration stopped it from reaching states. Washington is leading the legal…

Washington’s payouts — known as tort liability — have skyrocketed from $72 million in fiscal year 2018 to more than $281 million last fiscal year. (Stock photo)

Local News

Washington state lawsuit payouts skyrocket to more than $500M in past year

Claims against the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families are driving a spike in cases.

The Monroe Correctional Complex on Thursday, April 9, 2020. The Monroe Correctional Complex in 2020. A new law will expand Washington’s Clemency and Pardons Board to 10 members. It also requires board members to represent different backgrounds, including an incarcerated individual, a representative of a faith-based organization, a federally recognized tribe member, and a member from a crime victim organization. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Local News

Washington state Clemency and Pardons Board will be expanded

The goal is to cut down on wait times for people seeking to have their cases reviewed.

The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction faces a lawsuit from a former employee alleging wrongful termination. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)

Local News

Ex-Washington state worker claims she was fired over school board vote on trans athletes

Darby Kaikkonen has sued the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Superintendent Chris Reykdal, alleging retaliation and…

Members of the California National Guard and federal law enforcement stand guard as people protest outside of the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles, on Tuesday. (Philip Cheung/The New York Times)

Local News

Ferguson prepares for possibility of Trump deploying troops in Washington

The governor planned to meet with the state’s top military official Tuesday, after the president sent the National…

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)

Local News

Washington governor wants agencies to look for deeper cuts

The state’s financial turmoil hasn’t subsided. It may get worse when a new revenue forecast comes out this…

Bill Lucia / Washington State Standard State Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee, left, asks a question during a February 2024 hearing.

Local News

New WA agency investigating police deadly force incidents sees budget cuts

The Office of Independent Investigations still plans to expand into more parts of the state this year.

Local News

Washington stuck mid-pack in national education ranking

The new report underscores shortfalls in reading and math proficiency. Still, the state’s top school official says data…