June 3 marks a year since COVID-19 blasted through my immune system. I have never figured out how I got it. And my recovery has come in fits and starts. But mostly it’s just been incredibly, snail-slow. Read More
Northwest News
Gone are the State Patrol checkpoints and National Guard troops that were in place for the start of the session in January. A temporary chain-link fence surrounding the domed Legislative Building has also been removed. Yet, security in the seat of state government is still a top-of-mind issue. So is the safety of elected leaders in these polarized times.Read More
For generations Marcus Whitman has been widely viewed as an iconic figure from early Pacific Northwest history, a venerated Protestant missionary who was among 13 people killed by the Cayuse tribe near modern-day Walla Walla, Washington, in 1847.Read More
In this episode of "Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella," Will O'Neal and Renee Love, leaders within the organization Backyard Harvest, share how the group serves its community and how both they and many of their volunteers got a close-up view of food insecurity within local households.Read More
Seven apple varieties previously believed to be lost or extinct have been found in eastern Washington, including several on land near the communities of Pullman, Colfax and Moscow.Read More
For the Skagit Valley Chorale in northwest Washington, the return has highlighted a philosophical split within the group. The choir experienced one of the first and most famous superspreader events in the country, at a rehearsal on March 10, 2020.Read More
BY DUSTIN JONES Ralph “AK” Angkiangco enlisted in the Navy in April 2008 one year after graduating high school. He was an 18-year-old kid uncertain about what he wanted in […]Read More
Severe drought has turned forests and grasslands into dry fuels, ready to ignite from a careless camper or a lightning strike. More people are building in areas bordering wildlands, expanding the so-called wildland-urban interface, an area where wildfires impact people the most. Invasive, highly flammable vegetation is spreading uncontrolled across the West.Read More
Washington’s Grant County is exploring nuclear generation in an effort to generate more carbon-free electricity. The county’s Public Utility District recently signed a deal with Oregon-based NuScale Power to figure out if a partnership might work.Read More
Memorial Day weekend traditionally marks the beginning of the summer camping, vacation and recreation season. Last summer, Pacific Northwest public lands and trailheads were overrun by people seeking COVID-safe getaways in the fresh air. The pandemic may be winding down, but it doesn't look like the crowds are abating.Read More
Idaho Governor Overturns Mask Ban From His Own Lt. Governor, Calls It ‘Self-Serving Political Stunt’
Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Friday issued an executive order repealing a mask mandate prohibition put in place while he was out of the state by the lieutenant governor, describing her actions as a tyrannical abuse of power and an “irresponsible, self-serving political stunt.”Read More
In this Past as Prologue essay, WSU Professor Karen Phoenix explains the history of the shipping container and its Spokane ties. Read More
The university will offer a three-year revenue guarantee to Alaska Airlines, under a contract that could bring back flights between Boise and Pullman, Wash. Under the agreement, approved by the State Board of Education Thursday, the flights could resume as early as Aug. 8.Read More
The Washington state attorney general on Thursday charged two Tacoma police officers with murder and one with manslaughter in the death of Manuel Ellis, a Black man who died after repeatedly telling them he couldn’t breathe as he was being restrained.Read More
While acting as governor in Gov. Brad Little’s absence on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin issued an executive order prohibiting mask mandates issued by the state or its “political subdivisions,” including public schools, counties, cities and public health districts. It also extends to state boards, commissions, departments and divisions.Read More
Some stunted wheat fields won’t see the combine this summer. Cattle operators are severely cutting back their herds for lack of grass. Little moisture since February in wide swaths of the Northwest is to blame. And drought is deepening across the West, with federal drought maps showing massive and growing areas of red.Read More
A former sergeant in the Washington State Patrol was stripped of his state peace officer certification on Wednesday over allegations he carried out a sexual affair with a woman while on duty, including two encounters a state hearings panel deemed nonconsensual.Read More
Wildlife advocates are pressing the Biden administration to revive federal protections for gray wolves across the Northern Rockies after Republican lawmakers in Idaho and Montana made it much easier to kill the predators.Read More
The state's new accountability laws might not have happened without the advocacy of people whose family members were killed by police.Read More
Some top agriculture groups are upset with Washington Gov. Inslee because farm workers were not covered in last week’s announcement that fully vaccinated employees do not have to wear a mask or socially distance at work.Read More
The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has gone from zero to 50% in less than six months. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Biden administration said, half of the country's adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.Read More
In this episode of "Traverse Talks with Sueann Ramella," author Ryka Aoki shares how growing up in the U.S., she had a hard time seeing what happens on a societal level, but still wants it to be better, as well as her personal experiences as a transgender woman.Read More
The Washington State Patrol (WSP) is remembering Thomas’ May 24, 1985 death this week as part of its Centennial Commemoration. Beginning last September, the agency launched a year-long effort to honor all 31 officers who have died in the line of duty since the agency was founded in 1921.Read More
Hesitancy to get vaccinated against the coronavirus has justifiably drawn considerable attention because some counties and neighborhoods are lagging far behind in the campaign to stamp out COVID-19. Less often do you hear about the COVID-19 vaccination overachievers. In recent weeks, pockets of the Pacific Northwest have exceeded the threshold for community immunity. Read More
Help for Washington renters and homeowners is on the way as the state’s eviction moratorium is set to expire June 30.Read More
Anti-government activist Ammon Bundy is running to be Idaho’s next governor, according to documents filed Friday with the Secretary of State’s office.Read More
An online lending platform called Kabbage sent 378 pandemic loans worth $7 million to fake companies (mostly farms) with names like “Deely Nuts” and “Beefy King.”Read More
A secret cache of clean energy is lurking in sewers, and there are growing efforts to put it to work in the battle against climate change.Read More
Mysti Meiers and Danielle Kleist say they don't define themselves as Asian Americans first, but as human beings. And that’s how they wish the rest of us would see them. Read More
The United States and Canadian governments confirmed Thursday that pandemic border crossing restrictions will continue for at least another month to June 21. This is the fourteenth month-by-month extension of the closure of the northern border to nonessential crossings. The lengthy closure has been especially wearing on Point Roberts, a community in northwestern Washington Read More
The lawsuit by the Opportunity for All Coalition (OFAC), which successfully fought Seattle’s high-earners income tax in 2017, was filed Thursday in Douglas County Superior Court. The plaintiffs include business owners and farmers who would potentially be subject to the new tax, as well as the Washington Farm Bureau.Read More
Scientists in Idaho this summer plan to remove the 62,000-pound stainless steel lid on one of the world’s most powerful nuclear test reactors for a rare internal overhaul.Read More
As more states shed their universal mask mandates for those who are vaccinated, many Americans are weighing how much faith to put in the new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and in the integrity of their unvaccinated peers, who are supposed to follow the rules and keep wearing masks.Read More
Five counties voted in favor of leaving Oregon in Tuesday elections, the latest push by a coalition that wants a large chunk of Oregon to join Idaho instead. That border shift is not likely to happen anytime soon.Read More
Ending months of speculation, Republican Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin officially entered the governor’s race Wednesday. McGeachin’s entry into the gubernatorial race sets up a potential showdown, and clash of ideologies, in the May 2022 GOP primary.Read More
Last year, former President Trump refused to approve a routine disaster declaration for Malden because he was feuding with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat. So that federal aid didn't start arriving until after President Biden took office and he finally signed the order.Read More
Northwest truffles – the fungi, not the chocolate – are becoming more popular. One reason people are finding new uses for the local delicacies is a growing trend in how they’re harvested: with dogs. Read More
As the story of the COVID-19 vaccine in the Pacific Northwest changes from scarcity to surplus, one northwestern Washington community says it is in a unique position to extend a helping hand across the border.Read More
Calling it a "moral mandate,” Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday signed into law a dozen bills that backers hope will improve policing in Washington, reduce the use of deadly force and ensure that when deadly encounters do occur the investigations are thorough and independent.Read More
Just about every indicator of drought is flashing red across the western U.S. after a dry winter and warm early spring. The snowpack is at less than half of normal in much of the region. Reservoirs are being drawn down, river levels are dropping and soils are drying out.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the Climate Commitment Act, environmental justice legislation, a clean fuels standard and bills related to reducing Washington’s single-use plastic waste and hydrofluorocarbon pollution.Read More
Washington state went all in on expanding public broadband this year. So much so, that the Legislature passed two different bills aimed at extending high-speed internet to people in rural areas.Read More
A recent survey found that nearly 80% of Asian Americans don't feel respected and say they are discriminated against by their fellow Americans. Additionally, a significant portion of respondents of multiple races said they were unaware of an increase in hate crimes and racism against Asian Americans over the past year.Read More
A group of scientists urged the Biden administration Thursday to restore legal protections for gray wolves, saying their removal earlier this year was premature and that states are allowing too many of the animals to be killed.Read More
The shift in guidance was a dramatic reversal from the country's top public health agency, which has been criticized for being too conservative (and convoluted) in its earlier guidelines for those who are vaccinated. The latest changes have left a lot of people with a lot of questions, which NPR's science, health and education reporters are here to answer.Read More
In the past year, and throughout history, narratives surrounding Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been rife with violence, hardship and grief. Yet they are so much more than their experiences of suffering — beyond tales of war and isolation, there is joy, confusion, anger and relief.Read More
A wide-ranging proposal to save wild salmon by removing the four Lower Snake River dams may be dead in the water. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray say any proposal for the controversial dams needs a “science-based,” “community-driven” approach.Read More
U.S. officials said Thursday they will try to stamp out wildfires as quickly as possible this year as severe drought tightens its grip across the West and sets the stage for another destructive summer of blazes.Read More
The University of Idaho has partnered with the STEM Action Center to offer training sessions over the summer to high school teachers, which will allow them to teach CS 112: Computational Thinking and Problem Solving, and CYB 110: Cybersecurity and Privacy for dual credit.Read More
Washington authorities said Thursday all schools in the state must provide full-time, in-person education for students for the 2021-22 school year and that students and staff will still be required to wear masks.Read More
