Gov. Brad Little announced a plan Friday to pump another $150 million of CARES Act money into supporting schools. If approved, that would push education-related CARES Act spending past the $300 million mark.Read More
Northwest News
The move by the USPS prompted a scramble by county auditors who run elections in their counties and the Washington Secretary of State’s office, which oversees elections statewide, to put out public messages to clarify the process. Read More
On the other side of the country Joe Biden also addressed the fires, linking them to climate change. Read More
The weather didn’t pan out as forecasters had hoped. That means smoke should stick around until the end of this week. And, it’s not only the skies that are choked with the unhealthy levels of smoke.Read More
Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine that proves "safe and effective." It may not prevent infection in everyone who gets it, but it still could eventually stop the pandemic. Here's how.Read More
Washington State University decided in late July that this fall semester would be entirely online. But thousands of students are still in Pullman. President Kirk Schulz says the university is very concerned about the rapid increase in cases.Read More
Air quality east of the Cascade Mountains has deteriorated as wildfires burn across Washington and Oregon. In Southern Oregon, the air is hazardous. In Central Washington, air quality is unhealthy for everyone.Read More
One hundred large fires are burning in 12 states across the West — but just five of them have been contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Read More
With at least two dozen Oregon dairies threatened by raging wildfires, farmers are grappling with the delicate task of moving them to safer ground — or staying put. Read More
Widespread wildfires across the Northwest are causing owners to evacuate more than 2,000 pets and livestock into fairgrounds, friends’ properties and even across state lines. Read More
At least seven people have died in wildfires that are raging in Washington, Oregon and California, adding to the horrible toll from record-setting fires in 2020. "This could be the greatest loss of human lives and property due to wildfires in our state's history," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said.Read More
On Wednesday, Washington Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz was walking through the streets of Malden with the town’s mayor, Chris Ferrell. Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers was following a short distance behind and remembering what happened Monday afternoon.Read More
Usually, fire season starts to tamp down in September. This year has been anything but normal. In an unprecedented fire event, at least 80 fires started in Washington over Labor Day weekend.Read More
Whether you’re new to Washington state or just making sure you are fully prepared to vote in the Nov. 3 general election, here’s what you need to know about voting (plus lots of links for voters who live outside the state or have recently moved).Read More
Growing up in Chelan, Susan Little knew early being gay was unacceptable in her small town. In today’s StoryCorps Northwest, Susan and her wife Marianne Patton talk about those early days, and how much has changed for gays and lesbians since they fell in love 35 years ago.Read More
Several COVID-19 vaccine candidates are being tested now. But why does it take 30,000 volunteers to know if one is safe and effective? And what does it mean to say a vaccine candidate is working?Read More
The four-year-old startup Nomad Go in Kirkland, Washington, sells software for building management -- to monitor lines and speed of service, for example. When the coronavirus pandemic hit, co-founder and CEO David Greschler realized his company's image analysis tools could be enhanced to show not only percent occupancy, but also mask compliance and if people are properly Read More
What does the contemplative art of bonsai have to do with World War II? Plenty, said Aarin Packard. He's the curator at the Pacific Bonsai Museum, which displays all kinds of the dwarfed trees pruned and trained into artistic shapes.Read More
Firefighters are stretched thin across the Northwest, and officials are trying to keep crews healthy with bagged lunches and smaller camps. So with near-record temps this weekend, they’re asking Labor Day revelers to please watch those campfires (though campfires are banned in much of Washington due to fire danger). And make sure chains on trailers and boats don’t drag and Read More
It was common through the 1800s for American school children to attend a one-room schoolhouse. In 2020, in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Swanson family in rural north Olympia will attend a one-garage schoolhouse.Read More
To qualify as an AVA, a wine grape-growing region must set itself apart with climate, soil, elevation and physical features. A new one doesn’t come around very often. The Royal Slope AVA is just over 156,000 acres, and is north of the Tri-Cities. Read More
I recently wrote about my nearly two-months as a COVID-19 longhauler. And the number one question I heard was: “How did you get it?” So I decided to dig into the possibilities. Turns out, there are four likely ways I could have picked up the virus: husband, dog, surfaces or the air. Read More
Just hours after an interview was posted online in which Michael Forest Reinoehl took responsibility for the fatal shooting of Patriot Prayer supporter Aaron J. Danielson, Reinoehl has been killed in an attempted arrest in Lacey, Washington, near Seattle.Read More
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has asked states to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine as soon as late October, according to a series of planning documents sent to public health officials last week.Read More
The Port of Bellingham is increasing temporary ferry service to the isolated enclave of Point Roberts, Washington. That community was largely cut off from the U.S. mainland when Canada and the U.S. closed their land border this spring to nonessential crossings to control the spread of the coronavirus.Read More
The story of Captain Tom in Britain reached Bud Lewis of Portland through a chain of friends and family. The two men are virtually the same age. Lewis also served in World War II in the tropics. The U.S. Army veteran was convinced by his circle to copy his British counterpart.Read More
On her last day on the job, Carmen Best, the city's first Black woman police chief, reflected on nationwide demonstrations against police violence and her own department's handling of recent protests.Read More
Efforts to slow WA’s revolving door from state service to lobbying have been thwarted in recent years. That makes the state an outlier in not requiring a cooling off period. So how much does this happen? Read More
On Monday, Aug. 31, the Moscow-based school reported 24 COVID-19 cases. That’s from over 2,300 recent tests on students and staff. Unlike in nearby Pullman across the border, Moscow has not seen a huge spike in cases. Washington State University is responding to a recent surge – more than 300 cases in Pullman in the past 10 days. Read More
The new eviction ban is being enacted through the Centers for Disease Control. The goal is to stem the spread of the COVID outbreak, which the agency says in it's order, "presents a historic threat to public health."Read More
The U.S. Postal Service still has a number of hurdles to overcome to support upcoming general election mail-in ballots, its inspector general's office says. Read More
"Portland is a mess, and it has been for many years," the president tweeted Monday. The city's mayor blames Trump for the violence and for creating "the hate and the division."Read More
Although daily COVID-19 deaths have fallen somewhat in recent days, the number of infections has continued to rise in many places with no end in sight.Read More
The numbers bring Whitman County’s total case count since March to 559. Well over half of those have come in the past 10 days. Nearly all the new cases are in Pullman’s college-age population – despite Washington State University moving classes online for this fall semester.Read More
With just three months to review the 2020 census results because of a last-minute change by the Trump administration, Census Bureau officials are scrambling to decide what quality checks to toss out.Read More
Washington state leaders say the earliest they would hold a emergency session at this point would most likely be after the November election, if they convene at all. It’s quite possible legislators won’t meet again until January, when their regular 105-day session is scheduled to begin.Read More
A person was shot and killed in downtown Portland Saturday night as a pro-Trump car caravan wound its way through city streets, clashing with counterprotesters along the way. It is uncertain whether the shooting is directly connected to the competing protests, but what became clear late Saturday night was that it likely soon will be.Read More
Aging veterans and their descendants are attempting to return memorabilia to the families of their former enemies ahead of a milestone anniversary. Next Wednesday, September 2, marks 75 years to the day since the Japanese surrender ceremony that ended World War II.Read More
A dry cold front is expected to push into central and eastern Washington this weekend, bringing with it lots of wind from the north. That could fan the flames of fires, especially new starts that are just taking off. Winds could reach 15 to 25 miles per hour, with gusts around 40 miles per hour.Read More
A lot of freshly harvested wheat bound for Portland, Oregon, could stack up on the Columbia River system soon because an old guy wire has snapped on the Snake River’s Lower Monumental Dam. Read More
Water fluoridation has been proposed – and rejected – before by Spokane residents. Supporters such as Dr. Elisabeth Warder believe it’s time to consider it again. The city council is considering a request by dentists to fluoridate the city’s water supply.Read More
The first part of a project that covers the most dangerous section of Highway 97 near Tonasket, Washington, is finished. It’s expected to prevent more than 100 collisions each year in just one mile in the Okanogan Valley. The 13-miles stretch from Tonasket to Riverside sees nearly 350 deer-car collisions per year.Read More
After three unusual days in a special session, the Idaho House and Senate passed a civil liability immunity bill designed to protect school officials from lawsuits amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.Read More
Across the Northwest, there are too many wine grapes and not enough demand. It started with an overly optimistic industry planting too much. Then came the coronavirus pandemic. Now, vineyard managers and wineries are being forced to think creatively to cope with 2020’s bumper crop. Read More
Effective Thursday, churches and restaurants in Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Chelan and Douglas counties can open their doors to let guests inside — though just to 25% capacity. Outdoors, groups of up to five people from different households can meet up or attend fitness classes. Read More
The agency now says contacts of people with COVID-19 don't necessarily need to get tested. Public health experts say less testing of potential carriers could lead to more spread of the disease. Read More
The incident follows another on Monday when angry protesters forced their way into the Idaho House gallery that had limited seating because of the coronavirus pandemic, the window of a glass door getting shattered as protesters jostled with police. Protesters were ultimately let in when Republican House Speaker Scott Bedke stepped in, seeking to avoid violence.Read More
Marilyn Strickland, the former mayor of Tacoma, and Beth Doglio, a state representative from Olympia, are competing to represent the 10th Congressional District, which includes nearly all of Thurston County, most of Pierce County and part of Mason County.Read More
Over the past week, thousands of lightning strikes have sparked more than a dozen large wildfires in Oregon. For example, five fires are burning around the Warm Springs Reservation.Read More
Large crowds of protesters and onlookers descended on the Statehouse Monday as legislators convened for a rare special session. The House and Senate met in person to address three issues that Gov. Brad Little outlined when he called the special session, which is officially referred to as an extraordinary session.Read More
