A prisoner at the Monroe Correctional Complex has tested positive for COVID-19, making him the first incarcerated individual in a Washington prison known to have contracted the virus.Read More
Northwest News
Will the current lull in activity make a difference in the air we breathe or the future of climate change?Read More
Michelle Bennett couldn’t hold her mother’s hand in those final moments, 10 days after Carolann Christine Gann tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Bennett couldn’t even go through her mother’s belongings as she prepared to bury her. So two people in protective gear did what she couldn't.Read More
Dire shortages of vital medical equipment in the Strategic National Stockpile that are now hampering the coronavirus response trace back to the budget wars of the Obama years, when congressional Republicans elected on the Tea Party wave forced the White House to accept sweeping cuts to federal spending.Read More
The risk that COVID-19 could get into a prison is high, as is the potential for it to spread quickly because of tight spaces, shared quarters and dense populations. Adding to the danger is the fact Washington prisons – with nearly 17,000 inmates -- are at 100 percent of capacity. Read More
Americans across the political spectrum have been forced to rethink the government’s role in protecting workers and supervising the economy, as more people confront a public health crisis that has exposed major gaps in the social safety net.Read More
Some rules aren’t meant to be broken. Rules like Washington’s public lands closures. Enforcement officers have still noted crowded parking lots places such as at the Ahtanam State Forest in Yakima County.Read More
Spring work starts up, ready or not. And Northwest growers are scrambling to figure out how to work around the global coronavirus pandemic and still bring in the coming harvest. Read More
In anticipation of state revenues cratering because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday vetoed more than $200 million of new spending from the supplemental budget passed by state lawmakers last month.Read More
Many people can ride the disease out at home, but doctors are getting a better idea of who should seek medical attention and when.Read More
The year was 1918 – the last time a pandemic reached Spokane. A century has passed, and the Inland Northwest and the world are once again contending with quarantine and the powerful role public health officials can play in times of outbreak.Read More
As coronavirus pandemic shutters small businesses across the Northwest, business owners are bracing for a wave of insurance denials. That’s because insurers have been telling businesses that coronavirus losses don’t count.Read More
FEMA, the state Department of Health and the Yakima Health District announced this week that the former Astria Hospital would reopen as an alternate care site for patients not afflicted with COVID-19.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that the original 'stay-at-home' order would be extended until at least May 5. There were no additional restrictions or other measure put in place beyond what's already been implemented.Read More
A state legislator in North Idaho is using her official government newsletter to urge constituents to defy Gov. Brad Little’s order to stay home in face of the coronavirus pandemic. Rep. Heather Scott, a Republican who represents the Blanchard area, sent the newsletter Thursday morning. It was titled, in part, “the virus that tried to kill the Constitution.”Read More
As cases of the coronavirus have skyrocketed, there's new thinking about the benefits that masks could offer in slowing the spread. The CDC says it is now reviewing its policy and may be considering a recommendation to encourage broader use.Read More
The Trump administration's strategy for ending the current wave of coronavirus infections relies on a model that appears to count on several important assumptions. We look at why that matters.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee is calling on businesses across Washington state to help produce critical medical supplies, such as N95 masks, face shields, and testing supplies. Also, Idaho will go ahead with a May 19 primary -- but switch to an all-vote-by-mail system, like Washington and Oregon already have.Read More
A near real time map of 2020 census self-response rates shows that 42% of Washington state and Idaho households at known addresses have completed the census as of April 1. The rate is 40.5% for Oregon, compared to the national average of 38% to date.Read More
Umatilla County is home to two large state prisons, which hold more than 3,500 inmates between them. The petitions are a last resort for inmates who need things like medical equipment and procedures that have been denied.Read More
When the governor declared a state of emergency in late February, that allowed for the use of the National Guard. So far the state’s citizen soldiers have played a limited role in supporting the battle against coronavirus. But Inslee’s chief of staff David Postman said Tuesday that may soon change. He says they won’t be playing a law enforcement role or controlling traffic.Read More
According to Dr. Deborah Birx, the best computer models predict that between 100,000 and 200,000 Americans will die from COVID-19 during the coming months, even if the country continues the strict social distancing measures that most states have adopted. Relaxing those restrictions would send the toll much higher.Read More
First responders in Moscow, Idaho will soon have access to more respirators, face shields and gowns. And in Washington’s Yakima Valley, a shuttered former hospital may soon be reopened by the state with the cooperation of its bankrupt owner to continue hospital service.Read More
Gov. Brad Little signed the bill Monday, March 30, with no explanation for his vote — governors occasionally, but do not always, post transmittal letters outlining their decision. No letter was posted. The most hotly debated education bill of the 2020 legislative session, House Bill 500 would ban transgender girls and women from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.Read More
The governor outlined a three-tier law enforcement response system for violations of the order, which could amount to a gross misdemeanor. A first offense would result in a warning. But consequences thereafter would become more serious.Read More
Rent is due this week. But with stay-home orders in both Washington and Idaho, shuttered businesses and a troubled economy, some people wonder if they’ll get evicted if they don’t pay. In Washington, a moratorium on evictions gives protection to renters hit hard by the COVID outbreak. Idaho has no such moratorium, but a recent court order may protect them.Read More
Even though large predators sometimes leave food that smaller predators scavenge, turns out, it’s actually dangerous for smaller animals to eat the leftovers. Read More
The federal government is throwing $2 trillion at the coronavirus problem. Banks and other lenders are doing things to assist people on top of that. Here's your survival kit for how to get the help that's available and be in the best financial shape possible as you weather this storm.Read More
"Case fatality rates have been very confusing," says Dr. Steven Lawrence, an infectious disease expert. Here's why.Read More
Even for people who are able to get tested (and there's still a big lag in testing ability in hot spots across the U.S.), there can be a frustratingly long wait for results — not just hours, but often days.Read More
By the numbers, Little’s decision will cut state spending by $40 million, from a state general budget of close to $4 billion. State agencies will have to move quickly, imposing the spending cuts over the final three months of a budget year that ends June 30.Read More
Over the previous weekend, Dr. Jessica Van Fleet-Green rounded-up 200 masks for her team – a mix of the more protective N95s and standard surgical masks. The donations came from a dental office that’s now closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, two construction contractors and even her father who found two at home. Read More
Under the plan, single people earning incomes below $75,000 will receive as much as $1,200. The White House says it will issue funds in three weeks but experts say it could take months for some.Read More
Description of an American Public Media report on how many states are not collecting accurate COVID-19 hospital admissions. Read More
Governors and mayors in some parts of the country are requiring them to close like many other businesses. Other officials are letting gun sales continue. Gun rights groups are on the defensive. Read More
The state Dept. of Ecology will bring the student crews back next summer. But the agency will will hire more adult crews, ages 18 and up, to pick up litter. There won’t be as many openings as with youth workers because the adults will work longer than three weeks. Read More
Max Brooks wrote the zombie apocalyptic horror novel World War Z, and is a lecturer at West Point’s Modern War Institute. He offers insight into pandemics and advice on what is fact hygiene. Read More
Each year, state, federal and local officials train around 1,000 firefighters. Trainings start in April and last through May. Now, that's all on hold.Read More
A historic $2 trillion economic recovery package will be sent to the president's desk for signature after House lawmakers passed the bipartisan bill Friday afternoon.Read More
Gov. Jay Inslee says people should prepare to stay home beyond the initial April 6 order, as officials work to flatten the COVID-19 curve.Read More
Like many decades-old businesses, Yakima and Seattle-based PaintSmith has had experience with layoffs. After the 2008 recession, the company went from 80 employees to just 10. It taught Smith that his company can survive financial downturns. Read More
Mirroring the national trend, Washington, Idaho and Oregon are experiencing an unprecedented spike in unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Read More
The petition for a writ of mandamus by Columbia Legal Services, a civil legal aid law firm, asks the Washington Supreme Court to intervene on behalf of older inmates, those with underlying health conditions and those who are within 18 months of their release date. Read More
Amid a widespread shutdown of athletic events, Washington state has become the 21st state to legalize betting on sports. Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday signed legislation to authorize sports wagers in tribal casinos only.Read More
More than 30 residents and employees of a Bellingham nursing facility have tested positive for COVID-19, prompting officials to take steps to avoid a deadly scenario that played out in Kirkland, Washington's Life Care Center.Read More
Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued a 21-day stay-at-home order Wednesday. Little had resisted issuing the order even as neighboring states were taking more drastic measures. On Thursday, the state officially announced three deaths from COVID-19.Read More
Community health centers in Washington are under increasing financial strain as they ramp up for coronavirus, while also losing some key sources of funding.Read More
You’ll have to put off your favorite hike on Washington public lands for at least two weeks. State-managed parks and wildlife areas are closing starting Wednesday, March 25.Read More
According to the county Department of Corrections, the captured inmates told officials they were upset after Gov. Jay Inslee announced a statewide order to stay at home to fight the coronavirus pandemic and “the virus outbreak has them all scared.”Read More
COVID-19 is stretching health care resources in many different ways, but there’s a key piece of equipment getting a lot of attention: ventilators. So, what is a ventilator, and why does it matter?Read More
