The U.S. Drought Monitor says the entire state of Washington is abnormally dry. In Oregon, nearly 90 percent of the state is facing moderate to severe drought.Read More
Weather predictions across the West are calling for excessive heat and more dry weather this week. That forecast is anything but good news in the Northwest, where significant risk of wildfire continues to increase.Read More
A variety of forest experts say that one of the best ways to reduce the threat of these mega-blazes is to use fire itself. They say we need to increase the pace of prescribed fire and let some wildfires continue to burn when it’s safe to do so. Of course, there’s not nearly as much political support for letting fires burn as there is for putting fires out.Read More
Fire officials say this year is on par with 2014 and 2015 – two of the worst seasons on record in the Northwest. Things are ramping up nearly a month earlier than previous years, and resources are stretched thin. Read More
The race for U.S. House in eastern Washington has taken a negative turn. Despite criticism, 5th District Republican Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers has doubled down on a controversial ad campaign attacking her Democratic opponent, Lisa Brown, using information proven to be misleading and false.Read More
The West is way behind on reducing the buildup of hazardous fuels we created. And much of the work we do to reduce those fuels is missing the key ingredient: fire.Read More
Northwesterners are hearing a lot about mountain lions lately. Since May, an extremely rare fatal attack in the Washington Cascades, a Willamette Valley pool party interrupted by a wandering cat and a viral Facebook video of a mountain lion lounging in a southern Oregon woman’s living room have made headlines across the region.
Are the Northwest’s mountain lions acting Read More
Backers of a proposed gun-control initiative in Washington plan to deliver their final batch of petitions July 6th to the Secretary of State. Read More
Federal officials anticipate a big wildfire season in the Northwest throughout July, August and possibly into September.Read More
Despite a two year turnaround effort, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Monday that it will strip Washington’s Western State Hospital of federal certification for failing to comply with standards.Read More
New genetic research on the Northwest’s wolves finds they descended from a mix of two different types — some from the northern Rocky Mountains and some from coastal rain forests. That means the packs that form in our region have more genetic diversity — a key to survival.Read More
Beginning next month, driver’s licenses in Washington state will be changing. Regular licenses and ID cards will be marked with the words “federal limits apply.” Oregon is going down this path too, but not until mid-2020.Read More
A tie in the U.S. Supreme Court may cost Washington state $2 billion. The court split 4-4 June 11 in a long-running court battle between tribes and the state over salmon-blocking road culverts.Read More
People in Montana say what’s happened with grizzlies in their state could be a guide for Washington, where the bears are in big trouble but on the verge of getting reinforcements.Read More
One of the Northwest’s largest dairies has faced some big troubles in its first year of operation. The rise and rapid fall of Lost Valley Farm has deeply frustrated environmentalists and has shocked neighboring farms and fellow dairy operators.Read More
They threw noisemakers into the water to drive pods of orcas into the narrow cove, then blocked the way out and pulled the baby whales out of the water. Nearly 50 orcas from the Salish Sea’s population were captured this way. Today, only one of those whales is still alive.Read More
For the first time in recent history, a mother wolverine has been spotted in the southern part of Washington’s Cascade Mountains. The carnivores had been wiped out of the region after excessive hunting and trapping in the mid-1900s.Read More
Before there was an Oregon, Idaho and Washington state, there was the Oregon Country. Early settlers and pioneers voted to form a provisional territorial government 175 years ago this week. The vote was close and featured arguments that may sound surprisingly familiar today.Read More
In an unprecedented move, the state of Washington is shutting down a major provider of in-home care for developmentally disabled adults in King, Spokane and Yakima counties because of repeated serious violations of care standards.Read More
There’s only one place you can find one of North America’s rarest butterflies: on a small patch of an island in Washington’s Puget Sound. And it’s in trouble. That’s why the federal government wants to add the island marble butterfly to the endangered species list.Read More
In congressional testimony Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said he has heard the strong opposition from the West Coast to the Trump administration's plan for offshore oil and gas drilling. He expressed doubt drilling would ever happen along the Pacific Northwest coast.Read More
Washington regulators have tentatively denied a controversial request by shellfish growers to poison burrowing shrimp that damage commercial oyster beds. Growers say controlling the shrimp is vital to the shellfish industry in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.Read More
Washington and Oregon have joined a lawsuit alleging U.S. Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt is violating the Clean Air Act. The lawsuit says the government needs to limit methane emissions from existing oil and gas facilities.Read More
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is heading to the North Cascades Friday to speak on reintroducing grizzly bears in that part of Washington. His agency had previously suspended controversial efforts to bolster the bears in the area.Read More
Gray whale sightings are up on the Oregon and Washington coast in recent weeks.Read More
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has signed several measures into law aimed at tackling sexual harassment in the workplace and an update to the Equal Pay Act to help address gender pay gap in the state.Read More
It may still be wet and muddy out there, but it’s also the time of year when wildland firefighters start to gear up for hot, dry weather and wildfires. This year, the Washington Legislature approved $1.7 million in preventative fire management money (different from fire fighting) for the upcoming season. Fire managers are also waiting to see how much, if any, federal Read More
Google subsidiary Waze is launching a carpool app statewide in Washington. The company is the latest to see opportunity in the carpool organizing business in the Northwest.Read More
Native Community Reels From Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Famed Native Writer Sherman Alexie
One of the best-known Native American writers in the Northwest has come under fire for sexual harassment. Sherman Alexie is Spokane Indian, making the allegations against Alexie particularly painful for members of the Native community.Read More
Washington has jut signed-off on its first-ever oil-spill response plan for a railroad.Read More
There’s a lot less snow in the western U.S. than there was a century ago. That’s according to new research that found dramatic declines in snowpack as the seasons have gotten warmer.Read More
The long-proposed Vancouver Energy oil terminal project officially died Tuesday. Vancouver, Washington, port commissioners made it official by unanimously voting to cancel the lease.Read More
A 51-year-old Washington man nearly died from septic shock, when a crushing injury led to overwhelming infection. After getting an experimental treatment, he's recovering well, but some doctors want more proof.Read More
Each time it rained during an eight-week period in the winter of 2015, someone from Jenifer McIntyre’s team drove up to Seattle and collected stormwater near the Highway 520 bridge across Lake Washington.Read More
Exasperated members of Congress say they came close last week to ending the longtime stalemate over legislation aimed at reducing the threat of catastrophic wildfires.Read More
Washington doesn’t want your offshore drilling. That was Gov. Jay Inslee’s resounding message at a press conference Monday, where he spoke out against a federal plan for offshore oil and gas drilling.Read More
Community colleges in Washington should be able to bar level three sex offenders from enrolling in classes when minors are present. That's the upshot of a bill under consideration by the state legislature.Read More
A 7.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska triggered a tsunami watch that stretched from Washington to California early Tuesday morning. But many coastal residents slumbered right through it.Read More
For the first time since 2013, Democrats will have one-party control of Olympia. The top issues for the 2018 legislative session include: education funding, a carbon tax and passage of a state capital construction budget.Read More
County governments are pushing back against Washington state over who should pay for certain services. The counties are upset the state has imposed a number of requirements on county government without additional funding. Read More
Northwest states are among the fastest growing in the country. And according to the latest census figures, it’s gaining people more than twice as fast as the national average.Read More
The Washington Soldiers Home has been ordered to take steps to protect it residents. The order by outside regulators follows a recent investigation that found “widespread deficiencies” at the nursing home for veterans.Read More
Listen KENT, Wash. — “A trooper’s trooper” -– that was a phrase used repeatedly to describe Washington State Patrol Trooper Tony Radulescu at a memorial Wednesday afternoon in Kent. He was […]Read More
KENT, Wash. — “A trooper’s trooper” -– that was a phrase used repeatedly to describe Washington State Patrol Trooper Tony Radulescu at a memorial Wednesday afternoon in Kent. He was […]Read More
Michael Madison and his mother, La Dona Madison. La Dona Madison worked at the “Big Pasco” military base in Washington during World War II. It was a busy place […]Read More
A 23-year-old Seattle soldier died in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. SEATTLE — A Marine sergeant from Seattle was killed this week in Afghanistan. An improvised explosive device killed 23-year-old […]Read More
Mina Black and her mother, Amy Buckler STORYCORPS NORTHWEST Life in Seward, Alaska wasn’t easy for English major Amy Buckler and her husband. They had a tough time making […]Read More
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are considering a plan to save money by abolishing the death penalty in the state. That idea got a hearing today in Olympia. Karil Klingbeil […]Read More
Washington State University students were among those charged incorrect rates by Unicare Life and Health Insurance. PUBLIC DOMAIN / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington state insurance commissioner […]Read More
