The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures. Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the transcontinental tracks…
The emerald ash borer, one of the most destructive invasive pests in the nation, has been detected in multiple trees outside of Walla Walla in eastern Washington . Late last month, an arborist arrived at a home in College Place, a community southwest of Walla Walla. On an ash tree already in decline, the arborist…
WASHINGTON —Suddenly there’s hope for cutting the reams of red tape that can make getting new energy projects a seemingly endless slog. Top Republican and Democratic senators have unveiled a 417-page bill to overhaul the approval process, a pathway for what’s known as “permitting reform.” A debate is likely when lawmakers return for their lame-duck session…
Experts debate whether the state make it easier for utilities to meet its clean energy mandates on this week’s edition of “Inside Olympia.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, who did not offer raises to thousands of state workers in recent contract talks, will not get one himself for the next two years, under a recommendation adopted by a citizen salary-setting panel on Thursday. Salaries for the attorney general and lieutenant governor will be frozen too with the proposed schedule…
The fall election is a test of the new 9.9% Washington income tax on households that bring in more than $1 million a year. Initiative 645 aims to overturn the tax before it takes effect.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez and Republican state Sen. John Braun faced off for their final debate Tuesday, each looking to more clearly mark their turf on federal policies and social issues with voters beginning to cast ballots in their nationally-watched contest. They parried on an array of subjects for the better part of…
Oregon’s governor has effectively issued a moratorium on new data centers and data center expansions in the state by ordering environmental regulators to pause approving new state and federal air and water pollution permits for data center projects until next July. Gov. Tina Kotek issued the order Friday in a letter to Leah Feldon, director…
The wait is over in Washington. Washington’s 5.1 million registered voters are starting to cast ballots for the Nov. 3 general election, which could see Democrats strengthen their grip on power in the state Legislature and retake the majority from Republicans in Congress. In theLegislature, where Democrats hold majorities in both chambers, all 98 seats…
More than 80% of the wildfires that the Idaho Department of Lands has responded to this year have been caused by humans, Director Dustin Miller told an interim committee of Idaho legislators Tuesday. “This staggering figure just underscores the importance of not only a robust fuels mitigation program … but also a solid prevention program,”…
