A largely overlooked part of the executive order President Donald Trump issued this week scaling back the schedule for childhood vaccines threatens legal action against the four states that don’t allow personal or religious exemptions to school vaccine requirements. Those states — California, Connecticut, Maine and New York — are among the states with the…
The Washington State Department of Transportation is relocating employees and scaling back access to its aging headquarters on the Capitol Campus in Olympia amid continuing concerns about the building’s structural integrity. On average, fewer than 50 people a day work in the four-story edifice on the east side of the campus, across the street from…
A five-soldier Montana National Guard team will deploy Tuesday to help support fire response in Washington after Gov. Greg Gianforte responded to a request. The state of Washington is experiencing significant wildfire conditions in many parts of the state, including active fires in Spokane that have burned more than 10,000 acres. The Washington State Standard…
Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez went on the offensive Tuesday with a campaign ad accusing Republican John Braun of wanting to outlaw abortion in Washington state and the nation. The 30-second spot is an early salvo in what will be a pricey, high-stakes battle between the two-term congresswoman and the veteran state Senate leader…
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an emergency proclamation Monday to temporarily suspend some state laws in order to fast-track the recovery process from wildfires ravaging central and eastern Washington. The announcement comes as fires have burned over 700,000 acres in Washington this year, destroying more than 871 homes. “We’re in for the long haul on…
David Stuebe gets a lot of phone calls from constituents, more than usual these days as he campaigns for reelection to the Washington Legislature. Ahead of this month’s primary, the first-term House Republican received a particularly jarring call. The person didn’t ask about his vote against a new state income tax on higher earners or…
Washington state lawmakers this year approved spending nearly $20 million to ensure immigrants here could retain long-term care insurance coverage they’re set to lose under federal law. Legislators and advocates thought that money would put the state on a path to cover nearly 1,200 lawfully present noncitizens. It turns out that it’ll only be enough…
The Trump administration is increasing its efforts to turn more control of federal education money to the states as it continues working to dismantle the Education Department. Six states have received waivers allowing them to consolidate more than $109 million in federal education funding and bypass certain requirements for local education agencies, Kirsten Baesler, assistant…
Today’s children could be the first generation since the 1970s to do better than their parents as young workers become more sought after and well paid. They may even see a surplus of housing to make their lives even easier after recent shortages. An abundance of young workers will turn into an undersupply by 2040,…
A Thurston County judge on Friday upheld a one-sentence statement that will appear on ballots describing the budgetary consequences of an initiative to repeal Washington’s new income tax on high earners. Superior Court Judge Chris Lanese denied open government activist Arthur West’s request to amend the disclosure statement or remove it from the ballot. That…
