The Pacific Northwest is drifting toward an energy crisis of its own making. The newly appointed leader of the Bonneville Power Administration, Travis Kavulla, with support from Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, has the background and ability to stop the drift and return BPA to the leadership role it has traditionally played. Congressional lawmakers need…
Deaths and serious injuries of children involved with Washington’s child welfare system last year were even higher than record levels the state previously reported, according to new data. In 2025, 35 children died and 49 more nearly died either from abuse, neglect and other maltreatment, or amid these concerns, after having some connection to the…
A citizen activist lost his bid Thursday to keep a one-sentence statement off ballots that summarizes how an initiative to repeal Washington’s new income tax on high earners would affect the state budget. State Supreme Court Commissioner Michael Johnston denied Arthur West’s request for a preliminary injunction to block a state law requiring inclusion of…
Oregon insurance regulators have approved premium hikes that could cost individuals and small businesses that buy health insurance through the state marketplace dozens of more dollars per month and are weighing policy changes that would limit availability. State officials with the Division of Financial Regulation in a news release this week framed the nearly 22%…
Cami Feek is no stranger to state government. Every level of it. She kicked off her career in 1996 as a mailroom clerk typist for the Department of Financial Institutions. She’s worked at General Administration, Washington State Patrol, and the attorney general’s office. She joined the Employment Security Department in 2017 and played an instrumental…
A federal judge in the District of Columbia issued an order Wednesday blocking U.S. Health and Human Services from implementing sweeping changes to grants under the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program while a lawsuit proceeds, but dozens of existing grants that were canceled this summer will remain so for now, unless the administration chooses to reinstate…
One of the most destructive invasive pests in the nation has arrived in southern Washington, posing a grave threat to ash trees. State officials confirmed the presence of the emerald ash borer Wednesday after two people passing through Vancouver spotted the insect on their windshield in early August. They took photos, collected the specimen and…
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Lawyers for a Los Angeles firm representing State Farm in a lawsuit involving the rebuilding of a home after a fire have apologized for artificial intelligence hallucinations in their filings. The homeowner’s lawyers discovered in motions filed by State Farm “cases that do not exist,…
In the span of a month, firefighting costs for 20 wildfires burning across Washington have totalled $207 million, according to data from the state’s Department of Natural Resources. The expenses will be split among local, state and federal agencies. But the number is telling: Those 20 fires, some of which are still burning, have cost…
In the summer of 2023, a third of the fire engines owned by the fire department in Kansas City, Kansas, were unusable. Five of 15 pumper trucks were out of commission, and the department was waiting on parts from the manufacturer. So Kansas City fire officials went on a nationwide hunt for trucks. But their…
