Washington’s largest union for state government workers reached a tentative agreement on a new two-year contract early Friday, ending weeks of tense negotiations and a walkout by workers statewide. Just after midnight, negotiators for the Washington Federation of State Employees voted to accept the tentative deal with the state Office of Financial Management, the union…
The price of North Slope crude oil topped $100 per barrel on Wednesday, crossing that mark for the first time since June, according to figures published by the Alaska Department of Revenue. Though the rising cost of diesel, heating oil and gasoline is hitting individual Alaskans hard — nationally, the price of diesel topped $6…
On a rural stretch of land in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, an open meadow filled with bright wildflowers, a memorial grove of trees and a giant boulder marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on Sept. 11, 2001. States Newsroom’s Pennsylvania Capital-Star Editor-in-Chief Tim Lambert recently revisited the national memorial on this field —…
The leader of Washington’s public school system on Thursday outlined his multibillion-dollar budget request he says is needed to ensure the state meets its legal obligations to fund basic education for more than 1 million students. Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal wants Gov. Bob Ferguson and state lawmakers to provide nearly $2 billion more…
An infusion of state aid will help restore a Spokane landfill ravaged by last month’s Old Trails Fire and reconstruct a Chelan County road washed out by last winter’s historic flooding. The Washington State Public Works Board has approved $7.45 million in loans and grants for local governments in Chelan, Franklin, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis,…
The Democratic-led states and voting rights groups suing to block enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict mail-in voting warned in briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday the policy would have disastrous consequences for the upcoming midterm elections if it is allowed to move forward. Less than two months before the…
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced Tuesday his administration will propose a 4.7% income tax rate, which drew immediate criticisms from Democrats. The state currently has a two-tiered, graduated income tax system that tops out at 5.4%. Many Montanans already have a 4.7% tax rate, which is the case for households filing jointly for taxable income…
The hotly contested U.S. Postal Service rule restricting mail-in voting usurps Congress’ authority, as well as states’ power to administer elections, more than 250 current and former members of Congress said in a filing to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. All 47 members of the U.S. Senate Democratic Caucus, 199 current House Democrats and…
Five races for seats on Washington’s state Supreme Court are set to get much more attention over the next two months. These races typically pass by without much notice as incumbent justices often sail to reelection to the nine-member court that decides appeals from lower courts, including on the legality of controversial state laws. It…
Officials in Page, Arizona, a small city near the Glen Canyon Dam, passed a land sale agreement last fall that establishes a framework for future construction of a data center. The sale of the 500-acre parcel about a mile away from the Colorado River’s Horseshoe Bend — one of the most visited natural landmarks in the Glen Canyon…
