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Washington State Standard
WA Democratic Party pushing to keep Robert Kennedy Jr. off the ballot
The state Democratic Party wants presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kept off ballots in Washington this November. It contends the 4,181 signatures submitted by We the People in support of Kennedy’s nomination were not collected at a party convention as required by state law, making him ineligible to be one of voters’ choices. Kennedy’s […]
Social Media Bans Could Deny Teenagers Mental Health Help
Social media’s effects on the mental health of young people are not well understood. That hasn’t stopped Congress, state legislatures, and the U.S. surgeon general from moving ahead with age bans and warning labels for YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram. But the emphasis on fears about social media may cause policymakers to miss the mental health […]
High energy costs, delayed tax credit pose hurdles for PNW hydrogen hub
The multi-billion plan to build out clean hydrogen production and distribution facilities across the Pacific Northwest is getting dealt wild cards out of the gate, with a key project in southwest Washington stalled, uncertainty over a tax credit that’s supposed to catalyze the upstart industry, and a lack of affordable renewable electricity. Even so, backers […]
‘A massive enterprise’: California’s offshore wind farms are on a fast track
EUREKA — If the American West represents the “geography of hope,” as author Wallace Stegner wrote, then what better place than California’s far north to illustrate the eternal tension between the limitless potential of big ideas and the brutal disappointment of broken dreams? The Golden State’s verdant North Coast, a great empire of trees and […]
Voters will see budget effects of initiatives on ballots
Legal wrangling ended in the state’s high court Friday over the four initiatives that Washington voters will decide this November. Washington’s Supreme Court ruled that information about how three of them could affect the state budget will appear alongside the measures on the ballot. In a two-page ruling, justices affirmed a lower court’s decision to […]
Upthegrove edges into second place in Washington lands commissioner race
Democratic lands commissioner candidate Dave Upthegrove inched into second place in the race on Friday night, supplanting Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson who had held the spot since election night. Upthegrove led Pederson by 4,446 votes in Friday night’s tally around 6 p.m. He had 20.9% of the vote, just three-tenths of a percent more than […]
Admissions restart, crowding persists at WA juvenile detention facilities
Two state juvenile detention facilities in Washington are once again admitting youth sentenced for crimes, after a pause that began last month. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families said Friday it had reached an agreement with counties ending the freeze on admissions, which the agency said was a necessary safety measure due to overcrowding. […]
Republican fault lines on display in WA legislative races
Voters delivered a clear message in Tuesday’s primary that they want a Republican state senator in the 2nd Legislative District. And their choice is the unabashed conservative there now, Jim McCune, not the person recruited to run against him by the Senate Republican leader. McCune is bidding for a second Senate term in the district […]
WA renters say unregulated ‘junk fees’ are being used to retaliate, discriminate
In the midst of a summer heat wave in July 2023, Vancouver resident ShaWayne Hodges walked out to her porch and saw a notice posted on her front door. A drive-by inspection of her four-bedroom house had found “brown, long and dying grass on the front yards,” the notice said. It meant Hodges wasn’t maintaining […]
Washington prepares for more fires as dry season peaks
As the state enters what is historically its toughest month of the year for wildfires, large blazes continue to burn in central and eastern Washington and smoke could be on the horizon on the west side of the state. But state officials aren’t too worried – yet. Washington’s wildfires have burned more acres than the […]
Telehealth abortion still on the rise, especially in states with shield laws, report shows
Both the overall number of abortions and the use of telehealth abortion care continue to increase in the United States, according to the latest #WeCount report released Wednesday. Telehealth made up 20% of all abortion care in the first three months of 2024, and the monthly total of abortions exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the […]
Trump-backed challenger advances in central WA congressional race
Jerrod Sessler’s lead over Congressman Dan Newhouse grew Wednesday, but Newhouse remained in a position to advance to the general election in November. Sessler, a Republican endorsed by former President Donald Trump, had 31.2% of the vote as of 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The Associated Press called the primary in Sessler’s favor about an hour […]
Washington’s 2024 primary election: Results and updates
Washington’s primary election for dozens of state, local and congressional races was Tuesday, Aug. 6. The top two vote-getters for each office, regardless of party, will move on to the general election in November. Because the state votes by mail and via ballot drop boxes, vote counting will continue in the days after primary election […]
How about sending homeless people to live on McNeil Island?
Finding places to operate shelters and stability sites to serve homeless people has proved challenging for Pierce County governments, which often run into opposition from people who don’t want such facilities in their neighborhoods. A recent suggestion likely would minimize such opposition. “We’ve had the homeless problem forever, and one of the best ideas I […]
As wildfire season becomes more threatening, experts are turning to AI
With climate change driving hotter, drier summers across the West, the intensity of recent fire seasons is outpacing workers’ ability to track and analyze fires with traditional methods. “There simply aren’t enough boots on the ground, or eyes in pairs of binoculars to cover the base and the extent of what we’ve been dealing with […]
Republicans hold top two spots in WA lands commissioner race. Will it last?
Democrats are at risk of getting boxed out of the general election in the Washington state lands commissioner race. Two Republicans – former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and retired utility analyst Sue Kuehl Pederson – led following Tuesday’s first tally of ballots. Herrera Beutler garnered 22.6% of the vote. Pederson, who ran for the office […]
Reykdal, Olson ahead in race to lead WA’s public schools
Incumbent Chris Reykdal and Peninsula School Board member David Olson were leading Tuesday night as Washington’s top two picks to helm the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the state agency that oversees K-12 education. Reykdal led with about 39.6% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state’s office around 8:40 […]
Serrano, Brown poised to advance in Washington attorney general race
Democrat Nick Brown and Republican Pete Serrano are leading the primary race to become the state’s next attorney general. As of Tuesday night, Serrano was in the lead with 41.9% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state’s office around 8:30 p.m. The two Democrats in the race split the remainder […]
Ferguson and Reichert move toward November showdown in Washington governor’s race
Democrat Bob Ferguson and Republican Dave Reichert will battle to be Washington’s next governor in November after storming to the front of the 28-person field in Tuesday’s primary. Ferguson, 59, the three-term attorney general, had hauled in around 45.5% of the vote, according to results posted by the secretary of state around 8:30 p.m. Reichert, […]
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