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Inslee warns that state effort to move people out of encampments is getting short on cash
SEATTLE – State programs to help transition people out of homeless encampments and into housing are running out of money, Gov. Jay Inslee said Thursday, calling on the Legislature to provide funding to keep them going. Since Inslee launched a statewide homeless encampment initiative last year, 30 encampments along state highways have closed, and more […]
Patients stuck in Washington hospitals pose quandary for state lawmakers
Washington needs to do more to keep people from staying at hospitals longer than medically necessary, state health officials told lawmakers this week. Over the last five years, the Legislature has approved spending and policy changes to help shorten stays for “complex discharge” patients – those who are in hospitals but cannot be discharged to […]
New rules to protect homes from wildfire ignite controversy
New state building codes aim to protect properties on the edge between urban and wooded areas – a fast growing type of space known as the wildland urban interface – from wildfire. But the code changes in Washington state have sparked backlash from builders, cities and environmentalists who say the rules are confusing, will drive […]
Inslee pushes for Washington to become offshore wind manufacturing hub
Washington government and business leaders want manufacturers of offshore wind turbines to build equipment in the state. Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday announced a new effort to make Washington a preferred location for producing offshore turbine components. The Blue Wind Supply Chain Initiative is a partnership with public and private sector leaders, labor groups and […]
Washington may avoid child care cliff, but many providers are still struggling
Washington is unlikely to see a huge drop in child care services even as federal pandemic aid supporting providers dries up. Expiration of the funds led to nationwide concerns that millions of children could lose care. About $24 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act was distributed to states to help keep child care centers […]
The latest clash over managing Washington’s wolves
Eleven conservation groups are asking Washington state to tighten its guidelines for when wolves that attack livestock can be killed. The groups are concerned too many wolves are dying needlessly under the current system. Their petition to Washington’s Fish and Wildlife Commission describes the existing standards the state uses to authorize lethal action against the […]
22 counties sue state over lack of mental health care
Nearly two dozen counties in Washington state are suing the state Department of Social and Health Services, which they claim is refusing to provide essential behavioral health treatment to hundreds of patients who are considered unfit for trial. The Washington State Association of Counties, along with 22 counties, including King, Pierce, Snohomish and Spokane, filed […]
On Washington’s public lands, a rise in fires caused by people
Fires have more than doubled so far this year on state-managed public land in Washington compared to 2022, and people are mostly to blame for the blazes. On Washington state lands, there have been 49 human-caused fires through Aug. 1, compared to 27 during that same time frame last year, according to the Department of […]
Bird flu outbreak stokes fears for Washington’s wild birds
The spread of bird flu has left Washington wildlife officials scrambling to test suspected cases and cleaning up hundreds of tern and gull carcasses along the coast of an island in northern Puget Sound. Avian flu has historically affected mostly poultry, but a new strain – H5N1 – is proving deadly for wild birds as […]
Washington weighs in against Idaho law restricting out-of-state abortions
Washington joined nearly 20 other states this week in arguing against Idaho’s new law that makes it a crime to assist minors in seeking abortions outside the state. Attorneys General Bob Ferguson in Washington and Ellen Rosenblum in Oregon, along with attorneys general from 17 other states and the District of Columbia, filed a friend-of-the-court […]
Predicting volcanic eruptions 43 years after the Mount St. Helens blast
Forty-three years ago today, Mount St. Helens erupted, triggering a magnitude 5 earthquake and spewing ash, mud and debris across southwest Washington. The explosion killed 57 people and changed the mountain’s landscape forever. The eruption wasn’t a total surprise. Months before, a series of small earthquakes and steam-venting alerted scientists that a major blast was […]