Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
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Voters in Washington are receiving, and casting, their ballots for the 2024 primary. For the state’s 4.8 million registered voters, Friday marks the start of an 18-day voting period, culminating on August 6. If you plan to participate, you need to be sure your ballot is postmarked or in a designated drop box by 8 p.m. on Election Day. It’s not too late to take part. One can register to vote online or by mail up until July 29. After that, you can do so in person at a county election office up until 8 p.m. on Election Day. There are contests in...
Washington is the apple growing capital of the nation and is home to Walla Walla onions, Penn Cove mussels, Rainier cherries, and Yakima Valley hops. While the state’s residents know these agriculture and aquaculture stars well, the rest of the country and world do not. To change that, the state Department of Agriculture is assembling a program to help promote products grown, raised, caught, baked, and brewed in Washington. “People are really excited. It’s something producers want,” said Lora Liegel, program administrator for the agency...
Inside Violet Prairie Grange hall in Tenino, a crowd of about two dozen sits on folding chairs and benches awaiting Joe Kent, the man most, if not all, want to see elected this fall to represent southwest Washington in Congress. Pastor Jim Gilman is among the first to greet the Republican candidate when he enters just before 6:30 p.m. and, after a brief chat, gets a selfie. Gilman, of neighboring Bucoda, voted for Kent in 2022 and is eager to do so again. “I’m a conservative. He’s pro-U...
Insurers will soon have to provide customers a clear explanation for increases in their auto and home insurance premiums at the time of renewal. Beginning Saturday, companies must do so in writing if a policyholder requests it. In 2027, that information must be provided automatically and in easy-to-understand language on policy renewal notices. “If your insurance company is going to increase your premium, you have a right to know why,” Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler said in a statement. “Hundreds of consumers, every year, have told us th...
Employees of the Washington Legislature could start pursuing union representation Wednesday and two groups of workers did. Both are Republican. Legislative assistants for GOP members of the state House and Senate want the recently formed Legislative Professionals Association to represent them. Petitions on behalf of workers in each chamber were filed with the Public Employment Relations Commission, which will certify the bargaining unit and conduct an election. More than 60% of the House and Senate assistants signed cards showing interest,...
The Washington State Legislature passed a $69.8 billion operating budget last year. The added money approved this session will be spent through June 2025 when the state’s budget resets. About half of that money is for “maintenance level” costs for government activities already underway. The other half is for new policy investments. Inslee on Friday also signed a supplemental capital budget, which will pay for construction costs across the state. On Thursday, he put his signature on the supplemental transportation budget. Here are some areas whe...
Drivers in Washington state may soon face better odds of getting caught on camera if they run a red light, speed through a work zone on a city street or fail to stop at a crosswalk. A new law signed Tuesday makes it possible for cities and counties to deploy traffic cameras in more places to crack down on violators and prevent deadly roadway incidents. “Speed cameras have proven to change driver behavior,” Gov. Jay Inslee said before signing legislation that broadens existing statutes concerning use of automated traffic enforcement cam...
Thursday marks the end of this year’s legislative session. Lawmakers put the finishing touches on legislation, approved budget proposals, and prepared to bail out of Olympia. Barring an unexpected special session, they are not scheduled to return until January 2025. Here are five storylines that shaped what happened this year: Initiatives overshadowed the session Democrats were forced to take a detour after getting pelted with six citizen initiatives they weren’t eager to embrace. They approved three this week and hope to defeat the other thr...
A nearly unanimous state Senate on Tuesday backed the creation of a specialty license plate showcasing Mount St. Helens. Under Senate Bill 5590, proceeds from plate sales would go to the Mount St. Helens Institute, a private nonprofit organization, to support youth education, land stewardship and science at the state's most active volcano, which is located in the southwest corner of the state. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver, passed 47-2. It passed by the same margin last s...
Democrats want to pass new restrictions to reduce gun violence and the proliferation of firearms. Opponents say their efforts infringe on Second Amendment rights and will leave families less safe in public places. Democratic lawmakers in Washington are proposing bills to ban open carrying of firearms in public parks and to require a permit to buy a gun. Hearings begin this week. (Aristide Economopoulos/for NJ Monitor) Democratic lawmakers’ latest quest for tougher gun laws in Washington began Monday with a push to bar open carrying of firearms...
Washington lawmakers renewed their push Thursday to increase criminal penalties for harassment of election workers. The state House of Representatives, on an 86-11 vote, approved House Bill 1241 to make it a class C felony for a person to threaten election officials with injury through words or conduct. Today, such behavior carries a lesser penalty of a gross misdemeanor. The same bill cleared the House on a 90-7 vote last session but lapsed in the Senate. It is expected to receive a hearing in the Senate in early February. “Our election w...
An alliance of conservative groups on Tuesday submitted nearly 425,000 signatures for an initiative to guarantee parents access to materials their children are taught in K-12 classrooms and information about medical services public schools provide. The proposed ballot measure, Initiative 2081, would codify a “parents’ bill of rights” on matters ranging from reviewing textbooks and curriculum to obtaining medical records to being able to opt their child out of assignments involving questions about a child’s sexual experiences or their family...
Rising costs of transportation projects. Using artificial intelligence in Washington classrooms. Preserving affordable housing. Spending proceeds from the state’s new capital gains tax and recent cap-and-trade auctions. Those are a few topics state lawmakers will delve into when they return to Olympia for committee days, an annual fete in which they get schooled on issues that may arise in an upcoming session. In this case, it’s the 60-day session that begins Jan. 8. Senators will gather this week with 14 committees holding work sessions Thu...
Washington’s controversial carbon pricing scheme drew fire and praise Tuesday as critics turned in signatures for an initiative to repeal the program, while its architects, including the governor, vowed to fight the measure should it reach the ballot. Shortly before 1 p.m., opponents, led by a hedge fund manager and the leader of the state Republican Party, delivered 24 boxes of signed petitions to the Secretary of State’s Office in Tumwater. Standing on the building’s steps, Brian Heywood, founder of Let’s Go Washington and chief financi...
Washington drivers could one day be carrying Smokey Bear's image and message on their license plates to help reduce the number of wildfires started by people. An effort launched Monday would create a specialty license plate featuring the iconic bear and its hallmark slogan: "Only you can prevent wildfires." Proceeds from sales of the plates would go to public education programs focused on wildfire prevention, administered through the state Department of Natural Resources. Commissioner of Public...
As Finland saw traffic fatalities plummet last year, Washington tallied a record number of deaths on its roads. Next month, state lawmakers and transportation officials will travel to the Nordic nation to learn how it's succeeded in making traveling safer on its roadways. Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, will be part of the contingent making the trip in December. The plan is to visit Helsinki where he said there's been no traffic-related deaths this...
Those advising state lawmakers on ways to ensure Washington’s government operates transparently have grown pretty frustrated with the lack of interest in their advice. It reached the point earlier this year when the Public Records Exemptions Accountability Committee considered asking lawmakers to disband the advisory panel, concerned it had become, in one member’s words, a “perpetual task force that goes nowhere.” At a meeting Tuesday, members, still frustrated, agreed to make another run at getting lawmakers to heed the work they do. The panel...
Former congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler entered the race for Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands on Tuesday, giving Republicans a top-flight candidate in what's shaping up as one of next year's hottest electoral contests. Herrera Beutler, whose decision had been the subject of speculation for months, said she would focus on reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires, while working to preserve forest habitat and access to recreational areas. She said in an interview she would rely on gu...
U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democrat whose unexpected win in 2022 flipped a Republican-held seat in southwest Washington, has amassed $2.1 million for a re-election bid next year, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Gluesenkamp Perez hauled in $600,000 in the three-month period ending Sept. 30, outpacing Joe Kent and Leslie Lewallen, the two leading Republicans vying to challenge her next year. Kent, who Gluesenkamp Perez defeated by 2,629 votes in southwest Washi...
