Washington

Over 50,000 Washington state workers across ten bargaining units have ratified collective bargaining agreements for the 2027–2029 biennium, accepting an initial wage freeze while securing $350 million for healthcare and protections against generative AI layoffs.

State biologists, tribes, and coastal shellfish growers captured over 2.16 million invasive European green crabs in fiscal year 2026, mounting an unprecedented containment effort to protect eelgrass beds, Dungeness nurseries, and a $400 million aquaculture economy.

Following nearly 400,000 recorded infractions in 30 days along Norpoint Way and Marine View Drive, the City of Tacoma has instituted a 100-ticket daily lottery per camera due to vendor and police processing limits.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown moved to intervene in a federal lawsuit defending Medicaid coverage for nearly 1,000 disabled refugees and asylees following a federal court preliminary injunction.

The Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials voted to freeze compensation for Gov. Bob Ferguson, Attorney General Nick Brown, and Lt. Gov. Denny Heck while approving modest raises for lawmakers.

Thirteen Washington and Oregon lawmakers demand transparency from Homeland Security over reported plans to buy the 1,575-bed Northwest ICE Processing Center ahead of contract expiration.

Federal and state agricultural inspectors confirmed the first Eastern Washington detection of the invasive emerald ash borer in Walla Walla County, placing the destructive beetle on both sides of the Cascades.

A University of Washington Center for Human Rights study documents 356 roadside arrests following federal queries of state driver records through Nlets and WSP ACCESS, prompting calls for strict judicial warrant mandates.

Washington State and Evergreen Public Schools agreed to a historic $49.33 million wrongful death settlement over the 2020 starvation death of 15-year-old Karreon Adams-Franks.

Bipartisan legislation championed by Washington Senator Maria Cantwell returns over 1,000 acres of federal project lands from the historic Elwha dam removals into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

At a healthcare summit in Vancouver, Washington, Senator Patty Murray joined regional clinic executives to detail severe patient delays and care denials under the federal WISeR algorithm.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Anne Egeler dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit challenging Washington State’s six-year Game Management Plan.

Washington Department of Ecology and DES open public review on the Draft Supplemental EIS for the Deschutes Estuary project, detailing bridge replacements, berms, and $100M in savings.

Agricultural regulators have quarantined two Yakima County dairy herds after confirming the first cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Washington cattle.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown joins 43 states in a $400M settlement with Sandoz and Fougera over generic drug price fixing, securing over $12M for Washington alongside dedicated restitution for local businesses.

Federal prosecutors in Seattle have charged 30-year-old Bellingham resident James Cody Bryant with conspiracy to murder in a foreign country, alleging months of digital coordination, bomb-making funds, and streaming logistics for the deadly Tumbler Ridge, B.C., school shooting.

The U.S. Supreme Court vacated a federal appeals court decision upholding Washington State's court-ordered legislative redistricting map, remanding the Yakima Valley dispute under Louisiana v. Callais.

Washington wildlife managers ordered an emergency monthlong closure of the Snohomish River after critically low coho returns and drought conditions threatened spawning escapement.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Schaller permanently blocked key mandates of Washington Senate Bill 5974, ruling that state lawmakers cannot impose law enforcement experience requirements or administrative removal on elected county sheriffs.

Governor Bob Ferguson and Ecology Director Casey Sixkiller push back against Canada's national priority designation for the Pacific Link pipeline, warning 92-million-gallon supertankers threaten the Salish Sea and endangered orcas.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and a 25-member state coalition file a D.C. Circuit petition challenging the repeal of federal carbon standards for coal and gas power plants.

Over 100 Washington residents testified at the Utilities and Transportation Commission hearing in Lacey against Puget Sound Energy's proposed three-year electric and natural gas rate increases.

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck the northern Key Peninsula near Wauna at 2:05 p.m. Tuesday, sending tremors across Western Washington without causing structural damage.

Governor Bob Ferguson formally requests a federal Major Disaster Declaration from the White House, seeking $128.9 million in FEMA Individual and Public Assistance after wildfires destroyed 649 homes.