Washington

The Washington State Economic and Revenue Forecast Council adopted its September 2026 forecast, adding $22 million to the current budget but leaving a projected deficit for fiscal year 2028.

An unseasonably early fall windstorm battered Western Washington with 45 mph gusts on Friday, cutting power to more than 60,000 customers, closing highway lanes, and devastating Puget Sound Energy circuits in Thurston County.

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove adjusted his order protecting older state forests from 77,000 to 55,000 acres, calling the initial target a false start amid timber revenue deficits.

State officials dedicated the rehabilitated Joel Pritchard Building on the Olympia Capitol campus on Thursday, completing a $131 million modernization project that restores the 1958 Paul Thiry landmark to active legislative service.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom authorizes linking California and Washington carbon markets as Washington Ecology adopts final administrative rules, paving the way for joint 2027 emissions auctions.

A federal judge in Seattle has dismissed with prejudice the Justice Department's lawsuit seeking unredacted voter registration files for 4.8 million Washington residents.

Governor Bob Ferguson and DCYF announced 42 new preschool sites adding 2,400 slots across Washington under a public-private partnership with the Ballmer Group.

PeaceHealth will eliminate 150 IT jobs across Vancouver, Bellingham, and Sedro-Woolley on November 20 as it outsources tech operations to Tech Mahindra subsidiary The HCI Group.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown joins a 22-state coalition in Manhattan federal court to halt a new DHS public charge rule penalizing immigrant families for accessing Medicaid, food assistance, and housing.

A federal judge in Virginia granted a preliminary injunction co-led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown, halting federal seizure of 17 million commercial driver license records and protecting $10 million in safety funding.

The Washington Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Initiative 2066 is unconstitutional in its entirety, finding that the voter-approved natural gas measure bundled four distinct subjects in violation of Article II, Section 19.

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved Council Bill 121278, amending the municipal civil rights code to prohibit discrimination based on consensual non-monogamy, pansexuality, and asexuality.

UNITE HERE Local 8 workers at the Embassy Suites Seattle Downtown Pioneer Square ratified a four-year contract, ending an 85-day strike with record $31.03 starting housekeeper wages and year-round healthcare.

President Donald Trump nominated Pete Serrano to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, prompting an immediate vow from Senator Patty Murray to block the appointment through Senate procedures.

A new 80-page study from Challenge Seattle details Puget Sound shedding nearly 7,000 jobs in 2025 as Washington falls from 1st to 11th in national business rankings.

Superintendent Chris Reykdal asks Governor Ferguson and lawmakers for nearly $2 billion in the 2027-2029 budget to fund basic education as schools face soaring insurance and utility costs.

Washington state negotiators and public sector unions representing over 44,000 workers reached tentative two-year contract agreements following weeks of impasse, meeting the crucial October 1 budget deadline.

Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and a 24-state coalition secure a formal settlement blocking federal cuts to AmeriCorps, preserving over $21 million in community service funding across Washington state.

Washington insurance regulators approve an average 22.2 percent rate hike for 2027 individual health plans, impacting 281,055 residents as expired federal subsidies destabilize risk pools.

Attorney General Nick Brown is co-leading two federal lawsuits challenging Trump administration rules that strip habitat protections from the 1973 law, with southern resident orcas and salmon at the center of the state's case.

More than 550 Washington National Guard soldiers and airmen have completed a six-week wildfire mobilization across six major complexes, logging 474 flight hours and dropping nearly two million gallons of water.

Sound Transit and WSDOT are investigating the deaths of approximately 2,000 fish in Lake Washington after an impressed current cathodic protection system on the I-90 floating bridge created localized electrical fields near the lakebed.

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed Executive Order 26-03 to shield Washington Apple Health and over 600,000 residents from federal H.R. 1 Medicaid cuts.

Douglas County detectives arrested 18-year-old Michael Yakimov of Kent on first-degree manslaughter and arson charges after fireworks allegedly ignited the 10,000-acre Chelan Hills Fire, killing one resident.