News

The number of concealed-pistol licenses is growing in Washington and nowhere faster in recent months than in Pierce County, state data shows. As of July 31, the total number of concealed-carry permits statewide has surpassed 713,000, an increase of about 14,000 so far this year and already the largest annual climb in Washington since 2022, according to data provided by the Washington State ...

A 19-year-old man is suspected of grabbing a bikini barista in Lakewood and trying to pull her out of the drive-thru window last week. Prosecutors charged the man with attempted first-degree kidnapping for the incident that reportedly took place Aug. 18. A plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf during his arraignment Tuesday in the Pierce County Superior Court. He was released on his ...

The Transportation Department is planning to take over management of D.C.’s Union Station, Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced Wednesday, in another example of the White House exerting power over the District as National Guard soldiers and federal law enforcement officers continue to patrol the city.

SELAH CIVIC CENTER, Yakima County — Years after a group of substances often described as forever chemicals were found in drinking water near Joint Base Lewis-McChord’s Yakima Training Center, families are still waiting for water filtration systems, and state officials are frustrated with the Army’s “pattern of slow or no release of information” about the contamination. Washington state ...

After repeated delays, more than $30 million spent and little to show for it, a decadelong effort to upgrade the state’s antiquated workers' compensation system has been put on hold. On Friday, WaTech, the state’s information technology oversight office, suspended “all project activities and expenditures” for the $292 million upgrade due to a “continued lack of progress and ability to execute” ...

Aug. 27—Tours of the new Asotin County Justice Complex proved to be popular with the public Tuesday. Jail Commander Nate Uhlorn, Commissioner Chuck Whitman and Sheriff John Hilderbrand were among the officials guiding the steady flow of folks through the 144-bed facility along Sixth Avenue in the Clarkston Heights. "Outside of this tour today, no citizens will ever come up here," Uhlorn said ...

The philanthropic ecosystem spun out of Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's massive estate is getting bigger. The Fund for Science and Technology launched Wednesday with plans to fund at least $500 million worth of grants over the next four years. The 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation will support transformational science and technology" in bioscience, the environment and artificial intelligence. ...