Pacific NW

The Washington Department of Ecology issued an emergency statewide drought declaration Wednesday as dismal snowpack levels and an anticipated warm summer spell serious consequences for the state’s water supply.

The data center boom fueling artificial intelligence’s rise could be coming to Seattle proper, which the city utility says could make its job of providing power to residents more difficult.

Multiple high-profile departures will reshape the Washington state Legislature as several senators and representatives have announced plans to retire or make bids for higher office.

Their paddles sliced through the water’s surface, pulling the canoes below a refinery skyline. The canoes from the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community paused near the Holly Frontier oil refinery pier. They were here Wednesday to honor a gray whale that died, its body wedged among the pilings in front of them.

Human remains found near Spanaway have been identified as Aidan Spear, a 21-year-old Indigenous woman who went missing in 2022 after she was supposed to meet up with her mother, authorities said Thursday.

Washington has become even less affordable for older adults over the past decade as costs of necessities such as health care and housing have soared.

A Pierce County jury ordered the state and a day care center to pay $130 million to the estate of a 2-year-old girl who was killed after Washington's child welfare agency returned her to the care of her mother. Lawyers for 2-year-old Sarai Brooks' grandmother, who represented the estate in the lawsuit, believe the $130 million price tag is the highest returned by a Washington jury in a ...

OLYMPIA — The state's new income tax on millionaires won't go into effect until 2029, but preparing for its implementation will require the state to hire hundreds of employees in the coming years. According to Mikhail Carpenter, spokesperson for the state Department of Revenue, funding the new positions at the agency will start July 1, when the new fiscal year begins. By 2030, the agency plans ...

The Idaho Legislature’s approval of a change in law that would have expanded the number of children a day care provider may watch at one time was struck down by Gov. Brad Little with a rare veto Wednesday evening, with the Republican citing safety concerns and risks of fraud.

Gov. Brad Little issued five vetoes Wednesday evening dealing with issues ranging from day care to rainy day funds.

Idaho’s six urban counties paced a statewide 1.4% increase last year, bringing Idaho’s population close to 2.03 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau data compiled by the Idaho Department of Labor. That’s good for second in the nation, trailing South Carolina by one-tenth of a percentage point.