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News > Spokane

Liberty Park post office closed after asbestos finding

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 4, 2026

The Liberty Park post office in the Union District was temporarily closed because of asbestos cleanup, according to the Spokane Clean Air Agency.

News > Washington

‘Devastating’: Sole grocery store, gas station closes on Pierce County island

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 4, 2026

Longtime residents of Anderson Island in Pierce County cycled through the community’s only gas station and general store on Monday. The shelves were bare, and the deli was quiet. After nearly 50 years in operation, the shop closed Tuesday when dwindling revenues couldn’t offset the cost of operation. Without a gas station, cafe, hardware store, deli, post office or place to buy fresh produce ...

News > Washington

Judge overturns disenrollment of prominent Squaxin Island Tribe member

UPDATED: Wed., Feb. 4, 2026

The Squaxin Island Tribe should not have expelled certain members during a wave of disenrollments last year, a judge has decided, overturning the tribe’s removals of longtime educator Sally Brownfield and two relatives. Rather than immediately re-enrolling Brownfield and her relatives, the tribe's leaders have asked the judge to reconsider. But the ruling against the tribe in its own court may ...

News > Pacific NW

Dirty work: An Inland Northwest truck driver is transforming dusty vehicles into works of art

Wed., Feb. 4, 2026

A smiley face, “Wash me,” lewd depictions of human anatomy: Those are the typical inscriptions one might see etched into a dirt-covered car.

News > Spokane

This day in history: Jewelry story said it was leaving downtown Spokane because of high parking costs. Warren Heylman calmly defended health building

Wed., Feb. 4, 2026

From 1976: The Carat Shoppe, a jewelry store at Sprague Avenue and Wall Street, announced it was leaving downtown in protest of “higher parking meter rates and increased bus fares.”

News > Pacific NW

Federal judge restricts agents’ use of tear gas, munitions against crowds at Portland ICE facility

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 3, 2026

Federal agents at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Portland are temporarily barred from deploying less-lethal munitions and chemicals at protesters unless the agents are in “imminent threat of physical harm,” a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

News > Washington

White nationalists claimed WA man doxxed them. How a judge responded

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 3, 2026

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit that accused a Washington man of infiltrating a white nationalist group and using confidential information to harass and threaten people in the organization.

News > Washington

Super Bowl championship could mean home value growth, Zillow says

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 3, 2026

A Super Bowl win could mean more for fans than the pride of watching their team bring home the Lombardi Trophy and the bragging rights that follow.

News > Washington

Is a 32-hour work week in WA’s future? Lawmakers say it would boost productivity

UPDATED: Tue., Feb. 3, 2026

Should Washington shave eight hours off the standard 40-hour work week? Some state lawmakers think so.

News > Spokane

This day in history: Spokane police officer jumped in and out of out-of-control moving car in attempt to stop it. ‘Baby Spokane’ named

Tue., Feb. 3, 2026

From 1976: It looked like a scene dreamed up by a movie stuntman, but the incident on Second Avenue downtown was a genuine – and terrifying – accident .

News > Spokane

Spokane landlords now required to engage in eviction prevention programs, council votes

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Spokane landlords must participate in eviction prevention programs before removing someone for nonpayment, the City Council voted Monday.

News > Spokane

Spokane council eyes icing ICE out of more public property

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Most of Spokane’s public property may soon become off limits to federal immigration agents attempting enforcement actions without a judicial warrant after Councilman Paul Dillon introduced an ordinance expanding a more limited law passed in August.

News > Pacific NW

Federal government denies Dunleavy request that it fully pay for initial storm response in Western Alaska

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Federal officials have denied Alaska's request to cover all initial expenses associated with a costly and complicated disaster response effort following a catastrophic Western Alaska storm last fall. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is appealing the decision, revising his request to ask that the Federal Emergency Management Agency instead pay 90% of the cost. In early October, the remnants of Typhoon Halong ...

News > Washington

Eviction levels hit an all-time high in WA, especially in Seattle area

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Washington state and King County recorded more evictions in 2025 than ever before — a sign that the affordability crisis is deepening. The number of eviction cases filed in Washington courts rose to 23,965 in 2025, a 3% increase from 2024. The increase was significantly greater in the Seattle area.

News > Pacific NW

Portland apartment near ICE center sues agency for making tenants’ lives unbearable

UPDATED: Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Diane Moreno was walking home in late January when she said she was struck five times by rubber bullets fired by federal agents, leaving welts and bruises across her body.

News > Spokane

Then and Now: Sweeny/Finucane House

Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Spokane’s city traffic planners proposed extending Stevens Street up over the South Hill bluff in 1959 for safer travel and to relieve congestion on Grand Boulevard. But a historic home was in the way.

News > Spokane

Getting There: Spokane mulls reducing lanes on Grand Boulevard in 2027

Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

Most of the northern half of Grand Boulevard, a major arterial connecting the southern half of Spokane to its downtown, will likely lose at least one lane for through traffic next year in a move city officials believe will reduce crashes by up to 24%.

News > Spokane

This day in history: Wanted disbarred attorney found in Alaska, pleads guilty to grand larceny. Mystery of fair safe cracker who stole $18k remains unsolved

Mon., Feb. 2, 2026

From 1976: A disbarred Spokane attorney – who had been sought by the FBI for more than six years – pleaded guilty to grand larceny for misappropriating clients’ money.

News > Pacific NW

Cool Critters: The western painted turtle is one cool reptile, especially in winter

Sun., Feb. 1, 2026

As we humans warm ourselves with space heaters, coats and gloves, western painted turtles are at the bottom of our region’s ice-covered ponds, streams and creeks. Sometimes they can be seen through clear ice, as if they’re trapped. What’s going on, however, is life in cold blood.

News > Spokane

Bloomsday Perennial: Rogers, WSU grad became a pioneer before the ADA could help

Sun., Feb. 1, 2026

There were some years when Larry Gorton signed up for Bloomsday as “Larry” and other years that he signed up with his formal name, “Lawrence.” As the number of Bloomsdays climbed, Gorton had to convince organizers that Larry Gorton and Lawrence Gorton were the same person so he could claim his Perennial status as someone who has completed every race.

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