Laurel Demkovich

All Stories

News >  Local Government

With just days before the August primary election, there’s still time to turn in your ballot

Sun., Aug. 1, 2021

Primary Election Day just days away, and it's voters' chance to choose which local candidates across Spokane County should advance to the Nov. 2 General Election.

News >  WA Government

Inslee calls for investment to fight climate change on wildfire call with Biden

UPDATED: Fri., July 30, 2021

Inslee joined six governors in a virtual meeting with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday to discuss wildfire fighting and prevention.

News >  WA Government

Washington health officials recommending, not mandating, vaccinated people wear masks in high-transmission areas

UPDATED: Wed., July 28, 2021

Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday the state would be following the new guidance for fully vaccinated people in indoor settings but noted it was not a requirement, just a recommendation. 

News

Gov. Little joins governors, premiers in calling for border reopening

Wed., July 28, 2021

Idaho Gov. Brad Little joined two governors and two Canadian premiers in urging President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to reopen the U.S.-Canadian border. 

News >  Health

CDC recommends everyone wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status in high-transmission counties

UPDATED: Wed., July 28, 2021

The CDC changed the masking recommendation due to new data that found fully vaccinated people who test positive for the delta variant can spread the virus to others.

News

Some Washington counties recommend mask use indoors for vaccinated people

UPDATED: Mon., July 26, 2021

OLYMPIA – Don’t put those masks away just yet.

News >  WA Government

Hundreds of new Washington laws go into effect on Sunday covering areas from police accountability to wildfires to education

UPDATED: Fri., July 23, 2021

And on July 25, 90 days since adjourning, most bills will go into effect. Here's a look at what might change in the coming months:

News >  Washington

Trudeau announces possible border reopening, but residents of border towns aren’t hopeful

UPDATED: Sat., July 17, 2021

After 16 months of closure, Trudeau said Canada could start allowing fully vaccinated Americans as of mid-August for non-essential travel and could allow fully vaccinated travelers from all countries by early September — if Canada's current vaccine rate holds.

News >  WA Government

South King County mechanic wins Washington’s $1 million vaccine lottery

UPDATED: Sat., July 17, 2021

The lottery got a hold of his mother who told Kameron, 23, she thought it was real: He had just won $1 million in the state's vaccine lottery.

News >  Nation

Western Washington’s golden paintbrush flower could be removed from endangered species list

Thu., July 15, 2021

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed late last month to remove the golden paintbrush, known for its yellow paintbrush-like shape, from the endangered species list. 

News >  Legal

Supreme Court declines to hear case of Richland florist who refused same-sex wedding job

UPDATED: Fri., July 2, 2021

The Supreme Court on Friday declined to take up the case of a Richland florist who refused to provide services for a same-sex wedding, leaving in place a decision that she broke state anti-discrimination laws.

News >  Spokane

As current dry, hot conditions increase fire risk, authorities in Inland Northwest counties urge against fireworks this Fourth

UPDATED: Fri., July 2, 2021

As the area comes off a record-breaking heatwave, almost every jurisdiction in the Inland Northwest has some sort of fireworks ban in place to prevent wildfires. Even in counties that don't have a ban, officials are urging the public to avoid putting on their own display and go watch a professional show instead.

News >  Health

Inslee visits Spokane as Washington state reopens for business with 69% of residents 16 and older vaccinated

UPDATED: Thu., July 1, 2021

Citing the scheduling of a Death Cab for Cutie concert and the return of Hoopfest, Gov. Jay Inslee declared “Spokane is back” on Wednesday at the city’s U.S. Pavilion.

News >  WA Government

Biden pledges to boost firefighter pay, revamp national response to growing wildfire threat in meeting with Inslee, other Western governors

UPDATED: Wed., June 30, 2021

WASHINGTON – In a virtual meeting with governors from eight Western states on Wednesday, President Joe Biden pledged a short-term pay increase for federal firefighters and outlined a plan to change the way the country tackles increasingly long and destructive fire seasons.

News >  Business

‘It buys us time’: Inslee sends state funds to keep Point Roberts’ only grocery store open as border closure continues

UPDATED: Tue., June 29, 2021

Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday approved $100,000 of state strategic reserve funds to support the Point Roberts International Marketplace, the only grocery store in the small U.S. exclave that's been isolated from the rest of the country since the pandemic started.

News >  WA Government

As border reopening date remains uncertain, small Washington and Idaho border towns are ‘at the end of their rope’

Sun., June 27, 2021

And with no end date in sight, many businesses have been forced to close their doors forever. Others have managed to stay open the past 15 months but barely.

News >  WA Government

Gov. Jay Inslee announces eviction moratorium ‘bridge,’ plan to transition out by end of September

UPDATED: Thu., June 24, 2021

The bridge will start July 1 — the day after the current eviction moratorium was set to expire — and run through Sept. 30.

News >  Idaho

‘Well worth it’: Kootenai Tribe holds cross-border vaccine clinic with Kootenay Tribe of British Columbia

UPDATED: Tue., June 22, 2021

As a Canadian Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration, the clinic gave more than 160 tribal and Creston, British Columbia, community members and a few Canadian border patrol a shot — most of which were second doses.

News >  ID Government

On the border: As the Canadian border closure remains, separated families get creative for meet-ups

UPDATED: Mon., June 21, 2021

On any given weekend, the border roads in the Northwest Washington towns of Lynden, Blaine and Sumas are filled with families looking to hug each other for the first time in months, celebrate birthdays or holidays, or even meet with immigration lawyers.

News >  Nation/World

How two women in Point Roberts went from retired to the town’s premier yardwork service

Sun., June 20, 2021

On average, Meursing, 73, and Thomas, 72, mow about two to three yards a day. In total, they take care of 16, and most of them, for free.

News >  Nation/World

Isolated from the rest of Washington, Point Roberts residents worry for future of ‘Little America’ as border restrictions are extended

UPDATED: Mon., June 21, 2021

Full-time residents can’t leave unless it’s deemed “essential.” For many, the temporary free ferry from Bellingham is their only option to get out. Part-time residents, mostly Canadians or dual citizens who flock to the beach town in the summer, haven’t been able to visit their homes.

News >  Spokane

With increased vaccinations come increased travel plans; here’s what to expect during a summer travel surge

UPDATED: Wed., June 16, 2021

In the last weekend, more than 2 million people traveled through Transportation Security Administration checkpoints, the most since the pandemic hit more than a year ago.

News >  Nation

We the People: Flag Day is this week, and what you know about Betsy Ross is probably not right

UPDATED: Mon., June 14, 2021

The story of the original flag and Ross' involvement is a little bit more complicated than what many might remember learning in grade school.

News >  WA Government

Cami Feek to head Washington’s Employment Security Department, Inslee announces

UPDATED: Wed., June 9, 2021

Fleek took over in February after former commissioner Suzi LeVine took a job in the Biden administration.

News

As lawsuit against Inslee gets Supreme Court hearing, lawmakers, activists express concerns for future compromises

Wed., June 9, 2021

The case got a hearing in the state Supreme Court on Tuesday where counsel for both Inslee and the Legislature argued before the court what exactly a governor is allowed to veto. The state Constitution allows a governor to veto whole sections of bills when signing them but not specific line items.