House Democrats propose raises for teachers, state mental health professionals in new budget.

Editors asked reporters to list their favorite stories of 2015. Here's mine.

Spin Control looks back at some political highlights and lowlifes of 2015

A legislative panel takes up the questions around the legality of online fantasy sports betting on Friday.

A Senate committee will consider whether fantasy sports is a game of skill or chance.

Well, pilgrim, we’ve got ourselves a bit of trouble in this here town of Tekoa. A part of the John Wayne Trail might be closed and some folks hereabouts are pretty riled up. That may be how the cross-state trail’s namesake would describe a controversy in Tekoa, where local officials recently learned the state might abandon a section of the trail from the Columbia River to Malden. Tekoa Mayor John Jaeger said the plan came as a complete surprise and the City Council passed a resolution this week to send a message of “Whoa!” to a chief supporter of the closure, Rep. Joe Schmick.

OLYMPIA – A fourth special session of the Washington Legislature could be called for mid-November to deal with legal questions surrounding public schools and their financing. Gov. Jay Inslee said he’d be willing to call one starting Nov. 19, when legislators will be in Olympia anyway for “committee days” in advance of the 2016 regular session.

OLYMPIA – Teacher strikers are not legal under Washington law. That doesn’t stop them from happening, although it sometimes stops them from continuing.

OLYMPIA – Teacher strikes are not legal under Washington law. That doesn’t stop them from happening, although it sometimes stops them from continuing. The problem with that law, say Republican legislators who have tried unsuccessfully to change it, is there's no defined penalty for breaking it.

OLYMPIA -- The recount of the 9th Legislative District House race confirmed that former Franklin County Sheriff Richard Lathim will run against appointed Rep. Mary Dye in the general election.

OLYMPIA – With a significant part of the state in flames and entire towns being evacuated, this is no time to throw the word “crisis” around lightly. So it must be noted first and foremost that when the group that runs the state Senate invoked the “C” word Friday, they mean a crisis of a more theoretical nature.

OLYMPIA – Enough already with promises to fix the state’s schools, the state Supreme Court told the Legislature on Thursday. Until the Legislature establishes a concrete plan, it’ll cost the state $100,000 a day, the justices ruled. The court strongly suggested lawmakers return to the Capitol for a fourth special session, saying it would void the fines if that results in a plan for the remaining obstacles to meeting a constitutional mandate to treat public education as the state’s paramount duty.

To see the complete order from the state Supreme Court that fines the Legislature $100,000 a day for not producing a complete plan to improve public schools, go inside the blog.

OLYMPIA -- The state Supreme Court orders $100,000 per day fines for Legislature's failure to come up with a "complete plan" to improve public schools.

OLYMPIA -- A major rewrite of the state's clean water rules was put on hold today as Gov. Jay Inslee ordered the Department of Ecology to "reassess" the plan he proposed in 2015 year but did not pass this year's Legislature. The department may draft a new set of rules for pollution and fish consumption standards.

Washington's gasoline tax goes up 7 cents Saturday but your price at the pump won’t automatically jump by that amount at 12:01 a.m. It could go up that much or more. Or less. Or it could stay the same. Or go down.