State health officials are asking for backup for Washington’s fatigued health care workers.

But many large organized religions are actually not opposed to vaccines.

OLYMPIA – The five legislative districts in Spokane County may look a bit different under new proposals released Tuesday by the state redistricting commission.

With the national media’s almost unabated attention to the attempted recall of California Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, several alert readers wrote to ask about something closer to home.

As of Sept. 6, nearly 8% of the state employees covered by the mandate put in either a religious or medical exemption request with their human resources department.

Starting Monday, everyone in the state — regardless of vaccination status — will be required to wear a mask at outdoor gatherings of 500 people or more, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray got a clear message from regional fire officials in a virtual roundtable discussion Wednesday: The federal government needs to make it easier for fire departments to battle the wildfires that are increasingly ravaging the West.

Beginning in 2022, Washington workers will see a payroll tax for long-term care, part of a statewide benefit that will be available to residents beginning in 2025. Workers have until this November to opt out.

LeVine, who took the job in the Biden administration earlier this year, wrote in a LinkedIn post that she is leaving the job to focus more on her family. Her last day was Friday.

The state has released new guidance that will probably affect many school employee COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests, particularly those based on religion.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday won full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in all people who are 16 and older.

Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan’s office said this spring that 10 months of her missing text messages could be attributed to an “unknown technology issue.”

After about four months of freedom from masks for vaccinated people, Gov. Jay Inslee announced Wednesday vaccinated people must join those unvaccinated in wearing masks when indoors.

The requirement includes exemptions for religious or disability-related reasons, but those seeking continued employment at the courts or the state's Law Library will need to get their shots by Nov. 1 in order to keep their job. 

Beginning Aug. 23, everyone — regardless of vaccination status — will be required to wear masks in indoor settings. 

While newspaper reporters must be wary of pronouncing trends – that’s the purview of cable news talking heads who guard their territory jealously – some evidence points to a cooling in Washington’s love affair with the great populist institution known as the ballot initiative measure.