Suzi LeVine, commissioner of Washington state’s Employment Security Department (ESD), is stepping down to take a job in the Biden administration, the agency announced Friday.

WASHINGTON – Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell sent a letter Friday morning asking President Joe Biden to swiftly authorize federal disaster assistance for residents of Malden and Pine City who have been waiting for help since a wildfire swept through their towns more than four months ago.

Other than a handful of individual protesters roamed the campus at various times throughout the day, but a draw down of Washington National Guardsmen as well as state troopers might still take some time. 

WASHINGTON – Northwest lawmakers from both parties welcomed President Joe Biden’s message of unity after he and Vice President Kamala Harris were sworn in Wednesday in an inauguration full of historic firsts.

Like millions of people around the world, Spokane City Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson woke up Wednesday morning and turned on her television to watch a moment more than two centuries in the making as Kamala Harris became the first female vice president of the United States.

WASHINGTON – The Senate returned to session Tuesday, a day before President-elect Joe Biden was set to take the oath of office, and Sen. Maria Cantwell said she is hopeful this week will mark the start of a new era in American politics – one that sees more bipartisan legislating and a more active Congress.

As soon as he could, Jim Rhoades rolled up the garage door that takes up an entire wall of Rock City Grill to take advantage of Washington state’s new guidelines loosening some COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants.

The new vaccination plan announced Monday includes opening up large vaccine administration sites statewide, giving more flexibility to the state's tiered approach and requiring providers to administer 95% of their allocations within the first week of receiving them. 

The first week of the Legislature brought forth numerous hearings on proposed police reform legislation, from changing tactics to updating training protocols to collecting data on every use of force incident. 

For more than 11 years, a Gadsden Flag, a yellow banner with a coiled rattlesnake and the motto "Don't Tread on Me", hung on the wall of my office in the Olympia Press House. I'm packing it away.

OLYMPIA – The Washington State House of Representatives voted to extend Gov. Jay Inslee’s COVID-19 emergency orders, despite Republican objection to the length of the extension.

Avista restored power to thousands more homes and businesses in the Inland Northwest but, by midday Friday, more than 25,000 were still without electricity 48 hours after a ferocious windstorm toppled trees across the Inland Northwest.

Providing economic assistance to families and businesses, improving broadband internet access, reopening schools and allowing for more flexibility in childcare options are just a few of the broad set of recommendations released by a Senate special committee for economic recovery post-COVID.

The proposed capital gains tax was part of Inslee's budget proposals released in December. It would create a 9% tax on annual investment earnings of more than $25,000 for an individual and $50,000 for a married couple.

The DNA evidence tying Eugene Young to a 2007 rape sat on a shelf in the Spokane Police Department’s storage facility for more than a decade.

The Washington National Guard will send nearly 400 troops to Washington, D.C., this weekend to assist with security for President-Elect Joe Biden's inauguration

The Washington State Senate voted Wednesday to extend Gov. Jay Inslee's emergency orders until the COVID-19 state of emergency is over, despite stiff Republican opposition.

WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to charge President Donald Trump with “incitement of insurrection,” making him the first president ever impeached twice and exposing a rift in the Republican Party both in Washington state and nationwide.