News | The Daily Chronicle

Rainier man, 80, dies in U.S. Highway 12 crash in Lewis County

An 80-year-old Rainier man died following a crash on U.S. Highway 12 in Salkum on March 15, according to a news release by the Washington State Patrol on Friday morning. Donald B. Bell was … more

By The Chronicle staff | 3/21/25

Thurston County music nonprofit asks public for help after reporting $10,000 equipment theft

An Olympia nonprofit that teaches music to youth says thousands of dollars' worth of instruments and audio equipment were stolen from its headquarters last week. Bobby Williams, executive … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS) | 3/21/25

Leftwing activist group says it reserved hundreds of seats at Washington congressman’s tumultuous town hall

Most of the tickets to U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner's tumultuous town hall Monday night at Whitworth University were reportedly claimed by members of the Spokane branch of the left-wing activist … more

Emry Dinman / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 3/21/25

Washington Senate Minority Leaders John Braun, R-Centralia, and Andy Billig, D-Spokane, sent a joint letter in 2023 urging Gov. Jay Inslee to fly an Israeli flag at the state Capitol and to lower state flags to half-mast.

Eastern Washington University, Whitman College deny allowing antisemitic activity

Two Eastern Washington colleges were threatened on March 10 with potential enforcement actions by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights over alleged antisemitic discrimination and … more

Emry Dinman / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 3/21/25

Three accused of attempting to smuggle drugs into Washington State Penitentiary

Three separate visitors to Washington State Penitentiary during the past week were arrested after arriving at the prison with drugs. A news release from the state Department of Corrections said … more

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (TNS) | 3/21/25

A protester holds up a homemade sign during a rally opposing state budget cuts on the steps of the Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia on Monday, March 17.

Washington state lawmakers eye salary cuts for state employees amid budget crunch

Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% pay cut for nearly all state employees as the state grapples with an estimated $15 billion budget shortfall over the next four years. Under the proposal, … more

Sofia Schwarzwalder / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/21/25

A female gray wolf in snow. (Mikael Males/Dreamstime/TNS)

$30,500 reward offered for information on gray wolf killed in Oregon

Environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are seeking help from the public in investigating the killing this month of a gray wolf near Sisters, Oregon. State and federal … more

Gosia Wozniacka / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/21/25

Sandhill cranes fly over Sauvie Island with Mount St. Helens in the background Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022.

Officials claim Trump cuts could compromise PNW earthquake and volcano warning systems

At the confluence of multiple tectonic plates, on the Pacific Ring of Fire, sits the West Coast of the United States, where the Cascade mountains in Oregon and Washington are dotted with active … more

Lizzy Acker / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/21/25

‘Valentine Herd’: Neglected horses rescued from Thurston County cockfighting farm

A herd of neglected horses was rescued from a cockfighting farm with hundreds of roosters in Thurston County, officials said. The horses and other livestock, including more than 500 … more

By Brooke Baitinger / The Olympian (TNS) | 3/21/25

Police investigating after missing man's vehicle found burned, abandoned near Randle

The Longview Police Department is investigating the disappearance of a Longview man reported missing for a week. Davis A. Long, 57, was reported missing on March 12. His vehicle was … more

By The Daily News | 3/21/25

A harvester crane processes a log on a thinning project in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The project was led by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the result of growing efforts by state agencies to conduct work on federal land. President Donald Trump’s plans to increase logging on federal lands will depend heavily on states’ cooperation, experts say. (Courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources)

Trump will need help from states as he seeks to log more trees

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders to increase logging in national forests and on other federal lands. Trump’s orders direct federal agencies to … more

By Alex Brown / States Newsroom | 3/21/25

Public testimony heats up over Washington state bill that would undo some of parents’ rights initiative

The Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee got an earful Thursday from supporters and detractors of proposed legislation “promoting a safe and supportive public education system” that … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 3/20/25

A Washington State Patrol trooper attends the 19th CVEO Basic Open House on Feb. 7, 2024.

Washington state bill could allow noncitizens to police, prosecute U.S. citizens

A bill moving through the Washington state Legislature would allow lawful permanent residents and foreign nationals who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 3/20/25

Staff at the Washington state attorney general’s office in Seattle and elsewhere staged a walkout Thursday to make their case against furloughs and budget cuts. (Photo courtesy of Julia Parkey)

Staff at Washington state AG’s office stage walkout to protest proposed furloughs and budget cuts

Staff at the Washington attorney general’s office argue a furlough will just mean unpaid hours because the agency’s work has to get done. They say about $20 million in proposed … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Ralph Munro was first elected as Washington’s secretary of state in 1980 and would go on to serve five terms in the job. He’s seen here, right, with bagpipes at a National Association of Secretaries of State Conference in 1986 and, left, in an official portrait from 1985. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Remembering Ralph Munro, five-term Washington secretary of state and statesman

Ralph Munro, Washington’s longest-serving secretary of state and a moderate Republican who achieved unusually broad popularity across the political spectrum, died early Thursday at his … more

By Tom Banse / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Cases against suspects caught with 44 pounds of cocaine in Lewis County dismissed as federal charges are pursued

Two men arrested by Joint Narcotics Enforcement Team (JNET) personnel on Monday for alleged possession of nearly 44 pounds of meth have been released from the Lewis County Jail pending federal … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@chronline.com | 3/20/25

Fifth grader Lizzie Miller smiles with her first place medal and other winnings after winning the Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge at Orin Smith Elementary School in Chehalis on Wednesday, March 20.

Future Chefs cook up competition at Orin C. Smith Elementary in Chehalis

The talented young cooks of Orin C. Smith Elementary School on Wednesday participated in Future Chefs of America, a cooking competition hosted by the Chehalis School District’s food management … more

By Tyrus VanTuyl / ty@chronline.com | 3/20/25

Democratic state senators push $17B dollar tax package to balance Washington state budget

Let the tax debate begin in Olympia. Democrats in the Washington state Senate kicked it off Thursday with a monstrous opening statement , calling for higher property tax collections and new … more

By: Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Washington state infant attacked by dog, alive and receiving care

MOSES LAKE — Friday at around noon, the Grant County Sheriff's Office was notified of a dog attack incident involving a 4-week-old baby boy. The minor was brought to Samaritan Hospital prior to … more

Nance Beston / Columbia Basin Herald (TNS) | 3/20/25

Ukrainian grocery store in Washington state targeted by suspected impersonators pretending to be ICE

An investigation is underway in Fife after suspected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement impersonators targeted a local Ukrainian store on Sunday. The impersonators staked out Emish Market … more

Puneet Bsanti / The News Tribune (TNS) | 3/20/25