State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources and Lewis County Fire District 5 respond to a wildfire off of Nando Lane in Napavine on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

DNR grants 25 wildfire engines to fire districts around state to boost wildfire response

The Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will be transferring 25 surplus wildland fire engines at no cost to fire districts in wildfire-prone communities around Washington state … more

By The Chronicle staff | 1/19/26

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, watches an Onalaska High School student feed a fish on Tuesday, Oct. 28.

MGP says she has delivered for Southwest Washington in three government funding bills

Last week, the U.S. Senate passed three 2026 funding bills, which included provisions authored by U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania. As a member of the House Appropriations … more

By The Chronicle staff | 1/19/26

The sun breaks through clouds along the Columbia River in Hood River County, Oregon, on Thursday, July 25, 2024.

Army Corps to look at $1.5B underwater Columbia River power line project, asks for public comment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced last week it will hold two online public meetings later this month to get feedback on a $1.5 billion project to run a 100-mile-long high-voltage power line … more

By Henry Brannan / Murrow News | 1/19/26

Two men die in Sunday crash in Cowlitz County

Authorities say two Kelso men are dead after their car flipped Sunday into a slough along Industrial Way, near Northwest Alloys — the former Millennium Bulk terminal — in Longview. John D. … more

By The Daily News | 1/19/26

Zoey McRae of the South Sound YMCA delivers closing remarks at a National Day of Racial Healing event hosted by the City of Olympia at The Olympia Center on Saturday, Jan. 17. The city partnered with the South Sound YMCA, the Thurston County chapter of the NAACP, Lexi Alberts Consulting and the Timberland Library for the event.

Olympia recommits to equity with recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, National Day of Racial Healing and Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Day

The City of Olympia reaffirmed its commitment to equity last week with three proclamations to a packed city council chambers recognizing several national days of observance. The … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@thurstonchronicle.com | 1/19/26

A sea lion, about 70 miles upstream from the Columbia River, pokes its head above the water on the Cowlitz River where hatchery salmon were released in this 2023 Chronicle file photo.

Southwest Washington shows a united front for additional sea lion control

A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the Washington state Senate and House of Representatives have introduced bills to begin crowdfunding to support additional efforts to control an invasive sea … more

By Jacob Moore / jacob@chronline.com | 1/19/26

Bank robbery note, dropped in Washington Goodwill, leads to suspect

An unexpected find at a Seattle Goodwill led to the arrest of a suspected bank robber over the weekend, according to police. On Friday afternoon, a man entered the Columbia Bank on Broadway … more

Nicole Pasia / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 1/19/26

"Seahawks win BIG and move onto NFC Championship Game defeating the 49ers 41-6! 12s were busy tonight rockin' Lumen Field! Here is the full game seismogram from station HWK1 inside the stadium. Check out pnsn.org this week for more scientific analysis of tonight's big win."

Seahawks fans’ roar over 49ers rivaled ‘Beast Quake,’ scientists say

It only took about 13 seconds for Seahawks fans to rock the rafters of Lumen Field on Saturday night. Over a decade since the “Beast Quake” that cemented Seattle’s reputation for loud … more

Nicole Pasia / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 1/19/26

The city of Ilwaco Fire Department in Ilwaco, Pacific County. (Ilwaco Fire Department)

Pacific County fire chief charged with 37 counts of child sexual abuse

Prosecutors last week charged a volunteer fire chief in Pacific County in Southwest Washington with 37 counts of child sex crimes involving four young boys. Police believe Ilwaco volunteer Fire … more

By Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 1/19/26

The three barrier culverts on Bush Creek that were also removed in 2018 opened nearly 8.5 miles of upstream stream spawning and rearing habitat for the five salmonoid species found in the creek. Two of the barrier culverts were replaced with 29-foot diameter pipes instead of a bridge because installing bridges would have been too costly. In this area too, the smaller sized culverts caused the water to back up under heavy flows and flood the surrounding area. Now, the water is flowing through. The planted western redcedar, willow and Douglas-fir are growing well. And cutthroat are in the stream. After we opened the pipe and had water running through it, co-owner of Streamworks Consulting Brett Demond said, there was probably a dozen cutthroat hanging out in it.

Checking in on the Chehalis Basin restoration projects

A little over 21 inches of precipitation is what the National Centers for Environmental Information, an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reported that Grays Harbor … more

By Andrea Watts / The Daily World | 1/19/26

The knife used by Johnson Mailos, 18, of Longview during a stabbing of a R.A Long student at Lake Sacajawea Park on Feb. 21, 2024.

Teen convicted of Cowlitz County stabbing sentenced to 18 years

Johnson Mailos, the young Longview man convicted of stabbing a 16-year-old when he was the same age , was sentenced Friday to 18 years — the amount of time he's spent on earth. Cowlitz County … more

Matt Esnayra / The Daily News | 1/19/26

Smoke rises from TransAlta USA at sunset in Centralia on Thursday, Oct. 27.

Washington state lawmaker and lawsuit attempt to force production of CCA climate data

Washington Policy Center and the Citizen Action Defense Fund are applying more pressure in their lawsuit that hopes to force the Department of Ecology to produce climate data as required by the … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 1/19/26

Competing bills for Washington state boys and men's commission highlight gender debate

A Washington Republican lawmaker, who has spent several years trying to garner support for a commission on boys and men, feels her legislation has been coopted by the other party, with vastly … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 1/19/26

Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen walks off the chamber floor while Gov. Bob Ferguson delivers the State of the State address at the Washington state Capitol in Olympia on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Washington state GOP leader: Energy subsidy bill 'warps meaning of affordability'

Legislation that would provide large subsidies for power hookup to Washington industries focusing on alternative energy options cleared the state House Thursday, but not before passionate testimony … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 1/19/26

U.S. Education Department launches 18 Title IX probes as Supreme Court hears cases

The Trump administration has launched a series of investigations into various public schools and state departments of education across the country over Title IX allegations related to the … more

By Esther Wickham / The Center Square | 1/19/26

A grizzly bear at Yellowstone’s Soda Butte Creek in July 2020. (Photo by Jim Peaco/National Park Service)

Reward increased to $15,000 for tips about grizzly bear killed illegally in Idaho

Officials with the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity announced they have increased the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction for the illegal killing of a … more

By Clark Corbin / Idaho Capital Sun | 1/19/26

Then-Rep. Charlie Conrad of Dexter works at the Oregon Legislature on Feb. 12, 2024. Conrad, who lost a Republican primary in 2024, plans to run for the state House again as member of the Independent Party of Oregon. (Photo by Jordan Gale/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Former Oregon Republican ousted for supporting abortion rights, trans care running as Independent

A former one-term Republican lawmaker who lost his reelection primary in a landslide after splitting with the party over abortion rights and transgender health care is running for the Oregon House … more

By Julia Shumway / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 1/19/26

Far fewer people buy Obamacare coverage as insurance premiums spike

Nationwide, the number of people buying health plans on Obamacare insurance marketplaces is down by about 833,000 compared with a year ago, according to federal data released this week. Many … more

By Nada Hassanein / States Newsroom | 1/19/26

Stainless steel containers for waste in the low-activity waste facility at the Hanford site. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Department of Energy/Bechtel)

Hanford nuclear cleanup gets federal budget bump

Congress this week approved a $3.2 billion budget for the Hanford nuclear reservation’s cleanup in fiscal 2026 — a more than $200 million increase from the prior two years. That is more than … more

By John Stang / The Washington State Standard | 1/19/26

The log-in page of Instagram’s website. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current)

Push for youth social media safeguards revived in Washington state Legislature

Avery Ping had a knack for noticing who in a room might be having a bad day and checking in on them. He wanted to be a psychiatrist. But the Olympia teen was addicted to his screen, his … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 1/19/26