State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Protesters hold up a series of signs during a rally opposing state budget cuts on the steps of the Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia on Monday, March 17.

Washington state workers slam furloughs, other pay cut plans, claiming they are a ‘tax on state employees’

Just after noon Thursday, a handful of staff trickled out of the Attorney General’s Office in Olympia, holding signs in the light rain. “No cuts. No furloughs,” their placards … more

Simone Carter / The News Tribune (TNS) | 3/22/25

Washington state lawmakers eye big tax on Zyn, synthetic nicotine pouches

As nicotine pouches proliferate the market — and teen mouths — state lawmakers considered expanding the definition of tobacco products on Thursday to generate over $100 million in tax … more

Tim Clouser / The Center Square | 3/21/25

Photo of Loran and Margaret Dowell. Loran was murdered in 1980 by Timothy Pauley at Seatac tavern. Pauley was granted clemency by former Gov. Jay Inslee

Victim’s family pleads with Ferguson to block release of murderer granted clemency by Inslee

Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office says it is weighing all the evidence ahead of the planned release of convicted triple murderer Timothy Pauley, who was granted clemency by former … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 3/21/25

Greg Lane, executive vice president of the Building Industry Association of Washington, holds a petition for Initiative 2066, the ballot measure aimed at blocking local and state efforts to transition away from use of natural gas. Anthony Anton, president of the Washington Hospitality Association, and Ryann Blake, owner of Chimney Techniques in Aberdeen, joined a news conference May 15, 2024 in Olympia, Wash. to kick off signature gathering. (Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)

Judge overturns Washington state natural gas measure approved by voters

A King County Superior Court judge on Friday invalidated the ballot measure approved by voters in November that seeks to slow Washington’s shift from natural gas toward technology like electric … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 3/21/25

DOC suspends visitation for Washington Corrections Center unit amid potential mumps cases

Two incarcerated individuals at the Washington Corrections Center (WCC) in Shelton who presented mumps symptoms last week tested negative for the virus on Monday. Out of caution, the Washington … more

By The Chronicle staff | 3/21/25

Chinook Indian Nation critical of Gluesenkamp Perez over ‘broken promise’ for federal recognition

On Thursday, March 13, a Chinook Indian Nation social media post stated that U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, had backed off of her promise to champion federal recognition for the tribe … more

By Cade Barker / For The Chronicle | 3/21/25

This rendering of the proposed Chehalis River water retention facility near Pe Ell was provided as part of a video created by the Chehalis River Flood Control District.

Chehalis Flood Authority announces support for $80 million state funding request

The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority approved a letter Thursday, March 20, that will be sent to the Washington state Senate Ways and Means Committee and the House Capital Budget Committee in support of … more

By Jacob Moore / Jacob@chronline.com | 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

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

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