State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Gov. Jay Inslee and Trudi Inslee walk down to the Governor’s office on the last day of the 2024 Legislature at the state Capitol on Thursday, March 7.

Making sense of Washington state’s multi-billion dollar budget hole

Washington state’s budget is, to put it nicely, in a world of hurt. There’s a big gap between what the state is collecting in taxes and what it needs to pay for its commitments in … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington Standard | 12/16/24

MGP issues new right to repair legislation aimed at U.S. military

Building on an area of focus during her first term in Congress, U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, has joined Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, to introduce new right … more

By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com | 12/13/24

Rep. Peter Abbarno, left, stops to talk to a resident of Chehalis West Assisted Living during a tour of the facility with Chehalis West Executive Director Nikki Storms last January.

Abbarno renews efforts to modify Washington’s long-term care program ahead of session

Months after Washington voters rejected an initiative that would have amended the state’s long-term care program to allow additional employees to opt out, state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, … more

By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com | 12/13/24

The proposed flow-through dam on the Chehalis River is pictured in this rendering provided by the Chehalis River Basin Flood Control Zone District.

Two local officials join board of One Voice Lewis County in support of basinwide flooding solution

Two local leaders have joined the volunteer citizens organization advocating for solutions to flooding in the Chehalis River Basin. On Thursday, One Voice Lewis County announced its board of … more

By Mitchell Roland / mitchell@chronline.com | 12/13/24

Traffic backs up along Interstate 5 in Centralia in this 2023 Chronicle file photo.

Washington faces ‘key decisions’ for future transportation revenue as road usage charge discussion again surfaces

For years, Washington state officials have contemplated a road usage charge (RUC) or per mile fee to replace the state gas tax, which is the primary transportation funding source and forecasted to … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 12/13/24

Safeway in northeast Seattle on Oct. 11, 2023.

What new legal drama between Kroger-Albertsons means to their South Sound-area stores

Now that Boise-based Albertsons has ended a grocery merger attempt with Cincinnati-based Kroger and filed a lawsuit against its former proposed partner, what happens to the stores? For now the … more

By Debbie Cockrell / The News Tribune (TNS) | 12/13/24

U.S. President Joe Biden walks across the South Lawn before boarding the Marine One presidential helicopter and departing the White House on February 29, 2024 in Washington, D.C.

Biden pardons three people from Washington state for nonviolent drug offenses

President Joe Biden pardoned three people from Washington state for nonviolent drug offenses as part of his sweeping order Thursday granting 39 pardons and nearly 1,500 commutations — the … more

Jim Brunner / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 12/13/24

Washington state pastor accused of bilking $5.9M from churchgoers for fake crypto investments

The former pastor of a Pasco church is accused of collecting $5.9 million from church members and others with guarantees of monthly returns as high as 40% from cryptocurrency investments. But a … more

Annette Cary / Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 12/13/24

Washington man shot in the head with 9mm gun walks away without realizing he was wounded

Bail is set at $500,000 for a 31-year-old man accused of shooting a person in the head outside a Pasco home early Monday. The victim survived and walked back into his house, according to court … more

Cameron Probert / Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 12/13/24

Man accused of chasing down car, shooting two men in head after bar fight in Eastern Washington

A 22-year-old man accused of shooting two men in the head this summer after a fight outside a downtown Spokane bar made his first appearance Thursday in Spokane County Superior Court on assault and … more

Garrett Cabeza / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 12/13/24

'I think it would have saved him': Parents of 2019 WSU hazing victim help push anti-hazing bill to Biden's desk

In 2007, it was Gary DeVercelly Jr. at Rider University in New Jersey. In 2014, it was Tucker Hipps at Clemson University. In 2017, Timothy Piazza died days after a hazing ritual at his Penn State … more

Elena Perry / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 12/13/24

Judge seeks leniency for Oregon man who shipped marijuana across country after inheriting business from his dad

A man who inherited a Medford-based shipping business from his father and mailed thousands of pounds of marijuana across the country apologized as he stood before a federal judge for sentencing … more

Maxine Bernstein / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/13/24

Lewis County PUD workers reconstruct three power line poles along Gore Road in Ethel after a windstorm in this Chronicle file photo.

Soaring data center electricity demand could trigger Northwest blackouts, industry insiders say

A panel of authorities on the data center industry told Northwest energy planners Wednesday that the tech sector will take all the electricity it can get its hands on, warning of severe consequences … more

Mike Rogoway / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

Oregon boy, 5, was on the radar of child welfare workers when he died; no arrests expected, prosecutor says

Hypothermia and exposure contributed to the death of the 5-year-old Coos County boy whose body was found 2 miles from home last month, the Coos County district attorney said Wednesday. Joshua … more

Noelle Crombie / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

‘We live in earthquake country’: What California’s 7.0 teaches about a future ‘really big one’ in Pacific Northwest

Last week, about 60 miles off the coast near Ferndale, California, the tectonic plates shifted under the Pacific Ocean, sending seismic waves through the ocean floor that radiated onto land and were … more

Lizzy Acker / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

The “sea pickles” — that’s actually what they’re colloquially called — aren’t bizarre jellyfish. They’re pyrosomes, which are made up of colonies of multi-celled animals called zooids, the Seaside Aquarium told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email.

‘Sea pickles’ wash ashore on Oregon coast, stumping beachgoers

People at the Oregon coast recently have been finding strange, semi-translucent objects that kind of look like pickles washed up on the shore, leaving them flabbergasted. “There are dozens … more

Tatum Todd / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

Petty Officer 1st Class Steve Strohmaier, a Coast Guard spokesperson, said the woman had sheltered under a fallen tree, which made her undetectable by the helicopter’s infrared camera. She began shouting for help after hearing the Coast Guard helicopters overhead, leading ground teams to her location.

Coast Guard rescues Oregon mushroom picker missing for two days

A 64-year-old mushroom picker missing for two days in Shore Acres State Park on the southern Oregon coast was rescued Sunday afternoon by U.S. Coast Guard crews and partner agencies after a … more

Tyler Brown / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

‘You are cleared to maneuver to avoid the UFO’: Pilots report unidentified lights over Oregon

Multiple pilots reported strange, red circular lights zipping around in the sky during flights over Oregon last weekend, according to audio, reports and federal aviation officials. In air … more

Lizzy Acker / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

Body of fisherman from Oregon whose boat capsized in Alaska found

The body of Jake Hannah, the fisherman from Coos Bay who died when a fishing boat capsized off the Alaska coast on Dec. 1, has been found, along with the body of another person on the five-person … more

Tatum Todd / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24

Oregon prison guard kills his 16-year-old daughter, then himself, authorities say

A Washington County man who worked as an Oregon prison guard fatally shot his daughter and then turned the gun on himself earlier this week, authorities say. Sheriff’s deputies responded … more

Zane Sparling and Noelle Crombie / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 12/12/24