State & Regional News | Thurston Chronicle

Increased tanker traffic through the shared border waters of Washington and British Columbia could rise further if Alberta succeeds in building a new crude export pipeline to the West Coast. Here, an oil/chemical tanker steers through Boundary Pass on the way to the Port of Vancouver in late June.

Washington state governor ‘disappointed’ Canada is fast-tracking new oil pipeline to B.C.

A proposed Canadian oil pipeline to a supertanker terminal at the Port of Vancouver in British Columbia is raising hackles among Washington state’s political leaders. Canadian Prime … more

Jerry Cornfield and Tom Banse / Washington State Standard | 10/3/26

Sheriff Derek Sanders speaks to attendees during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office headquarters in Tumwater on Friday, July 31.

Unconstitutional: Judge permanently blocks Washington state sheriff standards law

A judge on Friday threw out tough new job standards for county sheriffs approved by Washington lawmakers this year that critics argued would force some out of office. The decision from Thurston … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 10/3/26

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson listens as John Braun answers a question on Thursday morning, Aug. 6, in Vancouver. Braun is running for Washington’s Third Congressional District.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson visits Thurston County

The U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives canceled a public appearance with Southwest Washington congressional candidate and state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, earlier this week after an … more

By Jacob Moore / jacob@chronline.com | 10/2/26

Western Washington drug trafficker sentenced after federal investigation

A 54-year-old Federal Way man was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Seattle to three years in prison for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Charle Neil Floyd … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/2/26

Cosmo Specialty Fibers pulp mill in Cosmopolis.

Grays Harbor communities to hear from experts on the hazardous chemical cleanup at Cosmo Specialty Fibers

Twin Harbors Waterkeeper will hold a panel discussion at 6 p.m. on Oct. 8 to update nearby communities about the Cosmo Specialty Fibers hazardous chemicals cleanup along the Chehalis River in Grays … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/2/26

The Review Building, which houses the Spokesman-Review office, in downtown Spokane, Washington on September 30, 2026. (Wilson Criscione/InvestigateWest)

How Rob Curley lost the Spokesman-Review newsroom

Editor's note: This report was produced in a collaboration between InvestigateWest and RANGE. When the Spokesman-Review announced plans to transfer Spokane’s 143-year-old, family-owned … more

By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest and Daisy Zavala Magaña / RANGE | 10/2/26

Mayor Katie Wilson speaks about her proposed 2027-28 city budget at Seattle Central Library. Photo: Randy Diamond - The Center Square

Decade after tech boom, downtown Seattle faces “staggering” job losses

New analysis from the Downtown Seattle Association reveals devastating job losses for the heart of the city over the last few years. DSA’s report found that between 2024 and 2025, Seattle lost … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/2/26

As immigrant Medicaid cuts take effect, some in Washington can keep their coverage

Roughly 10,000 immigrants in Washington are losing their Medicaid health coverage due to federal cuts Republicans in Congress approved last year. On Thursday, a provision in President … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 10/2/26

Washington state’s nation-high minimum wage rising to nearly $18 an hour in 2027

Washington’s minimum wage workers will get a 3.5% pay bump in 2027. The state’s minimum wage will climb to $17.73 an hour starting Jan. 1, the state Department of Labor and Industries … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 10/1/26

Wolves in SE Washington pack to be killed ‘incrementally’ by state officials after livestock attacks

The director of the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife this week authorized the “incremental” killing of wolves in southeastern Washington with a goal to stop attacks on livestock. … more

Aspen Ford / Washington State Standard | 10/1/26

The Senate chambers at the Washington state Capitol. (Photo courtesy of Legislative Support Services)

Legislative staff in Washington state Senate reject new contract

The union representing staff of Democratic state senators in Washington has overwhelmingly rejected a new two-year contract, citing its lack of adequate protections for workers facing termination. … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 9/30/26

An EV charger is marked out of service in Federal Way, Wash.

Washington's EV efforts continue to face logistical challenges

Washington state's plans to electrify private and public transportation sectors and spend hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on charging infrastructure are still facing numerous logistical and … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 9/30/26

Oregonians ranked maintaining and preserving highways and bridges and improving safety as their top priority in a new survey.

Here’s how Oregonians want the state to address its transportation budget crisis

Oregonians ranked maintaining and preserving highways and bridges and improving safety as the top priorities they think the Oregon Department of Transportation should focus on as it looks to resolve … more

Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/30/26

A bipartisan group of Oregon lawmakers is meeting to discuss the potential of a cap-and-invest carbon market similar to those in California and Washington, just seven years after Senate Republicans walked out of the State Capitol to oppose a similar proposal. Such markets charge polluters for their greenhouse gas pollution, and use the revenues to fund climate mitigation and adaptation projects as the impacts of climate change become more extreme.

Oregon Republicans revisit cap and invest proposal seven years after they walked out over it

Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Oregon have been meeting in recent weeks to discuss the potential to collaborate on a climate policy that just seven years ago drove them apart, and drove some … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/30/26

A shipment of transuranic radioactive waste leaves the Idaho National Laboratory en route to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for permanent disposal in New Mexico in 2009. During the expedited waste removal funded by more than $22 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the site’s workers safely retrieved, treated, and shipped close to 4,800 cubic meters of radioactive waste — which would fill two Olympic swimming pools — from the Cold War to permanent disposal facilities.

Some Idaho officials say proposed nuclear waste shipments could threaten Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Accepting a deal with the U.S. Department of Energy to bring a new Nuclear Lifecycle Innovation Campus to Idaho could force the state to accept more than 30,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel and … more

Clark Corbin / Idaho Capital Sun | 9/30/26

Rep. Skyler Rude giving a speech on the House floor.

Washington state lawmaker to resign 3 days before the election

In a surprise announcement, Republican state Rep. Skyler Rude of Walla Walla, said Tuesday that he will resign from office days before the election to start a new job with Democratic Secretary of … more

Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard | 9/30/26

Gov. Bob Ferguson delivers the State of the State address for the 2026 Legislative session at the Washington state Capitol in Olympia on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

Gov. Ferguson launches council to boost Washington commercial space industry

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson hopes the state’s space entrepreneurs can pilot their industry to infinity and beyond. To that end, Ferguson signed an executive order Monday night launching the … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 9/29/26

The Chehalis River flows through Independence Valley in Rochester.

WDFW responds to Chehalis Tribe’s intent to charge anglers for permits, issue citations

The Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation are charging anglers for permits to fish on a 10-mile section of the Chehalis River, the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) … more

By The Chronicle staff | 9/29/26

Muscle rubs, aromatherapy soaps and body washes make up the majority of what’s left in Oregon CBD Company, an Albany store that’s set to close at the end of September in response to an impending federal law prohibiting the sale of most hemp-derived products.

New federal law puts an end to the hemp industry, Oregon businesses say

Pet tinctures and topicals are the most popular products sold at Oregon CBD Company, a small business located at the junction of the Willamette Valley town’s busiest roads. Pet owners use them to … more

Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/29/26

An explosion of data center facilities, including the one pictured here in northeast Oregon on May 18, 2026, have been built along the Columbia River Gorge during the last few years.

Data centers proposed on federal land in eastern Oregon, western states

A new data center campus could soon be coming to federal land near Hermiston in eastern Oregon. It would be the first in Oregon sited on federal public land, and one of at least 12 proposed for … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/29/26