State & Regional News | Thurston Chronicle

Flock cameras raise constitutional questions, bipartisan U.S. senators say

WASHINGTON — A vast and growing network of artificial intelligence-driven Flock cameras could violate constitutional privacy rights, U.S. senators on a Judiciary Committee subcommittee said during … more

By Ariana Figueroa / States Newsroom | 9/24/26

California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces his authorization to link Washington state in its carbon market during Climate Week in New York City on Sept. 23, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Ecology)

Washington nears final step in joining California-Quebec carbon market

Taking the stage at Climate Week in New York City Wednesday morning, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced his authorization to move forward with linking Washington into its carbon market that’s … more

By Aspen Ford / The Washington State Standard | 9/24/26

An election worker in Thurston County processes ballots on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025, in Tumwater, Washington. (Photo by Jake Goldstein-Street/Washington State Standard)

Washington voters of color more likely to have ballots challenged, per report

Younger voters and voters of color in Washington state see their ballots challenged for signature issues more often than their older and white counterparts. That’s according to an analysis of … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 9/24/26

Record Washington diesel prices strain local businesses, drive up costs

Washington's average diesel price hit a record $7.47 per gallon Wednesday, while the Tri-Cities reached an even higher $7.53 per gallon, as rising fuel costs put new pressure on transportation, … more

Austin Reed / The Center Square | 9/23/26

Greater Good Charities staff and pilots walk from a plane after successfully transporting two gray wolves to live at Wolf Haven International in Tenino at the Olympia Regional Airport on Tuesday, June 30.

Public invited to Commercial Aviation Work Group meeting in Tumwater

Washington’s Commercial Aviation Work Group, which evaluates the state’s future needs for commercial aviation and transportation, will host a hybrid public meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. … more

By The Chronicle staff | 9/23/26

The Washington state Capitol is pictured from Heritage Park in Olympia on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Association of Washington Business announces final round of 2026 endorsements

The Association of Washington Business (AWB) has announced a third and final round of legislative endorsements for the 2026 elections. The AWB Board of Directors voted to endorse candidates in … more

By The Chronicle staff | 9/23/26

Seattle mayor's proposed budget increases public safety spending, no new taxes

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson proposed no new business taxes in her budget plan for next year, instead closing an estimated $175 million budget gap by eliminating 143 positions, most of them … more

Randy Diamond / The Center Square | 9/23/26

Eastern Washington housing more affordable, but most still priced out of market

Eastern Washington remains one of the more attainable parts of Washington for homebuyers, but a new housing report and local housing officials say rising construction costs, limited supply, mortgage … more

Austin Reed | The Center Square contributor | 9/23/26

Powerlines in Hood River County above the Columbia River July 25, 2024.

Pacific Power to charge new Oregon data centers for all costs associated with growing energy need

Oregon’s second largest investor-owned electric utility could soon directly assign the costs of new energy projects and infrastructure needed for data centers to data center operators. Pacific … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/23/26

Joelene and Tomas Keen kiss outside the Airway Heights Corrections Center in Spokane, Washington, on August 8, 2026. (Moe K. Clark/Investigatewest)

Washington governor faces criticism for clemency denials

Joelene Keen was overjoyed when she checked her phone on May 11 and saw an email from her husband’s lawyer asking them to call him. She knew her husband, Tomas Keen, wouldn’t see the message … more

By Moe K. Clark / InvestigateWest | 9/23/26

The Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. The state’s prison system recently won a ruling in a federal appeals court that deals with how the state houses transgender women in its custody. (Photo by Ron Cooper/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Federal appeals court blocks restrictions on placement of trans women in Oregon prisons

Oregon does not need to presume transgender women should be housed in women’s prisons and may continue to make case-by-case placement decisions that have allowed most of them to remain in custody … more

By Shaanth Nanguneri / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/23/26

Kenworth electric heavy-duty trucks are among those available for the Washington Zero-Emission Program. (Photo by Aspen Ford/Washington State Standard)

Small businesses slow to take up Washington’s new electric truck vouchers

A line of work trucks sat running in the parking lot of Kent’s Pacific Raceways Monday, but there was hardly any engine noise and no diesel exhaust. The vehicles, ranging from forklifts … more

By Aspen Ford / The Washington State Standard | 9/23/26

A demonstrator holds a sign in support of Senate Bill 6346, dubbed the “Millionaires Tax” bill, during a rally at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on Tuesday, Feb.10.

Public-sector unions pour millions into campaign to keep Washington income tax

With six weeks until the Nov. 3 election, union backed campaign donations are pouring in for the “ No on I-645 ” campaign. The Washington Education Association tops campaign donations for … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 9/22/26

Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood discusses his beliefs on Washington’s financial state outside the Washington Secretary of State’s office building in Tumwater on Thursday, July 2.

Nonresidents could face paying Washington's new income tax

People who never even set foot in Washington State might be subject to the new millionaire's tax if the repeal movement is not successful, according to discussions at the Washington state income tax … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 9/22/26

Ballot envelopes sit in the Thurston County elections center. (Photo by Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)

Trump administration’s Washington voter roll lawsuit dismissed

SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday tossed the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Washington seeking the state’s voter rolls, in line with many rulings across the country. … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 9/22/26

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is urging President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports as rising costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. Grassley is shown at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on July 23, 2026.

Diesel prices shoot upward as top farm-state GOP senator begs Trump for export embargo

Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to … more

Ashley Murray / States Newsroom | 9/22/26

Grizzly bears in the lower 48 states are federally protected as a threatened species. A new memo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik says that endangered animals may be killed as long as the action was not “intentionally directed at a particular animal or animals.”

Trump administration says developers, loggers can kill endangered species

The Trump administration’s top wildlife official issued a directive last week that expands a recent rollback of endangered species protections much further than the feds had told the public. … more

Alex Brown / Stateline | 9/22/26

Washington, 11 other states reach settlement with Paramount, Warner Bros. over merger

Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery may move forward with a merger under the conditions that they boost film production, support displaced workers and preserve competition among cable channels over … more

Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 9/22/26

Washington’s medication collection program faces hurdles despite success

Washington’s program to collect medication so it doesn’t end up in the wrong hands has brought in over 1 million pounds of drugs since 2020, according to a state audit. But it’s still … more

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard | 9/22/26

‘I voted’ stickers in the entry room of the Thurston County Ballot Processing Center in Tumwater on Thursday, Oct. 30.

Conservative Heritage Foundation election integrity scorecard ranks Washington near bottom

Washington ranks near the bottom of a newly updated election integrity scorecard from the Heritage Foundation, continuing the debate over voter registration, election rolls and the state's … more

Austin Reed / The Center Square | 9/21/26