State & Regional News | Thurston Chronicle

Tacoma candidate for Washington state House arrested in suspected DUI

State House candidate Krista Perez, who finished ahead in last week's primary for the District 29, Position 1 seat, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence in Tacoma on Tuesday. … more

Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 8/14/26

Women train to be firefighters. A slight decline in women participating in the U.S. labor force during the last year is being driven by a number of possible factors, economists and researchers said.

Downward trend in employment for women nationwide, in Oregon, raising questions

The number of women participating in Oregon’s workforce has been on a slight decline during the last year, along with the number of women working across the country. It’s a reversal of the … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 8/14/26

With PNW electricity demand surging, planners map out major grid upgrades

The Pacific Northwest will need a massive buildout of new energy infrastructure over the next six years to meet rising electricity demand, according to a draft regional power plan released … more

Aspen Ford / Washington State Standard | 8/14/26

Seattle Mayor-elect Katie Wilson appears in a campaign portrait.

Seattle Mayor Wilson faces recall petition over public safety obligations

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is facing a legal petition for her recall after official charges were submitted to the King County Elections office Tuesday, with allegations that the first-year executive … more

Andrew Paxton | The Center Square | 8/13/26

Farmworkers form a line behind a white SUV, awaiting a supply distribution by the Idaho Organization of Resource Councils on July 31, 2026.

Idaho community fund helps farmworkers fight heat, wildfire smoke

On the morning of July 31, Idaho Organization of Resource Councils members Samantha Guerrero and Julia Santiago met at a Nampa Home Depot. Their cars, parked right next to each other, trunks open, … more

Valentin Termite / Idaho Capital Sun | 8/13/26

Measles rashes usually appear as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, trunk, arms, legs and feet.

Measles cases in 2026 surpass Oregon’s peak measles year

Oregon has officially surpassed the number of measles cases it had during its peak outbreak year two years ago. Oregon reported having 45 confirmed measles cases since the start of 2026, … more

Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 8/13/26

Moderna vaccines sit before being distributed at the Chehalis Tribal Clinic on Tuesday in Oakville.

Trump vaccine order takes aim at states that limit exemptions

A largely overlooked part of the executive order President Donald Trump issued this week scaling back the schedule for childhood vaccines threatens legal action against the four states that don’t … more

Tim Henderson / Stateline | 8/13/26

Jaelynn Scott is likely to represent the 37th District in the Washington state Legislature.

Washington poised to elect its first openly trans legislator

Jaelynn Scott is set to become Washington’s first openly transgender legislator after sailing through last week’s primary. She also could be one of only two members of the Democratic … more

Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard | 8/13/26

Washington state revenue officials: Income tax will bring in more money than first expected

A new analysis from the state Department of Revenue shows Washington’s high-earner income tax will be paid by thousands of additional households and produce hundreds of millions of dollars more … more

Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard | 8/13/26

Phoenix drug trafficker who brought drugs to Washington sentenced to 150 months in prison

A 42-year-old Phoenix man with prior convictions for drug trafficking was sentenced this week in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 150 months in prison for acting as a broker for a large amount of … more

By The Chronicle staff | 8/12/26

A bull elk picks leaves off a tree in Packwood in 2023.

Surplus multi-season elk tags available Aug. 25; multi-season deer tags available Aug. 27

Deer and elk hunters who bought a Washington multi-season application this year will have a chance to buy one of 3,137 remaining multi-season deer tags and 187 remaining multi-season elk tags in … more

By The Chronicle staff | 8/12/26

An InvestigateWest review of law enforcement employment records illuminates limits to Washington’s landmark police certification law.

A 2021 law expanded Washington’s power to decertify police officers. Records show cops still avoid consequences

In 2021, Washington lawmakers expanded the state's power to strip cops of their certification. In an effort to keep officers fired for certain types of misconduct out of law enforcement, they passed … more

By Melanie Henshaw/InvestigateWest | 8/12/26

Tick Licker Firearms is a gun shop in Salem, Oregon’s capital city. A new study shines light on an increase in gun purchases related to the passage of gun control measures in the state.

Measure 114’s passage spurred Oregonians to purchase thousands of guns, new study finds

Oregon voters’ narrow passage of some of the nation’s strictest gun control restrictions in 2022 prompted thousands of new gun purchases in the state despite the restrictions never going into … more

Shaanth Nanguneri / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 8/12/26

Arctic sea is seen in 2018 by Demarcation Bay off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastline. The Arctic Report Card, which has been issued annually by the Naitonal Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since 2006, describes the rapidly changing features of the Arctic, including sea ice, glaciers, permafrost and boreal forests.

Trump administration ends NOAA support for annual Arctic Report Card

The Trump administration has pulled federal support from the Arctic Report Card, an annual, peer-reviewed report that has been published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration since … more

Yereth Rosen / Alaska Beacon | 8/12/26

Yellowstone National Park sign at the North Entrance; Jim Peaco; October 1992

Yellowstone National Park visitation ticks down slightly, on pace for third busiest year

Yellowstone National Park is on pace for its third busiest season on record, falling just off record pace during July. Park officials released the latest monthly and year-to-date statistics … more

Micah Drew / States Newsroom | 8/12/26

A second grader at Brooklyn Primary School in Baker City raises his hand during a phonics lesson.

Oregon education funding committee recommends increasing school spending by $2.5B to $5B

Oregon’s schools will need nearly $2.5 billion more to maintain the status quo of service for the 2027-29 school years, and nearly $5 billion more to help students meet new accountability and … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 8/12/26

Washington child welfare deaths continue to drop after spiking last year

Deaths and critical injuries in Washington’s child welfare system continued to decline this spring, after a record high in 2025 that had lawmakers considering changing state law. Six children … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 8/11/26

Seventeen-year-old Frances Staudtl speaks in favor of I-638 during a rally on Saturday in Olympia.

Campaigns begin for girls sports, parental rights, income tax initiatives

Primary results are still being tallied across Washington state from the Aug. 4 election, but at the same time, the campaigns are looking ahead to the Nov. 3 election. In the weeks to come, … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 8/11/26

Anti-abortion groups urge attorney general to halt mailing of abortion pills

A group of leading anti-abortion organizations sent a letter to newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche urging him to review the U.S. Department of Justice’s authority to use a … more

Kelcie Moseley-Morris / Idaho Capital Sun | 8/11/26

Sam Drevo walks by the burned foundation of his mother’s home in Gates following the 2020 Labor Day fires.

Sen. Wyden’s wildfire tax relief bill passes just before Congress recesses, goes to White House

In the final hours of work before members of Congress went on recess for five weeks, a bill backed by Oregon’s U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden to relieve natural disaster survivors from paying federal income … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 8/11/26