State & Regional News | Thurston Chronicle

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson and Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall talk election security at South Puget Sound Community College’s Olympia campus on Friday, Oct. 30, 2026.

Gov. Bob Ferguson and Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall urge voters turning in ballots this weekend to use a drop box

Washington state Gov. Bob Ferguson and Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall returned their own ballots Friday, Oct. 30, using the only method they say is reliable this close to election day: an official … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@thurstonchronicle.com | 10/30/26

Backlash grows over Seattle mayor's ‘same old’ homeless drug strategy

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is taking sharp criticism over the plan she unveiled last week to address the homeless and drug crisis in the city, using the same partnerships with organizations that have … more

Carleen Johnson | The Center Square | 10/30/26

A fire retardant drop on the Claremont Fire in Boise, ID.

Schools need more air filtration to protect youth from wildfire smoke, OSU study finds

Children are breathing in unhealthy air for longer periods of time as wildfires worsen across the country, according to a new study by researchers at Oregon State University’s College of … more

Mia Maldonado / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/30/26

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson at his State of the State address on Jan. 13, 2026. Ferguson did not discuss the budget cuts he’s proposing in his speech but they’ve stoked plenty of testimony in the first days of the 2026 legislative session. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)

Two Dans, three Bobs: Alaska Senate controversy mirrors 2024 Washington fiasco

The pivotal U.S. Senate race in Alaska is now embroiled in threats from the president and probes from the state’s governor over a candidate appearing on the ballot with the same name as the … more

By Jerry Cornfield and Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 10/30/26

The steam plume from the TransAlta coal power plant outside Centralia, Wash. could formerly be seen from 30 miles away on cold, clear days. But it’s been absent since mid-December when the plant shut down for conversion to natural gas. (Photo by Tom Banse)

Idled TransAlta Centralia coal power plant generates a natural gas fight

The owner of the only remaining coal power plant in the Pacific Northwest is doggedly proceeding with a plan to extend its life by converting to natural gas fuel over the next two years. TransAlta … more

By Tom Banse / The Washington State Standard | 10/29/26

Voters cast their ballots in the general election on Nov. 5, 2024, at Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise.

Trump administration to send election monitors to Idaho’s largest county

The Trump administration is sending election monitors to Idaho’s largest county on Election Day next week, the state’s top election official confirmed Wednesday. The decision comes as the … more

Kyle Pfannenstiel / Idaho Capital Sun | 10/29/26

A street ends at an empty field at the edge of Woodburn's urban growth boundary. A new report argues that state lawmakers need to change the land use system governing those boundaries to improve accessibility for development.

Business group pushes to open Oregon land for industry ahead of 2027 session

Oregon should open up a “phantom supply” of land in the state for economic development by creating a $250 million industrial site readiness fund, expanding local programs allowing industries to … more

Shaanth Nanguneri / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/29/26

A view of glacier-clad peaks in Washington’s North Cascades. Snow in Idaho, western Montana, the Washington Cascades and Snake River Basin melted two to five weeks earlier than normal in 2026, and in parts of the Oregon Cascades, mountain snowpack melted two months earlier than normal, according to Washington’s state climatologist.

More than a third of western states’ glacial cover has been lost since 1950s as planet warms

Seven western states, including Oregon, have lost more than one-third of their glacial cover since 1950 and more than 300 glaciers in those states have disappeared entirely as the earth has rapidly … more

Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/29/26

Bird flu spreads to Washington dairy farms

Bird flu is hitting Washington dairy farms and it’s spreading fast. The Washington State Department of Agriculture confirmed the first detections in two Yakima County dairy herds in … more

Aspen Ford / Washington State Standard | 10/29/26

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs answers questions during a Legislative Media Day at the Washington state Capitol on Thursday, Feb. 19, in Olympia.

Washington’s election chief says federal noncitizen voting list includes citizens

Washington’s top election official is calling on federal authorities to provide more evidence that the state’s voter rolls include hundreds of noncitizens, as a preliminary investigation reveals … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 10/28/26

Gov. Bob Ferguson answers questions from the press during a legislative session preview in a Senate Hearing room in Olympia on Friday, Jan. 9.

Gov. Bob Ferguson appoints fraud prevention officer, GOP criticizes timing

Washington Governor Bob Ferguson signed an executive order Tuesday creating the state’s first Chief Fraud Prevention Officer and a statewide fraud prevention workgroup to coordinate and expand on … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/28/26

Ukraine supporters meet U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after her recent return from Washington, D.C.

Gluesenkamp Perez helps introduce legislation to ban import of Russian oil

Last week, U.S. Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pennsylvania, and Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, introduced the Ronald Reagan Peace Through Strength Act to block President … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/28/26

A deer walks along a field near the Skyline Loop Trail as the sun sets at Mount Rainier National Park on Monday, Sept. 22.

Mount Rainier National Park voted Washington’s No.1 ‘Spiritual Home’

“Where is your natural spiritual home? Some places have a way of putting a bad week in perspective. A mountain makes the office politics seem smaller. A familiar stretch of water brings back … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/28/26

Washington suicide rate rises in 2025, with increases among youth, older adults and rural communities

At least 1,352 Washington residents died by suicide in 2025, at a rate of 15.5 deaths per 100,000 people, according to new data from the Washington state Department of Health (DOH). Adults 65 … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/28/26

Amid legal concerns, Washington suspends contribution limits for candidates and PACs

Washington state’s campaign finance enforcers are allowing candidates for legislative and Supreme Court seats to spend as much of their own money on their campaigns in the final days of this … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 10/28/26

Pierce County weighs appointed sheriff in major shift for law enforcement

One week until Election Day and Pierce County voters are considering several amendments, including two that would dramatically change the office of the sheriff. Amendment 53 asks Pierce County … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/27/26

‘Capitulation to dark money’: Critics slam Washington PDC decision to suspend donation caps

A recent decision from Washington's regulatory body for campaign donations is drawing criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. The chair of the Washington State Republican party says … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/27/26

State Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, claps for Let’s Go Washington founder Brian Heywood outside the Washington Secretary of State’s office building in Tumwater on Thursday, July 2.

State GOP Chair Jim Walsh : 400 suspected noncitizen voters 'tip of the iceberg'

Washington’s Secretary of State says the timing of Monday’s U.S. Department of Justice press conference where federal authorities said they had identified hundreds of noncitizens that have voted … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/27/26

Bend residents set up a memorial for three children and one teacher killed by a shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School. The teacher, Megan Lambert, was a Bend native and volleyball coach. (Photo by Sean Scully/States Newsroom)

Democrats and Republicans share grief over Oregon school shooting, split on policy response

Following the Silver Rail Elementary School shooting in Bend, Oregon lawmakers across the political spectrum have shared publicly their grief and their personal experiences with mass shootings and … more

By Shaanth Nanguneri / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/27/26

More than a third of western states’ glacial cover has been lost since 1950s

Six western states, including Oregon, have lost more than one-third of their glacial cover since 1950 and more than 300 glaciers in those states have disappeared entirely as the earth has rapidly … more

By Alex Baumhardt / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/27/26