State & Regional News | Thurston Chronicle

Yelm's public works director Cody Colt anticipates the roundabout at Walmart Boulevard and State Route 507 to be the first of several completed in Yelm.

Despite bid postponement, Yelm Loop is still projected to go to construction this summer

Despite bidding for the Yelm Loop project being postponed from last winter into this spring, those familiar with the project still anticipate it going to construction in the summer of 2026. Cody … more

Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com | 1/6/26

Fluoride fights bubble up around Washington

Blanche Barajas and Gary Bode have very different ideas about fluoridation. She’s pro. He’s against. As city council members in Pasco and Lynden, respectively, they fought two of seven … more

John Stang / Washington State Standard | 1/6/26

Carly Fritz and Brandon Figg speak with a homeless woman living in the park during a Destination Hope and Recovery and Centralia Police Department outreach event at George Washington Park in Centralia on Friday, April 4. Destination Hope and Recovery is the local Recovery Navigator Program provider for Lewis County.

Drug diversion program could face another 10% cut under Gov. Bob Ferguson’s proposal

As Olympia faces another shortfall, state health care officials said Monday that the governor’s supplemental budget proposal could impact Washington’s Recovery Navigator Program. The … more

Tim Clouser / The Center Square | 1/5/26

Energy expert: Washington state gas prices lagging national drops due to high taxes, other factors

While motorists in much of the rest of the nation are seeing gas prices below $3 a gallon, drivers in Washington state continue to deal with fuel costs averaging closer to $4 a gallon, thanks to … more

By Brett Davis / The Center Square | 1/5/26

Olympia rally attendees express frustration over taxes, potential day care fraud

An anti-tax crowd gathered at the state capitol in Olympia on Saturday, with protesters expressing frustration over a lack of affordability and even touching on concerns about alleged daycare fraud … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 1/5/26

As Gov. Ferguson backs an income tax, will it finally gain traction 94 years after voters once backed it?

Ahead of the November 1932 election, organizers in Washington gathered enough signatures to place an initiative on the ballot asking whether the state should adopt a graduated tax on personal and … more

By Mitchell Roland / The Spokesman-Review | 1/5/26

Freightliner eCascadia electric trucks used in a Coca-Cola Bottling fleet are pictured in 2023. (Photo courtesy of Daimler Truck AG)

$126M incentive program for zero-emission trucks nears launch in Washington state

Washington is close to opening a new incentive program for commercial fleet operators to transition trucks and other vehicles to models that run on electric or hydrogen power. Industry groups … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 1/5/26

Brian Heywood, the leader of Let's Go Washington seen in 2023. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)

Signatures filed for initiatives on parental rights, blocking trans athletes from girls’ sports

Supporters of two citizen initiatives, one focused on parental rights and another on barring transgender athletes from girls’ sports, moved closer Friday to getting those measures before the … more

By Bill Lucia / The Washington State Standard | 1/5/26

State Rep. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, speaks to other legislators during the 93rd day of the legislative session on the House floor of the Washington state Capitol on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.

Pair of Republican Washington lawmakers propose bill to formally recognize Christian, Jewish holidays in state law

Washington state Reps. Matt Marshall, R-Eatonville, and Hunter Abell, R-Inchelium, have introduced legislation to formally recognize Christmas Eve, Hanukkah, Easter and other Christian and Jewish … more

By The Chronicle staff | 1/2/26

April 15, 2025 anti tax rally on steps on capitol in Olympia, WA.

Tax relief push: Washington state legislator moves to undo some B&O and sales tax increases

State Rep. Jeremie Dufault, R-Selah, has introduced two bills for the upcoming 2026 legislative session to roll back some of the recently implemented tax hikes adopted by majority Democrats during … more

Carleen Johnson | The Center Square | 1/2/26

U.S. House contests to decide control of Congress in 2026

The 2026 midterm elections promise to bring fierce competition as Democrats and Republicans battle for control of Congress. All 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for election … more

By Andrew Rice | The Center Square | 1/2/26

Construction at the site of Helion’s planned fusion power plant in Malaga, Washington, in Chelan County. The company has a power purchase agreement to provide energy from the facility to Microsoft by 2028. It announced that it had begun work at the site in 2025. (Photo courtesy of Helion)

Nuclear power ventures heat up around Washington state

Washington spent much of the 1970s trying to become a center for nuclear power, with plans for five huge fission reactors at Richland and Satsop. Then came cost overruns, construction problems, … more

By John Stang / The Washington State Standard | 1/2/26

School supplies pile up in a bin for the annual “Stuff the Bus” drive outside of the Walmart in Chehalis on Friday, Aug. 9.

Federal raid over childcare center fraud draws spotlight on Washington state program

Recent raids by the Department of Homeland Security in Minnesota over allegations of mass childcare center fraud has inspired scrutiny over similar licensed businesses in Washington state, while the … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 12/31/25

USPS says mail-in ballots might not get postmark on same day they’re dropped off

The U.S. Postal Service has adopted a new rule that could create doubt about whether some ballots mailed by voters by Election Day will receive postmarks in time to be counted. A USPS rule that … more

Jonathan Shorman / Stateline | 12/31/25

The Washington state Capitol on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Jacquelyn Jimenez Romero/Washington State Standard)

New laws and taxes take effect in Washington state on Jan. 1

Tax hikes on big business and rental cars. Unemployment benefits for workers on strike. Those are just a few of the changes to state law taking effect in Washington on New Year’s … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 12/30/25

U.S. Supreme Court to take up key Second Amendment challenges in 2026

The United States Supreme Court is set to take up major gun rights cases in 2026 with decisions that could reshape access to firearms for millions of Americans. The Center Square spoke with … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 12/29/25

A historic tassel can be seen with scorch marks from a fire set in the State Reception Room at the Capitol in Olympia on Friday, Nov. 21.

Gov. Bob Ferguson proposes $13M in Capitol security improvements following October break-in

Gov. Bob Ferguson proposed spending nearly $13 million to enhance security at the Capitol campus following an October break-in. The money, included in the governor's supplemental budget proposal … more

By Mitchell Roland / The Spokesman-Review | 12/29/25

A young humpback whale stranded on the Oregon Coast north of Yachats on November 15, prompting a response of trained teams from across the West Coast through the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network. The whale was entangled when it first came ashore, but many of the lines were later cut away, leaving a short length jutting from the animal's mouth.

Conservation groups urge Oregon to reduce whale deaths from crab fishing gear

After at least four humpback whales were entangled this year in Oregon commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear, conservation groups are petitioning the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission to adopt … more

By Mia Maldonado / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 12/29/25

Department of Homeland Security police, along with other federal police, push and tackle protesters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility south of downtown Portland on Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025. (Photo by Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Oregon saw 1,100 immigration arrests in 2025, almost 10 times more than previous year

Federal immigration agents arrested about 1,100 people in Oregon this year, immigration experts estimate — a surge from the 113 arrests recorded in all of 2024. In August, the Trump … more

By Mia Maldonado / The Oregon Capital Chronicle | 12/29/25

Aaron Clark, a vice president for Price Warehouse & Cold Storage, focuses on hiring local workers for apple harvests grown on some 3,500 acres of central Washington orchard lands, which include this acreage near Union Gap. (Photo by Hal Bernton)

In Washington state orchards, immigration crackdown sows fear and uncertainty

UNION GAP, Wash. — On a chilly fall morning, farmworkers fanned out through an orchard here to pick rose-hued apples from green rows of trees that flank this central Washington valley’s irrigated … more

By Hal Bernton / The Washington State Standard | 12/29/25