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Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler will be leaving office in January 2025. (Courtesy of Washington state Office of the Insurance Commissioner)

Northwest

After 24 years as WA insurance commissioner, Kreidler prepares to retire

Mike Kreidler, currently Washington’s oldest and longest-serving statewide elected official, exits the public stage next week, ending a…

Alaska Airlines N704AL, a Boeing 737 Max 9 that had a door plug blow out from its fuselage midair, parked at a maintenance hanger at Portland International Airport in Portland, Ore., on Monday, January 8, 2024. (Amanda Lucier/The New York Times)

News

A year after door blowout, Boeing touts safety improvements

A comprehensive plan has improved safety and quality checks, the company says.

Washington State Department of Agriculture A Japanese beetle in the Grandview area in 2021.

Northwest

WA agency asks thousands of property owners for help in fight against invasive bug

Property owners in Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties are being asked to cooperate with state efforts to eradicate…

File photo Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia.

Northwest

Tax debate hangs heavy over approaching WA legislative session

Washington Democrats are preparing for a legislative session where new taxes will be a major focus to solve…

Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia. File photo

Northwest

New Washington state laws taking effect in Jan. 2025

New restrictions on cosmetics tested on animals, tougher penalties for negligent drivers, requirements for hospitals to offer drugs…

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal. (File photo)

Northwest

Ferguson and GOP leaders see value in eliminating WA’s elected schools chief

Appointing the state’s education leader to the cabinet is backed by the incoming Democratic governor and Republican lawmakers.…

Image courtesy the National Park Service Mt. Rainier National Park has around 2 million visitors a year.

News

The mountain is out and it tells cold deadly tales

Data shows that since 2007, Mt. Rainier has become the second most dangerous National Park in the winter.

File photo

Northwest

Child care and early learning central to debate over budget gap

Gov. Jay Inslee did not propose major chopping but did recommend delaying program expansions.

A prototype drone test sprays paint to cover up graffiti in Tacoma earlier this spring. (Courtesy of the Washington State Department of Transportation)

Northwest

Aerial drones help remove graffiti along WA highways

The state’s Department of Transportation has been testing new ways to clean up and detect graffiti on signs,…

Office of the Governor Gov. Jay Inslee signs legislation in 2017 creating the Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Northwest

Inslee says it’s been ‘an astounding 12 years’ as WA governor

The outgoing executive frames his legacy, assesses the Democratic Party’s future and is not moving to Idaho.

A northern giant hornet seen on an apple. (Photo courtesy of Washington State Department of Agriculture)

Northwest

Invasive ‘murder hornets’ found in WA have been eradicated

The hunt for invasive “murder hornets” is over in Washington and the rest of the U.S. after three…

One of Washington’s 12 Democratic electors uses a feather pen to fill out the documents to cast their Electoral College vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. Harris lost to Republican President-elect Donald Trump, but won a majority of Washington’s votes in the November election. (Courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Northwest

WA’s electors cast Electoral College votes for Harris and Walz

Washington’s 12 electors gathered in Olympia on Tuesday and, using white feather pens to make their selections and…

Washington State Capitol in Olympia. File photo

Northwest

Making sense of Washington’s multi-billion dollar budget hole

A reckoning has arrived over spending on programs and services that is expected to outpace state tax revenue.