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Meta appeals $35M campaign finance fine at Washington State Supreme Court

Facebook’s parent company is asking Washington state’s high court to overturn what the state’s attorney general has called the largest campaign finance penalty in the nation’s … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 10/28/25

Lauryn Berg, 32, at Evergreen Rotary Park in Kitsap County, Wash. on September 23, 2025. Berg secured a domestic violence protection order against her ex-husband in August 2024, which required him to surrender all of his guns to law enforcement. Although Berg’s ex-husband turned in two handguns, she fears that he can still access other guns he owned during their relationship.

Many Washington state counties aren’t verifying if accused domestic abusers are turning over their guns

This article was first published by InvestigateWest . In July 2024, Joseph Leitz walked into a red brick sheriff’s office building in the small Western Washington city of Shelton and … more

Kelsey Turner / InvestigateWest | 10/28/25

A vehicle pulls into the Northwest ICE Processing Center, located at 1623 East J. Street in Tacoma, WA. Shot Thursday, June 26, 2025. 230492

Federal court ruling doesn’t stop Washington state immigration judges’ bond denials

On Sept. 30, the U.S. District Court ruled that Tacoma immigration judges were unlawfully declaring they can't issue bonds to many detained immigrants, often relegating them to months or years in … more

Nina Shapiro / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 10/28/25

Fuel costs slightly down from last week

Washington state, Grant County and Adams County all saw decreases in average prices for regular fuel this week. However, the national average for fuel saw a slight increase, according to AAA. … more

Nance Beston / Columbia Basin Herald (TNS) | 10/28/25

Last outages from Washington state windstorm could linger till Wednesday

More than 95% of Puget Sound Energy customers have had their energy restored after the weekend’s storm, the utility said, but a little under 6,000 people were still without power as of Monday … more

Dahlia Bazzaz and Kai Uyehara / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 10/28/25

An Alaska airliner docks at the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona.

Alaska Airlines’ IT outage could cost it $26 million

An IT outage that grounded Alaska Airlines’ fleet for eight hours last week and canceled about 400 flights may cost the company $26 million. Savanthi Syth, an airline analyst with … more

Lauren Rosenblatt / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 10/28/25

Amazon to lay off 14,000 corporate employees

Amazon told employees on Tuesday that it's cutting 14,000 corporate jobs as it invests billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. Amazon's head of resources Beth Galetti told employees in … more

Alex Halverson / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 10/28/25

Some 40% of state’s wildfires this season were in Western Washington state, with 90% human-caused

Wildfires are becoming an “all-of-Washington problem,” not just an Eastern Washington one, the head of the state Department of Natural Resources said Monday. Commissioner of Public … more

Simone Carter / The Olympian (TNS) | 10/28/25

Families in Washington state could lose SNAP benefits amid shutdown. Here’s how many impacted

Food benefits used by thousands of Washington households to help make ends meet might soon be a government shutdown casualty, officials said. The state Department of Social and Health Services, … more

Sara Schilling / The Olympian (TNS) | 10/28/25

The Thurston County Courthouse is pictured on Monday, April 21.

Thurston County road workers, allies deliver workplace grievances to commissioners

Thurston County road workers and their allies took their workplace grievances directly to the Board of County Commissioners last week. Over four dozen people packed into The Atrium, many in … more

Martín Bilbao / The Olympian (TNS) | 10/28/25

Feds searched security systems at 18 Washington state police agencies, report finds

At least four Seattle-area police departments changed their surveillance programs this week after learning U.S. Border Patrol had searched their Flock Safety databases this year, a practice civil … more

Catalina Gaitán / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 10/28/25

Report: Washington state, Michigan 'worst' on religious nonprofit protections

Michigan and Washington scored the most poorly in the nation for religious freedom protections, according to a new report. Napa Legal Institute, a Catholic nonprofit organization, released the … more

By Andrew Rice / The Center Square | 10/27/25

Oct. 26, 2025 interview with realtor Corey Orvold alleging self-dealing and potentially illegal provision of loans to family members involving Seattle Urban League and the Community Reinvestment Program.

Whistleblower: Washington state’s Community Reinvestment Program riddled with self-dealing

A whistleblower has raised serious allegations against Washington state’s Community Reinvestment Program, which, among other things, aims to support homeownership for minorities by providing … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/27/25

Upcoming federal food assistance pause intensifies shutdown fight

The stakes of the ongoing government shutdown rose Monday as the U.S. Department of Agriculture doubled down on its position that food benefits for November could not be paid and a union for federal … more

By Ariana Figueroa and Jennifer Shutt / States Newsroom | 10/27/25

Thousands of preschoolers could lose access to Head Start due to shutdown

Funding for scores of Head Start programs hung in the balance as the government shutdown continued Monday without an end in sight. Unless a deal is reached to end the ongoing funding lapse … more

By Shauneen Miranda / States Newsroom | 10/27/25

Washington state Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove speaks at a press conference on wildfire issues in Tumwater, Wash., on Oct. 27, 2025. (Photo by Bill Lucia/Washington State Standard)

Climate dollars eyed to backfill Washington state wildfire funding

Washington’s lands commissioner, Dave Upthegrove, is on a mission to secure $60 million of additional wildfire funding in next year’s legislative session, despite a tightening budget … more

By Bill Lucia / The Washington State Standard | 10/27/25

Chehalis Basin Collaborative for Salmon Habitat opens online salmon spotting tool

As the rainy season arrives and water levels rise, salmon are migrating upstream to their spawning grounds, with many getting there through the streams that run through popular trails, recreation … more

By Jacob Moore / jacob@chronline.com | 10/27/25

Oregon woman who died after fatal crash on I-5 in Thurston County identified

A 67-year-old Oregon woman was announced dead at Providence St. Peter Hospital Friday from injuries suffered during a single-vehicle collision on Interstate 5 near Lacey, according to a press memo … more

By The Chronicle staff | 10/27/25

Packwood resident Dan Meekhof, right, stands next to Salkum resident Ben Nelson, as they both hold signs demanding disclosure of who's listed in the Epstein files during a Rural Lewis County Indivisibles protest in Centralia on Saturday, Oct. 25.

Residents call for release of Epstein files at protest in Centralia

Despite a weekend filled with stormy weather, members of Rural Lewis County Indivisibles came to Centralia from as far away as Packwood on Saturday, Oct. 25, to protest what they call a … more

By Owen Sexton / owen@chronline.com | 10/27/25

Located at 130 N. 2nd St. in downtown Toledo, Toledo City Hall is pictured on Monday, May 19.

Tension in Toledo over code enforcement; Councilors, city staff debate code enforcement during Toledo City Council meeting

Tensions were high amid discussion of code enforcement and the codes themselves in town, as members of the Toledo City Council met Monday, Oct. 20, for their second regular meeting of the month. … more

By Owen Sexton / owen@chronline.com | 10/27/25