News | The Daily Chronicle

New Washington state grant program incentivizes compliance with police use of force reporting

In 2021, the Washington State Legislature enacted Senate Bill 5259 funding a statewide police use of force database which would receive data from local law enforcement agencies on a regular basis. … more

TJ Martinell | The Center Square | 5/6/25

High water on U.S. 101 in Tillamook in December, 2023. The Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake, coupled with rising sea levels, will cause up to 6 feet of coastal erosion and put many communities on top of new floodplains, a new study finds.

‘Big One’ coupled with rising ocean could leave many in Northwest living in flood zones, study finds

If the once-every-500-year Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake doesn’t do enough damage to the coastal Northwest on its own, frequent and widespread flooding from rising seas that follows will … more

Alex Baumhardt / Washington State Standard | 5/6/25

Candidate filing begins for nine Washington state legislative seats

The curtain is officially rising on Washington’s 2025 election season. Candidates can begin filing at 8 a.m. Monday for more than 3,200 seats on city councils, county commissions, … more

Jerry Cornfield / Washington State Standard | 5/6/25

Washington state police uncover large rooster fighting operation during drug search

On Thursday, the Moses Lake Street Crimes Unit, with assistance from the Moses Lake Tactical Response Team, executed a search warrant at 10032 Road N.4 NE in Moses Lake. The operation, initially … more

Nance Beston / Columbia Basin Herald (TNS) | 5/6/25

Nuclear reactors line the riverbank at the Hanford site along the Columbia River in January 1960. The site was chosen for its isolated location and proximity to the cold waters of the Columbia, which were used to cool nuclear reactors. (U.S. Department of Energy/TNS)

Here’s what the Trump administration proposes spending on Washington state’s toxic Hanford nuclear site

The Trump administration showed support for environmental cleanup at Hanford in its initial proposal for fiscal 2026 funding, calling for a much higher annual budget than it did during Trump’s … more

Annette Cary / The News Tribune (TNS) | 5/6/25

DOJ opens inquiry into new Washington state law requiring clergy to report abuse

The U.S. Department of Justice said it has opened an investigation into the "development and passage" of a new Washington law that requires clergy to report instances of child abuse or neglect, which … more

Paige Cornwell / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/6/25

Cantwell, Murray ask Trump to secure release of Washington state man detained in Venezuela

A Washington man has been wrongfully detained in Venezuela for over three months, according to U.S. officials, and Sens. Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray have asked the White House to help secure his … more

Lauren Girgis / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/6/25

Washington state sues over cuts to Health and Human Services

A coalition of 19 states, including Washington, has challenged reductions in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In April, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy … more

Mitchell Roland / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 5/6/25

One of the largest wind power projects in Washington State stands at Windy Point - the bluffs overlooking the Columbia Gorge near the town of Goldendale. (Steve Ringman/Seattle Times/MCT)

Washington state challenges federal blocking of wind energy development

Washington has joined 18 other states in an effort to stop the Trump administration from curtailing wind energy development. According to the lawsuit, filed Monday, President Donald Trump's Jan. … more

Mitchell Roland / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 5/6/25

Staff and faculty at The Evergreen State College were out welcoming students to campus with coffee and conversation in this photo tweeted by the college in 2017.

Spring enrollment grew by a double-digit margin at The Evergreen State College

This spring’s enrollment at The Evergreen State College in Olympia rose 13% over spring 2024, continuing a trend that the school has experienced over several springs, a college official said. … more

Rolf Boone / The Olympian (TNS) | 5/6/25

Washington state residents struggling to get REAL ID appointments as DOL sees record surge

The REAL ID deadline is looming and Washingtonians are scrambling to comply with the new rules. Starting May 7, anyone traveling at an airport in the U.S. will need a form of identification that … more

Daniel Schrager / The Olympian (TNS) | 5/6/25

Seattle archbishop decries new Washington state mandatory reporting law: ‘Alarmed by this overreach’

The Archbishop of Seattle on Sunday condemned a new Washington law requiring religious leaders to report child neglect and abuse, including when that information is revealed during confession. … more

Simone Carter / The Olympian (TNS) | 5/6/25

Washington state counties sue feds over DEI ban tied to homeless, transit grants

Recently-added conditions to grant funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Transit Administration — an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation … more

By Spencer Pauley / The Center Square | 5/5/25

Gov. Bob Ferguson, at podium, goes to shake hands with state Sen. Noel Frame, D-Seattle, at the signing of a bill to make clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse and neglect, on May 2, 2025 in Olympia. At center is Mary Dispenza, a founding member of the Catholic Accountability Project. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)

Washington state law mandating clergy report child abuse to be investigated by Trump’s Justice Department

President Trump’s Department of Justice is investigating a new Washington state law that makes clergy mandatory reporters of child abuse, arguing it violates the First Amendment. The state … more

By Wilson Criscione / InvestigateWest | 5/5/25

Judge approves $1 millon hold for man accused of sexual assault of a child in Centralia

A 40-year-old man is being held on $1 million bail pending possible charges stemming from a Centralia Police Department investigation into the reported sexual assault of a child. The man … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@chronline.com | 5/5/25

People enter the Lewis County Courthouse on Election Day in Chehalis on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Candidate filing week commences in Lewis County

A race for a Port of Centralia commissioner seat representing District 2 was the first to take shape as filing opened up for the 2025 local elections. Incumbent Julie Shaffley will have to … more

By Jacob Moore and Owen Sexton / The Chronicle | 5/5/25

The three members of Heartwood — Heidi Wilson, Willy Clemetson and Sarina Partridge.

Heartwood to perform concert fundraiser for Nature Nurture Farmacy at The Juice Box in Centralia

The folk trio Heartwood will be performing “The Well Tree” on Monday, May 12, from 7 to 9 p.m. at The Juice Box in Centralia, according to a news release from Nature Nurture Farmacy. … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/5/25

Nerd Pros owner Marcus Read talks with customers during his new card shop's grand opening on Saturday, May 3, in downtown Morton.

In focus: Nerd Pros celebrates grand opening in downtown Morton

Nerd Pros celebrated its grand opening in downtown Morton on Saturday. Nerd Pros is owned by retired pastor Marcus Read, who, together with his wife, Alissa Read, opened the new … more

5/5/25

Bonnie Canaday Coumbs sports a sweater honoring her late husband Lee Coumbs during an unveiling ceremony of the newly named Lee Coumbs Exposition Hall at the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds on Friday, May 2.

Spring Youth Fair honors ‘Fair Father’ Lee Coumbs with Expo Hall dedication

Officials for the Southwest Washington Fairgrounds took a moment on Friday, May 2, during opening night of the Spring Youth Fair to officially dedicate the fair’s Exposition Hall to Lee Coumbs, … more

By Jacob Moore / jacob@chronline.com | 5/5/25

Austin Taylor Collins, 31, of La Center, appears in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, March 31. Collins pleaded guilty May 2 to one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to manufacture or deliver and was sentenced to 34 days in jail. He received credit for time served and was released from the Lewis County Jail after his sentencing hearing.

Sirens: Man arrested for threatening to kill someone; defendant sentenced after drugs found in Napavine; gun found on suspect after chase

CENTRALIA POLICE DEPARTMENT Assault • A 23-year-old Centralia man was arrested for fourth-degree assault, domestic violence, in the 200 block of West Pear Street just after 12:25 p.m. … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/5/25