State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

AWB Survey: Majority of Spokane voters considering leaving region over high taxes, leadership

A majority of voters are considering leaving Spokane, citing taxes, questionable leadership and public safety issues as the reasons, according to a recent survey by Greater Spokane Incorporated. … more

Tim Clouser | The Center Square | 5/6/26

Open Door Community Health Centers has 13 clinical sites in two counties in Northern California, and about 50% of its patients are on Medicaid, the state and federal insurance program for low-income people.

Big companies position themselves for payday from $50B federal rural health fund

Tory Starr is worried about the people who get medical care at Open Door Community Health Centers along California’s North Coast. “They’re the folks that work at restaurants. They’re the … more

By Sarah Jane Tribble, KFF Health News | 5/6/26

Critics question Washington state’s progress reducing solitary confinement in state prisons

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. For the youth helpline, call or text 888-537-1634 or make a report online at HearMeWa.org. For the Suicide & Crisis … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / Washington State Standard | 5/6/26

Former AG McKenna 'encouraged' despite court blocking income tax referendum

A day after the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously rejected an appeal seeking a referendum on the state’s new income tax, one of the key players in the legal challenge to come is expressing … more

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

The courtroom in the Temple of Justice is pictured on Thursday, Feb. 19, in Olympia.

Washington Supreme Court rejects state’s attempt to unblock sheriff eligibility law

A Washington Supreme Court commissioner on Tuesday declined to pause a judge’s ruling that blocked a new law setting stricter qualifications for sheriffs. Deputy Commissioner Walter Burton … more

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

'The magic of Bloomsday': 50th annual race in Spokane marks return of prepandemic participation

Shoes pounded the pavement, hearts beat fast and runners sweated through the afternoon heat Sunday during the 50th Bloomsday in the Lilac City. Bethany Lueck, the Lilac Bloomsday Association … more

Mathew Callaghan / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 5/5/26

How did an SUV wind up in Lake Washington? Police seeking answers

Investigators are looking for the person who plunged a Toyota 4Runner into Lake Washington, north of Seward Park, sometime over the weekend. How or when the SUV wound up in the lake, not to … more

Conrad Swanson / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/5/26

Seattle tops record high temperature Sunday as spring warm trend continues

Temperatures in Seattle scorched past its record high mark Sunday, capping off yet another abnormally hot week this spring and foreshadowing the inevitable summer of drought that’s fast … more

Conrad Swanson / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/5/26

King County sheriff’s office looking for man in connection with Covington killing

The King County sheriff's office is looking for a 41-year-old man in connection with a recent homicide in Covington. Sheriff's deputies responded to a call Friday morning in the 25000 block of … more

Alex Halverson / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/5/26

As H-1B rules tighten, Seattle’s immigrant tech workers weigh leaving the US

In 2014, Abhishek Abhyankar moved from Pune, India, to Blacksburg, Virginia, for graduate school. After getting his master’s degree, he made his way to Seattle, where he got a job, settled down and … more

Jessica Fu / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 5/5/26

Former state Rep. Eric Robertson speaks on the House floor in 2024.

Ex-Washington lawmaker Eric Robertson dies

Former Washington state lawmaker Eric Robertson, who served two stints in the Legislature decades apart, died April 24. He was 62. Robertson, a former House Republican caucus chair, … more

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

Ballots that had arrived by mail or were set aside on Election Day, 2024, sit on a table at the Cass County Courthouse in North Dakota on Nov. 18, 2024.

Federal agencies haven’t started on Trump order restricting voting by mail, DOJ says

Federal agencies say they have yet to take steps to implement President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, as the Department of Justice fights a Democrat-led lawsuit against … more

By Jonathan Shorman / States Newsroom | 5/5/26

A protester gives a thumbs up during a “Pray to End Abortion” event organized by 40 Days for Life across the street from Planned Parenthood in Centralia on Monday, March 24, 2025.

Washington anti-abortion group undeterred by SCOTUS ruling on abortion pill access

Two companies that manufacture the abortion pill drug mifepristone were on Monday granted an administrative stay on lower-court rulings that sought to heavily restrict access to the abortion pill. … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 5/4/26

Brian Heywood, Republican Party donor, during the “Let’s Go Washington” initiatives rally at the Capitol in Olympia on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024.

Washington Supreme Court blocks bid to put state income tax before voters

An appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court to allow a referendum effort on the new income tax law to proceed was denied on Monday. The political group Let’s Go Washington initially filed … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 5/4/26

A sign displays gas prices in Tacoma on May 1, 2026. Washington drivers are paying the second-highest gas prices in the nation, at $5.67 a gallon on average as of Monday.

State taxes, climate policy help send Washington gas prices to record highs

Washington drivers are facing a brutal spring at the pump as gasoline prices in the state shatter all-time records, driven by a combination of the state's carbon policy and gas taxes, along with … more

By Andrew Paxton and Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 5/4/26

A helicopter flies to a drop point during the DNR aviation exercise in the Capitol State Forest on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

DNR receives grant to replant Western Washington forests

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been awarded a grant from The Arbor Day Foundation as part of an ongoing effort to support healthy forests in Washington, according to a news release … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/4/26

Logging is constrained throughout Washington state by rules protecting forest streams and mature "legacy" forests. This impacts rural school that rely on taxes tied to timber harvests. An area in the Willapa Hills is pictured.

Logging ups and downs chop at rural schools

MENLO — With declining timber funds to draw upon, rural school districts across the state are feeling a financial pinch that is only expected to worsen. A more recent decision by the state’s … more

By Jeff Clemens / The Chinook Observer | 5/4/26

The Washington Corrections Center 's library.

Washington State Library program recognized for service to incarcerated and hospitalized adults, justice-impacted youth patrons

Institutional Library Services, a program of the Washington State Library, received the Outstanding Service Award for its work with incarcerated and hospitalized adults and justice-impacted youth … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/4/26

WDFW to discontinue sale of paper licenses as early as May 13 amid global shortage of petroleum-based paper

Due to a global shortage of petroleum-based materials, the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and its 600 license dealer locations will no longer sell waterproof, tear … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/4/26

TCSO releases bodycam footage of fatal April 28 officer-involved shooting

The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office (TCSO) on Sunday released 20 minutes of bodycam footage from last week’s fatal officer-involved shooting in the Olympia area. Three TCSO deputies shot … more

By Emily Fitzgerald / emily@thurstonchronicle.com | 5/4/26