State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Seeley Media's Instagram account features Joshua Headley, a convicted child rapist, recording footage for a pro-levy campaign video outside of Yelm High School.

Thurston County Democrats hired child rapist for campaign work

Some Thurston County Democratic candidates are cutting ties with a company hired to do campaign work, after learning that the owner of Seeley Media is a convicted child rapist. Joshua Headley, a … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 10/29/25

About 200 people showed up to protest outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will review a decision that cleared the way to deploy National Guard troops. (Photo by Alex Baumhardt/Oregon Capital Chronicle)

Guard deployment to Portland stays blocked as 9th Circuit reviews decision

A majority of judges on a federal appeals court want to review for errors a decision made by two of their peers greenlighting National Guard deployment to Portland. This means there will be no … more

By Alex Baumhardt / Oregon Capital Chronicle | 10/29/25

Ballot envelopes sit in the Thurston County elections center in the 2024 election. (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)

Four legislative races in western Washington test whether ‘all politics are local’

Voters in western Washington are casting ballots in four legislative races that could reveal whether the electorate wants to change the direction the state is going. But another factor might be … more

By Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 10/29/25

Grocery items sit on display inside The Salvation Army food bank in Centralia.

Washington state directs state dollars to food banks as SNAP funding cliff nears

Washington state will give food banks $2.2 million per week as they deal with the potential end of food stamp benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. The Trump … more

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

KSI truck driver Jose Romero fills up his truck at the Love's gas station in Napavine on his way toward Los Angeles Monday.

Logistical challenges remain for adoption of EV trucks, Washington state industry advocates say

Last month, Gov. Bob Ferguson launched the ZEVergreen initiative via the Department of Ecology in response to President Donald Trump’s cuts in federal funding for electric vehicle rebates. … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 10/28/25

Democratic AGs, governors sue Trump over SNAP benefits as shutdown hits day 28

A coalition of Democratic state officials sued the Trump administration Tuesday, asking a federal judge to force the release of food assistance funds for 42 million people that the U.S. Department of … more

By Jacob Fischler / States Newsroom | 10/28/25

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