State & Regional News | The Daily Chronicle

Three accused of attempting to smuggle drugs into Washington State Penitentiary

Three separate visitors to Washington State Penitentiary during the past week were arrested after arriving at the prison with drugs. A news release from the state Department of Corrections said … more

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin (TNS) | 3/21/25

A protester holds up a homemade sign during a rally opposing state budget cuts on the steps of the Washington State Capitol Building in Olympia on Monday, March 17.

Washington state lawmakers eye salary cuts for state employees amid budget crunch

Senate Democrats are proposing a 5% pay cut for nearly all state employees as the state grapples with an estimated $15 billion budget shortfall over the next four years. Under the proposal, … more

Sofia Schwarzwalder / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/21/25

A female gray wolf in snow. (Mikael Males/Dreamstime/TNS)

$30,500 reward offered for information on gray wolf killed in Oregon

Environmental groups and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are seeking help from the public in investigating the killing this month of a gray wolf near Sisters, Oregon. State and federal … more

Gosia Wozniacka / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/21/25

Sandhill cranes fly over Sauvie Island with Mount St. Helens in the background Saturday, Nov. 12, 2022.

Officials claim Trump cuts could compromise PNW earthquake and volcano warning systems

At the confluence of multiple tectonic plates, on the Pacific Ring of Fire, sits the West Coast of the United States, where the Cascade mountains in Oregon and Washington are dotted with active … more

Lizzy Acker / oregonlive.com (TNS) | 3/21/25

A harvester crane processes a log on a thinning project in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. The project was led by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, the result of growing efforts by state agencies to conduct work on federal land. President Donald Trump’s plans to increase logging on federal lands will depend heavily on states’ cooperation, experts say. (Courtesy of Washington State Department of Natural Resources)

Trump will need help from states as he seeks to log more trees

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders to increase logging in national forests and on other federal lands. Trump’s orders direct federal agencies to … more

By Alex Brown / States Newsroom | 3/21/25

Public testimony heats up over Washington state bill that would undo some of parents’ rights initiative

The Senate Early Learning & K-12 Committee got an earful Thursday from supporters and detractors of proposed legislation “promoting a safe and supportive public education system” that … more

By Carleen Johnson / The Center Square | 3/20/25

A Washington State Patrol trooper attends the 19th CVEO Basic Open House on Feb. 7, 2024.

Washington state bill could allow noncitizens to police, prosecute U.S. citizens

A bill moving through the Washington state Legislature would allow lawful permanent residents and foreign nationals who are recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program … more

By TJ Martinell / The Center Square | 3/20/25

Staff at the Washington state attorney general’s office in Seattle and elsewhere staged a walkout Thursday to make their case against furloughs and budget cuts. (Photo courtesy of Julia Parkey)

Staff at Washington state AG’s office stage walkout to protest proposed furloughs and budget cuts

Staff at the Washington attorney general’s office argue a furlough will just mean unpaid hours because the agency’s work has to get done. They say about $20 million in proposed … more

By Jake Goldstein-Street / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Ralph Munro was first elected as Washington’s secretary of state in 1980 and would go on to serve five terms in the job. He’s seen here, right, with bagpipes at a National Association of Secretaries of State Conference in 1986 and, left, in an official portrait from 1985. (Photos courtesy of Washington State Archives)

Remembering Ralph Munro, five-term Washington secretary of state and statesman

Ralph Munro, Washington’s longest-serving secretary of state and a moderate Republican who achieved unusually broad popularity across the political spectrum, died early Thursday at his … more

By Tom Banse / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Democratic state senators push $17B dollar tax package to balance Washington state budget

Let the tax debate begin in Olympia. Democrats in the Washington state Senate kicked it off Thursday with a monstrous opening statement , calling for higher property tax collections and new … more

By: Jerry Cornfield / The Washington State Standard | 3/20/25

Washington state infant attacked by dog, alive and receiving care

MOSES LAKE — Friday at around noon, the Grant County Sheriff's Office was notified of a dog attack incident involving a 4-week-old baby boy. The minor was brought to Samaritan Hospital prior to … more

Nance Beston / Columbia Basin Herald (TNS) | 3/20/25

Ukrainian grocery store in Washington state targeted by suspected impersonators pretending to be ICE

An investigation is underway in Fife after suspected U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement impersonators targeted a local Ukrainian store on Sunday. The impersonators staked out Emish Market … more

Puneet Bsanti / The News Tribune (TNS) | 3/20/25

State Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen, speaks during a rally about protecting parents’ rights, organized by Let’s Go Washington, at the Capitol in Olympia on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Washington state initiative takes aim at Parents' Bill of Rights changes

Clashes over Democratic efforts this legislative session to alter Washington's Parents' Bill of Rights have played out on the House and Senate floor, social media, the steps of the Capitol and now, … more

Sofia Schwarzwalder / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/20/25

Boeing blamed for whistleblower’s death in new lawsuit

The family of John “Mitch” Barnett, a Boeing whistleblower whose death last year brought fresh attention to the company’s persistent struggles with quality, filed a wrongful-death … more

Patrick Malone / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/20/25

A deer looks back as snow falls in Centralia near North Ash Street on Thursday, Feb. 13.

Washington state nearing decision on chronic wasting disease rules

Wildlife officials are getting closer to making a final decision on permanent rules for limiting the spread of chronic wasting disease in Washington, including proposed statewide bans on feeding … more

Michael Wright / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 3/20/25

Washington woman charged after her 3-year-old son overdosed on fentanyl, police say

Investigators believe a 3-year-old boy overdosed on fentanyl he found on his mother's dresser last month in Spokane Valley. Jessica A. Demaine, 38, was booked Wednesday into the Spokane County … more

Garrett Cabeza / The Spokesman-Review (TNS) | 3/20/25

Guilty verdict: $7.8 million of ‘party drugs’ smuggled into Washington state from Canada

A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict after $7.8 million worth of illegal drugs was smuggled in backpacks and a suitcase across the Canadian border into a remote wildland area of Eastern … more

Annette Cary / The Tri-City Herald (TNS) | 3/20/25

Court records reveal prosecutors allege Kohberger bought knife, sheath before Idaho homicides

Bryan Kohberger, the man charged with murder in the fatal stabbings of four University of Idaho students, bought the same brand of knife that police suspect was used in the violent crime in November … more

Kevin Fixler / The News Tribune (TNS) | 3/20/25

Rep. Adam Smith (D-Bellevue) poses for a portrait at Bellevue City Hall on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.

Washington congressman’s crusade against Democrats' left wing gets attention, flak

Last month in Washington, D.C., Seattle’s U.S. House representatives, Pramila Jayapal and Adam Smith, sat down for a frank talk. The subject: Smith’s loud criticisms of the far-left … more

Jim Brunner and Daniel Beekman / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/20/25

Patty Murray: Trump won't gut the Education Department 'on my watch'

U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., vowed strong opposition to President Donald Trump's plans to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education, warning that "the fight has just begun." Trump is … more

Dahlia Bazzaz / The Seattle Times (TNS) | 3/20/25