State & Regional | The Daily Chronicle

Quick Thinking and Sign Language Played a Role in Downtown Seattle Fire Rescue

Gracie Reynolds said she could just make out the two people standing on a balcony of an apartment building downtown, waving their hands as a thick column of smoke billowed out a nearby window. … more

Daniel Gilbert / The Seattle Times | 5/16/22

Aging Gasoline Storage Tanks in Washington Pose Environmental Hazard, But Many Owners Can't Afford Cleanup

VAN ZANDT, Whatcom County — For 49 years, Jeff Margolis and his late wife, Amy, ran Everybody's Store, a gas station and sandwich stop in this community east of Bellingham. They never made much … more

David Kroman / The Seattle Times | 5/16/22

Scuba Diver Dies During Class at Joint Base Lewis-McChord

A scuba diver was found dead after he didn't resurface Saturday during a class in American Lake on Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The student diver, a veteran, was participating in a class for … more

Mike Reicher / The Seattle Times | 5/15/22

Aberdeen Police Department Chief Steve Shumate bestows the department’s “Lifesaving Award” to fellow APD Officer Brandi Slater after he relayed the story about the call that showed Slater’s mettle. Slater, who’s been with APD for five years, called her save on Thursday morning, Jan. 13, 2022, “a scary moment.”

Police Officer in Grays Harbor County Honored for Rescuing Two Men From House Fire

An Aberdeen Police Department officer saved the life of an older disabled man in January from a house fire on the outskirts of Downtown Aberdeen. Officer Brandi Slater, a five-year veteran of … more

By Matthew N. Wells / The Daily World | 5/15/22

Man Accused of Impersonating Police, Chasing After Another Car in Portland With Flashing Emergency Lights

The black Dodge Charger, its red-and-blue emergency lights flashing while chasing another car on Portland’s North Marine Drive, looked like an unmarked police car, but the driver had no license … more

Maxine Bernstein / Oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/15/22

Two staff members at the facility, Hermie Magistrado, left, and Tim Spencer, right, were instrumental in evacuating residents.

Dramatic Rescue Saves 22 From ‘Super Bowl of Fires’ at Portland Care Home: ‘I Was Losing My Grip on Her’

The call arrived at the emergency dispatch center at 1:06 a.m. Wednesday. A man yelled that “bunch of smoke and flames” was coming from the roof of a building in Southeast Portland. … more

Tom Hallman Jr. / Oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/15/22

Authorities Offer Reward for Tips on Stolen Firearms

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of people responsible for the theft of a truck and trailer containing dozens of … more

Griffin Reilly / The Columbian | 5/15/22

Birds bathe in an alleyway puddle in Chehalis earlier this year.

Unusually Wet, Cold Spring May Persist in Western Washington

For those hoping to break out the shorts any time soon, weather forecasters have some bad news. A cool trough of low pressure continues to draw storm systems through the region, with rain … more

Mike Reicher / The Seattle Times | 5/15/22

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

Alaska Airlines Says Flight Cancellations to Continue Through May, Ease in June

In a message to Alaska Airlines employees Thursday evening, CEO Ben Minicucci said the high level of flight cancellations since April will continue through this month but added that stability should … more

Dominic Gates / The Seattle Times | 5/14/22

Employees at packing stations are seen at Amazon’s Kent fulfillment center, June 11, 2020.

Shareholder: Amazon's 'Astronomical' Misuse of Customer Data Could Ruin Company

Taking a new approach to bringing attention to how Amazon uses individuals' data, a shareholder is suing Jeff Bezos, Andy Jassy and 17 other Amazon leaders he claims knowingly allowed the company to … more

Lauren Rosenblatt / The Seattle Times | 5/14/22

A pharmacist with Walgreens gives a man his first round of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in this file photo.

Judge Tosses COVID Vaccine Objections of Hundreds of Hanford and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Workers

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 314 Hanford nuclear reservation and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory workers in Richland over COVID-19 vaccine requirements. The lawsuit was … more

Annette Cary / Tri-City Herald | 5/14/22

The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District responded to more than 30 small fires last weekend. (Dreamstime/TNS)

Four Arrested in Dozens of Northern California Fires Set Over the Weekend

LOS ANGELES — Four people have been arrested on suspicion of arson after firefighters responded to dozens of small fires in Northern California last weekend. In less than 48 hours, the … more

Christian Martinez / Los Angeles Times (TNS) | 5/14/22

Spokane Police Replace 7-Year-Old's Stolen Bicycle After Teens Reportedly Stole It, Assaulted Girl

Spokane police officers replaced a 7-year-old girl's bicycle after three teenagers reportedly pushed her off her bike, kicked her in the stomach, called her vulgar names and rode off with it Friday … more

Garrett Cabeza / The Spokesman-Review | 5/14/22

A memorial has been created at the intersection of Southwest Barrows Road and Horizon Boulevard in Beaverton, near where Milana Li, 13, was found dead in a stream. The stream is located off the Westside Regional Trail, near the intersection.

‘She Was Just a Kid’: Family, Friends Mourn 13-Year-Old Oregon Girl Found Dead

Milana Li left on one of her usual walks Sunday in the Southwest Beaverton neighborhood where she lived, but her family started worrying when the 13-year-old didn’t make it back to the … more

Savannah Eadens / Oregonlive.com (TNS) | 5/14/22

Pierce County Man Sentenced to Prison for Murder Plot to Steal Victim's House, Land

A King County Superior Court judge on Friday handed down a decades-long prison sentence to a Tacoma man who killed a stranger nearly four years ago in a plot to take over the victim's property and … more

Sara Jean Green / The Seattle Times | 5/14/22

Manager Accused of Urinating in Milkshake Mix at Southwest Washington Arby's

A Vancouver man stands accused of urinating into milkshake mix, which was then served to between 30 and 40 people, while working as a manager at the Mill Plain Arby's restaurant in October. … more

Becca Robbins / The Columbian | 5/14/22

Department of Health Highlights Declines in Childhood Vaccination Rates

Childhood vaccination rates have fallen 13% during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-pandemic levels, particularly among young children, according to a statement by the Washington State … more

By The Chronicle staff | 5/13/22

FILE PHOTO — A rare super moon, blood moon, harvest moon is eclipsed as it rises above Mount Rainier National Park in this file photo.

Pacific Northwest Could See 'Super Flower Blood Moon' Eclipse on Sunday — Weather Permitting

Sunday's full moon is the first so-called supermoon of the year, when the moon is closest to Earth in its elliptical travels around our planet. Though the odds currently aren't great that … more

By The Seattle Times | 5/13/22

FILE - Randy Weaver, the object of the Ruby Ridge siege, visits with the media at the main FBI roadblock outside the Freemen compound in Montana on April 27, 1996.

Randy Weaver, the Man Who Fought Federal Agents at Ruby Ridge, Has Died

Randy Weaver, the white supremacist who became a hero of the modern militia movement after an 11-day standoff with federal agents at Ruby Ridge in North Idaho, has died. The 74-year-old passed … more

By The Spokesman-Review | 5/13/22

Washington Drivers High on Marijuana Can Get a DUI, State Supreme Court Finds

Washingtonians can receive a DUI for driving while high, the state's Supreme Court concluded Thursday, a decision that upholds the state's decade-old law regulating marijuana use behind the wheel of … more

David Kroman / The Seattle Times | 5/12/22