Sorted by date Results 451 - 475 of 504
Earlier this month, state Department of Fish and Wildlife Director officials said they needed an additional $26 million to effectively manage its existing lands and programs. They said that if they didn’t receive additional money from the Legislature this coming session, they will have to reduce staffing and services. Agency Director Kelley Susewind himself said it would be “pretty catastrophic” if his agency doesn’t get more money. Why then is the agency simultaneously pushin...
For more than a century, Eastern Washington has sought separate statehood. Proposals included the state of Lincoln, Columbia and Liberty. Now, there’s a different twist on independence. A Seattle columnist is metaphorically calling for creation of the state of “King.” He has revived an old idea that King County secede from Washington. Hey King County, you’ve got my vote for statehood. We should’ve gotten to this divorce at several times in our state history already. This time...
OLYMPIA – A bill that passed the state Senate today, Jan. 22, could mean young public schools pupils will be exposed to "inclusive" sex education. In a 28-21 vote, Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5395 was opposed by all Republicans and one Democrat, Sen. Tim Sheldon of Potlatch. The bill now heads to the Democrat-controlled House. Under the bill, public schools will be required to teach medically accurate, age-appropriate sex education to students at all grade levels from k...
OTHELLO – The Liberty (Spangle) girls wrestling team finished 20th Saturday in the Lady Huskies Invite. The Lancers girls came home with 56 team points, the best of any 1B/2B school in the competition. The Top 5 teams were Hanford with 163 points, Sunnyside with 156.5, Othello with 116, Toppenish with 110 and Wapato with 101. Maizy Feltwell brought home gold, topping the 115-pound class and Charlie Johnson was second at 170. Feltwell remains undefeated this season. She o...
OLYMPIA – Several Western Washington lawmakers on Monday asked the state Supreme Court to overturn case law and allow an income tax to be imposed statewide. Fifteen Democrats partnered to file a brief asking for the high court to redefine income tax as justices are in the midst of an appeal by the City of Seattle to overturn previous court decisions and exhisting prohibitions on income taxes. The prohibition is codified in state law and enshrined in the state Constitution. T...
HUNTERS – A Stranger Pack wolf that wandered into Idaho has been killed. According to the state Department of Fish and Wildlife's report Monday, the wolf was “legally harvested.” The Stranger Pack inhabits the forest area in Stevens County north of Davenport near of Hunters. Officials said GPS tracking collar data last month showed the animal was in Idaho. But while one wolf in the pack was eliminated, game officials remain concerned about the pack and possible attacks on ca...
CHENEY – Mayor Chris Grover on Wednesday, Jan. 8, blamed voter approval of the $30 car tab tax cap for an expected transit funding shortfall and possible increased traffic congestion between the city and Four Lakes. “Unfortunately, I-976 (Initiative 976) takes a lot of money away from transit overall,” said Grover, who is also a Spokane Transit Authority board member. Grover's comments came during a report he gave during a meeting of the Cheney Merchants Association at Holid...
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The congressman representing Adams County says the airstrike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. President Donald Trump ordered the early morning drone strike yesterday, Jan. 2, in the wake of attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Iraq. The president said the attack also came as Soleimani was planning another attack on U.S. diplomats and military personnel. “Soleimani was plotting imminent and sin...
CHENEY – The National Weather Service has issued warnings for potential severe weather overnight across most of Eastern Washington. A wind advisory has been issued for Stevens, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Whitman and portions of Lincoln and Columbia counties. The advisory was issued for early tomorrow, from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 4. Sustained winds of 20-30 mph are expected, with gusts of up to 50 mph, the Weather Service said. In addition, a hazardous weather outlook has...
CONNELL -- State Highway 17 reopened about 3:15 p.m. today, Jan. 2, after crews finished cleaning up debris from a tractor-trailer crash that left crushed cars on the roadway. According to the Washington State Patrol, the crash occurred about 8:50 a.m. at Milepost 9, nine miles south of the city. Bruce H. Whiteaker, 60, of Wenatchee, was southbound on the highway when he lost control of his 2011 Mack truck towing a trailer carrying crushed cars, the patrol said. Whiteaker...
CHENEY – Area businesses will be paying their lowest-tier employees at least 12.5 % more beginning Wednesday, Jan. 1. That’s when the state minimum wage climbs $1.50 per hour to $13.50. The new minimum wage applies to all workers age 16 and older. State Department and Labor and Industries officials estimate the wage increase will be paid to 189,994 employees. Tips do not count toward the minimum wage, under state law. This year’s 12.5% increase is the final wage hike sched...
CHENEY – Area residents are awaking this morning to a Winter Weather Advisory issued for Spokane, Pend Oreille, Stevens and portions of Lincoln counties. The advisory was issued at 3:01 a.m. by the National Weather Service in Spokane and includes the Idaho Panhandle. It is set to expire at noon. "It also came as heavy snow was falling across the region. "The first in a series of wet and winter weather systems will arrive in the region through New Year's Eve bringing wintry t...
FOUR LAKES -- A crash near Milepost 269 of a snow-covered Interstate 90 has claimed the life of a motorist. The Washington State Patrol is still on-scene at the site of the fatality between the Four Lakes and Salnave Road exits. The crash occurred when a pickup truck and the flatbed trailer it was hauling separated, sending the truck down an embankment along the westbound lanes, the patrol said. The driver was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. Information on the...
FOUR LAKES – The state Department of Transportation is reporting slick conditions on rural roadways this morning following overnight snowfall. Multiple collisions were reported on Interstate 90 between Mileposts 257-279, the department said. At 6:38 a.m., Transportation officials reported at least one eastbound lane one westbound lanes were blocked near Milepost 269 due to crashes. The Washington State Patrol dispatched units to the area, and an ambulance responded, officials said. Transportation officials also said U.S. H...
OLYMPIA — Despite the overwhelming objection of new gun control laws across most of Eastern Washington, State Attorney General Robert “Bob” Ferguson is pushing for more. As a result, Ferguson is now the subject of both impeachment and recall efforts statewide. Gov. Jay Inslee is also the subject of a request for impeachment. On Dec. 16, Matt Marshall of Eatonville filed a recall petition for Ferguson with the Secretary of State's Office. To get the recall on the ballot, Marshall has to collect signatures from appro...
OLYMPIA — The state Transportation Commission voted Tuesday to recommend the state implement a new pay-by-mile road tax. The commission recommendation is expected to be presented to Gov. Jay Inslee and the Legislature by Jan. 13, the first day of the 2020 legislative session. The recommendation calls for phasing in the new tax. Meanwhile, gas taxes will continue to be collected at the pump. The recommendation also calls for an additional $75 license tab fer on hybrid and e...
SEATTLE – Despite an ethics complaint and overcoming thousands of affidavits of complaining witness earlier this year for his involvement in anti-gun Initiative 1639, State Attorney General Bob Ferguson is again taking aim at firearms. On Thursday, Ferguson has announced that he will push for more anti-firearm legislation to be introduced during the Legislative session that begins Jan. 13. Ferguson said he wants legislation to limit magazines and clips to a maximum of 10 b...
SEATTLE – The judge who issued an injunction on Initiative 976 will hear a motion from measure sponsor Tim Eyman to have State Attorney's Office attorneys removed from the case. Eyman is organizing a pro-I-976 and anti-Attorney General Bob Ferguson rally at 8:45 a.m. outside the King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson's courtroom, E-713, in the county courthouse, 516 Third Ave. The hearing will take place after the rally. The measure was approved by 52.99% of v...
TACOMA – Initiative 976 sponsor Tim Eyman is calling on supporters to pack a meeting Tuesday as the elected Pierce County Council considers intervening in a lawsuit over the measure. The meeting is at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, in chambers at 930 S. Tacoma Way (10th Floor). Eyman, now a candidate for governor, suggests arriving early to sign up to testify on the measure, which generally caps car license tabs and taxes to $30 for non-commercial vehicles. King County Superior C...
ELK – State officials say three wolves from Eastern Washington have been tracked out-of-state. According to state Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf report released Monday, Wolves from Stevens and Pend Oreille counties have been tracked to British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. All three wolves had been previously captured and outfitted with satellite-tracking system collars, officials said. A wolf from the Carpenter Ridge Pack, which generally lives along the Stevens-Pend O...
SPOKANE - Deputies are asking for the public to help identify two men suspected of using stolen credit cards to buy merchandise in Spokane County. Det. Chuck Haley said Thursday that the men are believed to be using credit cards reported stolen from a locker at Kalispel Tribal Country Club. Local businesses provided photos of the suspects, he said, noting the cards were used to purchase more than $10,000 of goods. Haley said detectives want to talk to the men to determine...
CHENEY – A regional effort to provide a Thanksgiving meal to indigent residents is feeding more than 100 local families this holiday. The 2nd Harvest Tom’s Turkey Drive will feed more than 11,000 families in the region, officials said. That includes families who were expected to line up Tuesday at the Cheney Food Bank, 624 3rd St., to pick up their meals. Approximately 60 individuals and 64 families were scheduled to pick up turkey and all the trimmings, 30-year volunteer Joh...
The Washington Bankers Association has taken the mantle on an issue all state taxpayers should be outraged over — the Legislature’s use of title-only bills. In the waning days of the 2019 legislative session, lawmakers in Olympia used their “title-only” stunt to enact new taxes without proper debate, public review or comment. Indeed, Democrats even had the galleries cleared and the doors barred to prevent the public from watching the shenanigans. Title-only bills are just th...
OLYMPIA – Bankers are suing the state Legislature for enacting unlawful taxes under a “title only” bill. On Nov. 5, the Washington Bankers Association, represented by former State Attorney General Rob McKenna, filed suit over House Bill 2167, a title-only tax increase passed in the waning hours of the 2019 legislative session. House Bill 2167 was introduced April 10 and only included one sentence: “The legislature intends to enact legislation concerning tax revenue...
PASCO – Area residents are hoping a King County judge will give them something to be thankful for next Tuesday by allowing Initiative 976 to go into effect while a lawsuit plays out. As passed by voters, the measure is supposed to take effect Dec. 5. But a King County Superior Court judge is expected to hear a motion requesting an injunction blocking the $30 car tab fee measure. The hearing is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 26, in King County Superior Court. The motion s...
