In the News

The high-capacity magazine ban has been introduced several times before in Washington’s Legislature and has repeatedly failed to advance. This year, it has moved further than ever by finally clearing the state Senate, giving supporters greater hope that it might pass the full Legislature. While both legislative houses are controlled by Democrats, the Senate is generally considered the more conservative of the two chambers. The clock is ticking, however. The bill faces a March 4 deadline to advance out of the state ...

As Clark County residents know, failure to invest in infrastructure has consequences that grow exponentially over time. Years of failing to fix the Interstate 5 Bridge and the I-5 corridor have manifested in a situation that hampers the economy of the entire region. While an I-5 replacement is the most important transportation issue in our corner of Washington, it also is a project that impacts commerce throughout the state. And it is only one example of transportation needs in Washington. Lawmakers must ...

With students back in classrooms, there is no shortage of safety measures in place to protect them from the threat of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. From distanced desks to face masks, we have pulled out all the stops to ensure our youngest neighbors are safe from COVID-19, but the Legislature still has a lot of work to do to ensure they are safe from the other epidemic plaguing our community: gun violence. We experienced the tragedy of gun violence firsthand five ...

After failing to pass a comprehensive transportation funding package in 2021, Washington state legislators are now mulling how they can resume the effort this year to make major investments in the state’s highways, ferries and transit. As elected officials enter a short 60-day session, negotiating a multi-billion-dollar agreement could be a tightrope walk. The talks will unfold before the backdrop of billions in delayed maintenance projects, transit systems that are overstretched and understaffed, a highway system struggling to meet the needs ...

Sen. Marko Liias, a 21st District Democrat who represents part of Edmonds and Lynnwood in the Washington State Legislature, will serve on the Joint Oregon-Washington Legislative Action Committee (JLAC) that is pursuing the development of a new I-5 bridge. Liias, who formerly served several years on the Transportation Committee and has worked on numerous transportation issues, will serve as the new chair of the Senate Transportation Committee beginning in the 2022 legislative session. Vancouver Sen. Annette Cleveland, who has served on the Transportation Committee ...

Gov. Jay Inslee today announced his climate proposals for the 2022 legislative session, which will bolster Washington’s leadership in clean energy and economic growth. The governor put forward a $626 million investment in a climate strategy that will:

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While 10 Student Engagement Hubs made voting more accessible for university students across Washington starting in the spring of 2020, Central Washington University had the makings of the first center more than a decade ago. “We’ve been doing this for a long time,” said Jerry Pettit, who has been Kittitas County auditor since 2005. “We actually started what we called the Central Washington University Elections Assistance Center in 2009. It was primarily coordinated by students at CWU and the Associated Students, ...

At some point, Washington’s housing crunch will become a housing crisis. Meanwhile, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and legislative attempts to address housing issues will reverberate for decades to come.

Most pressing is a looming deadline for an eviction moratorium put in place by Gov. Jay Inslee. Shortly after the arrival of COVID-19, Inslee made it temporarily illegal for tenants to be evicted because of an inability to pay.