Tag Archives: Washington state

From the editorial board of the Seattle Times: For Washington state, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is the best choice to advance to the general election in the crucial effort to unseat President Donald Trump. She is an effective third-term senator with a strong track record of leading initiatives whether her party was in power or not, working across the aisle …

CBS News reports: Thousands of students in Seattle have 10 days to get vaccinated or they will not be allowed to go to school. This comes after Washington state had two measles outbreaks this year, one forcing a state of emergency. The Seattle Public Schools district issued a notice to families saying their kids could not attend school “until the …

The Seattle Times reports: State Rep. Matt Shea planned and participated in domestic terrorism against the United States before and during the armed takeover at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, an investigation commissioned by the Washington state House found. The 108-page report found that beginning in November 2015, Shea, working with militia leader Ammon Bundy, helped “in the planning and preparation” …

The Guardian reports: Leaked Signal messages from an online chat network around six-term Washington state Republican representative Matt Shea show new evidence of violent fantasies, surveillance of perceived adversaries, conspiracy thinking, Islamophobia, and support for white nationalists. The messages from the chat group, exchanged between October 2017 and October 2018, show Shea’s network includes other serving, former and aspiring rightwing …

NBC News reports: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee is dropping out of the 2020 Democratic presidential race, he announced Wednesday night on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Inslee plans to send an email to supporters on Thursday announcing that he will run for a third term as governor, two sources close to Inslee told NBC News on condition of anonymity. “It’s …

The Seattle Times reports: A magnitude 4.6 earthquake shook Seattle and the Puget Sound region just before 3 a.m. Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. The shaking emanated from Three Lakes, Wash., about 9 miles east of downtown Everett. The earthquake was relatively shallow, and originated about 14 miles beneath the surface, according to a USGS map. …

The Associated Press reports:  The Washington State Supreme Court has unanimously upheld its previous ruling that Baronelle Stutzman violated the state’s anti-discrimination laws by refusing to provide flowers for a gay couple’s wedding in 2013. “Washington state law protects same-sex couples from discrimination based on their sexual orientation, the same way it protects Washingtonians from discrimination based on their religion, …

Seattle’s KOMO News reports: The Tumwater UPS says they received 667 packages of playing cards Tuesday addressed to state Senator Maureen Walsh (R-Walla Walla), who came under fire when she opposed a bill mandating uninterrupted lunch breaks and rest periods for hospital nurses. Walsh said last week, “I would submit to you those nurses probably do get breaks. They probably …

The Associated Press reports: The national chain Motel 6 has agreed to pay $12 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Washington state claiming names of hotel guests were provided to immigration officials for two years. State Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Thursday the company also signed an agreement to stop the practice and to provide training to employees to …

Olympia’s Fox affiliate reports: Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee, who is among a growing group of Democratic presidential contenders, signed a measure Thursday moving the state’s presidential primary from May to March. Next year’s primary will now be held on the second Tuesday in March, something Inslee said will strengthen the state’s role in the national democratic process. The measure …

The Associated Press reports: Washington Gov. Jay Inslee will seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, mixing calls for combating climate change and highlights of his liberal record with an aggressive critique of President Donald Trump. The 68-year-old governor is launching his bid Friday in Seattle, following recent visits to the first primary state of New Hampshire and the early caucus …

The Associated Press reports: Anti-vaccine activists packed an Olympia, Washington public hearing Friday to oppose a bill that would make it harder for families to opt out of vaccination requirements for measles, mumps and rubella amid the state’s worst measles outbreak in more than two decades. An estimated 700 people, most of them opposed to stricter requirements, lined up before …

Yahoo News reports: Washington State University’s College Republicans hope to build an 18-foot wall in a nod to an 8×20-foot wall the group built in 2016 to “raise awareness of the issue of illegal immigration and border security” and, of course, to “own the libs mercilessly.” The students also hoping the internet will pick up the tab for their creative …

The Hill reports: Republican state Rep. Matt Shea, who published a manifesto calling for “war” against enemies of Christianity, was reelected in Washington state. Shea, a six-term legislator, won with 58.3 percent of the vote, defeating his Democratic challenger by a comfortable margin. In a manifesto he published and distributed titled “Biblical Basis for War,” Shea calls for the end …

The Spokane Review reports: Washington state Rep. Matt Shea acknowledged Wednesday he had distributed a four-page manifesto titled “Biblical Basis for War,” which describes the Christian God as a “warrior,” details the composition and strategies of a “Holy Army” and condemns abortion and same-sex marriage. The document is organized in 14 sections with multiple tiers of bullet points and a …

The Associated Press reports: Washington state’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the death penalty, as applied, violates its Constitution. The ruling Thursday makes Washington the latest state to do away with capital punishment. The court was unanimous in its order that the eight people currently on death row have their sentences converted to life in prison. Five justices said the …

The Associated Press reports: An airline worker stole an empty Alaska Airlines plane from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in Washington on Friday night, and the National Guard scrambled two fighter jets to chase the aircraft, which crashed on a sparsely populated island in Puget Sound, officials said. No passengers were aboard the 76-seat Horizon Air Q400 turboprop plane, which was stolen …

Reuters reports: After siding with a baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday sent back to lower courts a similar dispute over a florist who declined to create flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding based on her Christian beliefs. The justices threw out a 2017 ruing by Washington state’s …

Via press release from Democratic National Committee: Today, Democratic Governor Jay Inslee signed into law a bill banning licensed therapists from attempting conversion therapy on minors. Washington becomes the 11th state in the nation to ban the practice. In response, DNC LGBTQ Media Director Lucas Acosta issued the following statement: “Today, Washington State takes a huge step forward in protecting …

The Associated Press reports: Monday’s deadly Amtrak train derailment appears to have been caused by an object on the railway, according to a government official briefed on the crash. A preliminary investigation suggests maintenance problems are unlikely to blame because the incident took place on brand-new tracks, the official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. At least six …