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Your source on state policy, politics, and power
Site URL: washingtonstatestandard.com/
Feed URL: washingtonstatestandard.com/feed
Posts: 38
Followers: 17
Large-scale solar farm in central WA gets green light from governor
Published: December 5, 2025 02:00
Gov. Bob Ferguson has approved a 1,300-acre solar farm in south-central Washington, calling the project a “win for our state.” The Carriger Solar project in Klickitat County is expected to generate enough power for thousands of homes. Ferguson informed the…
Health subsidies would continue for 3 years under Dem bill to be voted on in US Senate
Published: December 5, 2025 01:53
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday the chamber will vote next week to extend enhanced tax credits for three years for people who purchase their health insurance from the Affordable Care Act marketplace, though the…
More industries want Trump’s help hiring immigrant labor after farms get a break
Published: December 4, 2025 22:12
As food prices remain high, the Trump administration has made it easier for farmers to hire foreign guest workers and to pay them less. Now, other industries with large immigrant workforces also are asking for relief as they combat labor shortages and…
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek confirms she will be seeking reelection in 2026
Published: December 4, 2025 22:10
Gov. Tina Kotek formally announced her 2026 reelection bid Thursday, leaving her less than a year to convince Oregonians she remains the best choice to lead the state. The news came after weeks of clear signals that Kotek, whose campaign has been emailing…
Judge blocks Planned Parenthood ‘defund’ provision for 22 states and DC
Published: December 4, 2025 12:01
A federal judge has once again blocked a controversial provision barring federal Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood and other nonprofit reproductive health providers. But this time, she’s ruling in a different case with a different set of arguments. …
WA’s ban on assault weapon sales withstands another round in court
Published: December 4, 2025 12:00
A judge last month once again upheld Washington’s 2023 law banning the sale of certain semiautomatic firearms classified as assault weapons. But the dispute is likely not over. The gun rights advocacy group suing to overturn the ban says it will appeal.…
Federal backlash to DC shooting sparks fear among Whatcom immigrants
Published: December 4, 2025 00:59
This article was first published by Cascadia Daily News. Immigrants in Whatcom County are feeling scared after federal officials responded to last week’s shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., with harsh rhetoric about those without…
Conservation group to sue feds over lack of national wolf recovery plan
Published: December 3, 2025 23:21
Conservation groups are gearing up to take the federal government to court to preserve the protected status of gray wolves across the country. The Center for Biological Diversity in a Tuesday letter, informed the U.S. Wildlife Service that it intends to…
U.S. House punts vote on college-athlete compensation bill
Published: December 3, 2025 23:20
WASHINGTON — U.S. House GOP leadership pulled a bill from the House floor Wednesday that would set a national framework for college-athletes’ compensation. The Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements, or ‘‘SCORE” Act, would…
Trump administration puts a hold on immigration applications from 19 nations
Published: December 3, 2025 23:18
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration late Tuesday paused all immigration applications from 19 countries the president earlier had listed for restricted travel into the United States, a move that freezes processing for green card holders and citizenship…
US Senate panel seeks speedy bipartisan deal on health insurance subsidies
Published: December 3, 2025 21:59
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate committee that oversees health care started coalescing around an approach to lower costs for Americans during a Wednesday hearing, though several hurdles lay ahead. Republicans and Democrats on the panel appeared to accept that…
Gun dealers are major source of trafficked firearms
Published: December 3, 2025 20:39
Licensed gun dealers are a major source of firearms that end up illegally trafficked, according to a new analysis using federal data by the research arm of Everytown for Gun Safety, which advocates for stricter gun laws. Gun trafficking involves diverting…
No ‘clear path forward’ in US Senate on spiraling health care costs, with deadline near
Published: December 3, 2025 12:01
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in the Senate agree that health care costs are rising too quickly and expect to vote next week on legislation that could help Americans. The only catch is that party leaders hadn’t decided as of Tuesday what to…
Washington’s 2025 general election is officially in the books
Published: December 3, 2025 12:00
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and Gov. Bob Ferguson certified results of the Nov. 4 election on Tuesday, concluding a campaign cycle that saw nine Democratic state lawmakers keep their seats and Washington’s constitution amended. Statewide, a little more…
WA Gov. Bob Ferguson says he’s drafting a cuts-only budget
https://washingtonstatestandard.com/briefs/wa-gov-bob-ferguson-says-hes-drafting-a-cuts-only-budget/
Published: December 3, 2025 02:42
Gov. Bob Ferguson warned Tuesday that the budget proposal he’ll release this month will rely solely on spending cuts and not higher taxes to overcome what he says is a multi-billion dollar shortfall. “That’s the plan,” Ferguson told reporters at the state…
Trump administration sues WA for not sharing voter data
Published: December 3, 2025 00:39
The Department of Justice on Tuesday sued Washington’s secretary of state over his refusal to provide personal information contained in the state’s voter rolls. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs told the Justice Department in September that he would be…
Trump administration threatens to yank food stamps funding from Democratic-led states
Published: December 2, 2025 21:18
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin next week to block nutrition assistance funding for states led by Democrats that have not provided data on fraud in the program, Secretary Brooke Rollins told President Donald Trump at a Cabinet meeting…
‘People will boycott’: How a coastal city’s fight against ICE is making waves across Oregon
Published: December 2, 2025 20:56
NEWPORT— The chilly breeze and sandy shores in this Oregon fishing city have shielded this town from scorching heat for decades. But despite the mist in the air, rumors here spread like wildfire. The latest of those hunches came straight from city…
WA School for the Blind leader resigned after misconduct probe
Published: December 2, 2025 20:35
When the longtime superintendent of the Washington State School for the Blind resigned this summer, he blamed harassment from a former employee. An investigative report, obtained via public records request, concluded Scott McCallum himself sexually…
White House intensifies push for mass deportation after National Guard shooting
Published: December 2, 2025 12:01
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has accelerated his drive to curb legal immigration, after a native of Afghanistan who had been granted asylum was accused in a shooting in the nation’s capital that left one member of the West Virginia National Guard…
Medicaid work rules exempt the ‘medically frail.’ Deciding who qualifies is tricky
Published: December 2, 2025 12:00
Eliza Brader worries she soon will need to prove she’s working to continue receiving Medicaid health coverage. She doesn’t think she should have to. The 27-year-old resident of Bloomington, Indiana, has a pacemaker and a painful joint disease. She also has…
WA state Sen. Sharon Shewmake not running for reelection next year
Published: December 1, 2025 22:29
This article was first published by Cascadia Daily News. Washington State Sen. Sharon Shewmake has announced she will not run for reelection in 2026. First elected as a state representative in 2018, Shewmake, 45, of Bellingham, served two terms before…
4-day school weeks are growing in popularity, despite a lack of data on the effects
Published: December 1, 2025 21:21
Northeast of the capital city of Des Moines in central Iowa, the 400-student Collins-Maxwell Community School District is one of many across the state shifting to a four-day school week. Like many rural K-12 schools, the district has struggled to find…
Congress to probe U.S. strikes on boats in Caribbean
Published: December 1, 2025 21:19
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate and House Armed Services committees will open bipartisan inquiries into U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-running boats in the Caribbean Sea, with a focus on an alleged follow-on attack that The Washington Post reported…
‘Quiet strength’ — Sarah Beckstrom’s West Virginia hometown remembers slain National Guard member
Published: December 1, 2025 16:00
UPPERGLADE, W.Va. — In the gymnasium of Webster County High School, community members gathered to honor West Virginia Army National Guard Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who had graduated from the school just two years prior. “Sarah was the kind of student teachers…
Washington lawmakers want to regulate license plate readers
Published: December 1, 2025 12:00
Washington state lawmakers next year hope to rein in law enforcements’ use of automated license plate readers amid revelations federal immigration authorities are using the data. The readers are mounted everywhere from street poles to police patrol cars.…
Progress on overdose deaths could be jeopardized by federal cuts, critics say
Published: November 30, 2025 17:37
The Trump administration has made deep cuts to the main federal agency focused on fighting opioid addiction, potentially jeopardizing the nation’s recent progress on reducing overdose deaths, some public health officials and providers say. Created in 1992,…
States retreat from covering drugs for weight loss
Published: November 29, 2025 16:19
Some states are rethinking their coverage of GLP-1 drugs for weight loss as budgets tighten and Medicaid programs brace for the cuts included in President Donald Trump’s broad tax and spending law. As of Oct. 1, 16 state Medicaid programs covered GLP-1s…
Trump social media post claims to void Biden orders
Published: November 28, 2025 21:15
President Donald Trump said Friday he will try to reverse any law, pardon or still-in-effect executive order that former President Joe Biden signed with an autopen, though it wasn’t immediately clear how that would work or whether it would be legal. Trump…
National Guard shooting suspect to face murder charge
Published: November 28, 2025 16:47
The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Friday it has charged the man who allegedly shot two National Guard members earlier this week with first-degree murder after one of the soldiers died as a result of her injuries. …
WA lawmakers will gather in Olympia to gear up for 2026 session
Published: November 28, 2025 12:00
How best to spend, save and raise money will be a recurring theme when Washington lawmakers convene in Olympia next week for their annual “committee days.” The state is facing a budget shortfall that’s poised to dominate the 2026 session, which begins…
Alleged gunman in National Guard attack came from WA, officials say
Published: November 27, 2025 17:52
WASHINGTON — Two National Guard members remained in critical condition Thursday as federal law enforcement officials examined evidence collected from the home of the alleged lone gunman, who drove to the nation’s capital from Washington state to target the…
Tariffs trickle into cost of Thanksgiving dinner, jilting consumers and farmers
Published: November 27, 2025 13:08
TOPEKA — Collin Tuthill, president of one of the country’s largest canned and frozen food importers and distributors, said the current state of the U.S. food industry is “like we live in some kind of alternate universe.” The most efficient industry is…
WA Democrats’ latest run at taxing the state’s largest employers
Published: November 27, 2025 00:07
Democratic state lawmakers are once again eyeing a statewide version of a Seattle tax on companies with large payrolls and high-paid employees. Proposed legislation crafted by Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, aims to raise more than $2 billion a year. His idea…
Two National Guard members from West Virginia shot in Washington, D.C.
Published: November 26, 2025 20:40
WASHINGTON — Two National Guard members from West Virginia were shot Wednesday afternoon near the White House in Washington, D.C., officials confirmed. Gov. Patrick Morrisey first posted on social media that they had died, before later writing he was…
Oregon Rep. Andrea Salinas kept from constituents on visit to Tacoma ICE center
Published: November 26, 2025 19:40
Oregon’s U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas went to Tacoma, Washington, on Tuesday expecting to meet with three of her constituents who are detained at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center. Instead, the second-term Democrat — whose 6th…
Amber Czech was murdered at work. Tradeswomen say it could have happened to any of them
Published: November 26, 2025 19:31
This story was originally published by The 19th. Content warning: This story contains graphic depictions of violence. Tuesday, Nov. 11, should have been an ordinary workday for 20-year-old Amber Czech, who worked as a welder at a manufacturing facility in…
Higher entrance fees in store for foreign visitors to US National Parks
Published: November 26, 2025 19:06
Following the busiest year on record for the U.S. National Park Service, which saw more than 331 million visitors in 2024, the Department of the Interior announced this week changes to how national parks will be accessed next year. The major change is the…