WASHINGTON STATE

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Wednesday, September 3

Gov. Bob Ferguson speaks to the press in the Governor’s Conference Room at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on May 20, 2025. (Karen Ducey / The Seattle Times)
West Coast governors say states will establish their own vaccine guidelines
The governors of Washington, Oregon and California said Wednesday they’re forming a coalition to establish their own vaccine and immunization recommendations. The three Democratic governors — Oregon’s Tina Kotek, Washington’s Bob Ferguson and California’s Gavin Newsom — said their states formed a West Coast Health Alliance “to ensure residents remain protected by science, not politics” in response to what they called the Trump administration’s “dismantling” of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s credibility and independence. Continue reading at The Seattle Times. (Karen Ducey)


Members of Washington Public Employees Association did not receive a pay hike in July as other state workers did because their contract did not get funded in the budget. They are now voting on new agreements that would get them pay hikes. (Photo by Jerry Cornfield/Washington State Standard)
A new agreement could get Washington state workers the wage hikes they lost
Thousands of state government and community college employees in Washington are considering a new pact that would secure raises they lost out on in July when state lawmakers did not fund their contract. Nearly 5,300 members of the Washington Public Employees Association didn’t get a 3% pay hike other state workers received July 1 because they failed to approve their two-year deal in time for lawmakers to account for it in the state budget. Continue reading at Washington State Standard. (Jerry Cornfield)


On Aug. 24, 2025, firefighters working on the Bear Gulch wildfire in the Olympic National Forest wait for a helicopter shuttle.
Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid
Wildfire veterans believe top officials on the fire sent their crews into an ambush. Wildland firefighters were stunned when federal immigration authorities last week raided an active wildfire response in Washington state, arresting two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours. Wildfire veterans say the operation was nearly unprecedented, a breach in longstanding protocol that federal agents don’t disrupt emergency responders to check immigration status. Continue reading at KUOW. (Bear Gulch Fire Facebook page)


Print

Aberdeen Daily World
Learning to Grow’s next chapter (Chapman, Tharinger)
Grays Harbor County holds inaugural housing summit

Axios
Seattleites face new hurdles to get COVID shots
3 western states form vaccine alliance to counter feds

Everett Herald
Hot and dry weather sparks red flag, extended burn ban
How the Mukilteo-Clinton ferry route will get an electric upgrade

High Country News
Firefighters question leaders’ role in ICE raid near Bear Gulch Fire

New York Times
Snubbing Kennedy, States Announce Plans to Coordinate on Vaccines
Federal Courts Slow to Fix Vulnerable System After Repeated Hacking
Federal Appeals Court Reinstates an F.T.C. Commissioner Fired by Trump

Olympian
A college in Washington is one of the best in the US, ranking says. Here’s why

Peninsula Daily News
COVID-19 cases seeing surge at end of summer, official says

Port Townsend Leader
More than a thousand here without homes last year
Trails Connections offers updates on state initiative cycling highways
State AG leads coalition supporting Colorado law that bans conversion therapy for minors

Seattle Times
West Coast governors say states will establish their own vaccine guidelines
What the EPA’s plan to deregulate greenhouse gas emissions means for WA
Trump admin must restore health data, websites, per WA lawsuit settlement

Washington Post
How microdosing GLP-1 drugs became a longevity ‘craze’
Florida moves to end all school vaccine mandates, the first state to do so
The group behind Project 2025 wants a ‘Manhattan Project’ for more babies

WA State Standard
A new agreement could get Washington state workers the wage hikes they lost
Judge warns of ‘national police force’ in ruling Trump broke the law sending Guard to LA
Democratic AGs disclose FEMA failed to make grants for months to critical disaster program
Opinion: The No. 1 problem facing Washington farmers


Broadcast

KING 5 TV (NBC)
State’s ‘most dangerous driver’ arrested following high-speed chase
Federal court rules against Snohomish firefighters in vaccine lawsuit
Judge to decide whether to lift federal oversight of Seattle Police Department
Northshore among Washington school districts launching ‘no cellphone’ policies
Thousands of King County security officers poised to strike, raising transit safety concerns
Washington, Oregon and California will issue their own vaccine recommendations, separate from CDC

KIRO 7 TV (CBS)
Seattle Public Schools Board could vote on police on campus
Seattle to help Sound Transit with multi-billion-dollar budget gap
Staffing shortage shifts some 911 calls in Kitsap County to online reporting
Students in Seattle Public Schools head back to class with new safety upgrades
Pierce Co. children’s hospital will stop offering gender-affirming care to new patients

KUOW Public Radio
Breaking down recent immigration arrests, ICE activity in WA
Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid
Why some WA judges won’t make accused domestic abusers surrender their guns
Oregon, Washington, California form health care alliance to protect vaccine access


Web

Cascadia Daily News
Medicare pilot program will use AI to review eligibility for select procedures in WA state
Public comment period open on Trump administration’s proposed repeal of Roadless Rule 
Opinion: Ferry terminals, San Juan Islanders’ lifeline, are fraying due to contracting

Cascade PBS
Columbia River energy project rejects fast-tracked federal permit
Kitsap Transit plans free access to Narcan at two stops

MyNorthwest
West Coast Health Alliance: West Coast states push back against ‘politicized’ CDC

The Urbanist
New Seattle Clinic to Provide Post-Overdose Stabilization Services
Facing Financial Headwinds, Harrell Stumps for West Seattle, Ballard Light Rail

West Seattle Blog
ZONING CHANGES: With big public hearing next week, last-minute Alki ‘Neighborhood Center’ proposal gets scrutinized