Associated Press
House passes measure creating sexual harassment task force
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Washington House has passed a resolution setting up a legislative task force on sexual harassment.
House Concurrent Resolution 4413 was passed on a voice vote in the House chamber Thursday. The Senate is expected to vote later in the day...
Sheriff’s patrol car stolen, crashed in eastern Oregon
PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) - Authorities in eastern Oregon say a man arrested for burglary stole a patrol car after slipping out of his handcuffs.
The 23-year-old crashed the vehicle into a ditch near Hermiston and was on the run Thursday. The East Oregonian newspaper reports that police were searching on foot and with ATVs...
Man accused of attempted child rape held on $100K bail
RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - The bail for a Washington man who allegedly tried to meet with two 13-year-old girls for sex has been set at $100,000.
The Tri-City Herald reports Donald T. Sizer of Spokane was arrested Jan. 9 in Richland for trying to meet up with the girls after communicating with them online for five months...
Deal reached on water dispute that stalled new construction
SEATTLE (AP) - Top state lawmakers have reached a deal on a complex rural water dispute that has held up approval of more than $4 billion in new school and other construction projects for months.
Rep. Larry Springer, a Kirkland Democrat, said Thursday that top Republican and Democratic leaders reached a negotiated agreement earlier this week on both the water dispute and the two-year capital budge
Bill would require emergency train-stopping technology
SEATTLE (AP) - A new bill in the U.S. House would require railroads to have emergency train-stopping technology in the wake of the Washington Amtrak derailment that killed three passengers and injured dozens of others.
The Seattle Times reports the Positive Train Control Implementation and Financing Act, sponsored by Democratic State Rep...
Effort to test sexual assault kits expands across Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Hundreds of untested sexual assault kits from across Oregon will be sent to a private lab for testing after money was left over from a grant that allowed three western Oregon counties to submit kits for testing.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Multnomah, Marion and Lane counties have sent more than 2,600 kits for testing by Sorenson Forensics LLC after receiving a nearly $2
Bump stock ban passes Washington committee
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - A Washington state Senate panel has approved a bill that would ban trigger devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more rapidly, similar to the ones used in the Las Vegas mass shooting.
The Spokesman-Review reports the Law and Justice Committee approved the bill after rejecting a Republican bid to allow them to be sold if the purchaser passes a federal firearms backg
House passes bill aimed at lowering gender wage gap
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The Washington House passed a measure that seeks to reduce the wage gap between men and women and provide equal growth opportunities and fair treatment in the workplace.
The Democratic-controlled House passed the measure on a bipartisan 69-28 vote Wednesday...
Robust December caps strong jobs year for Oregon
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon's unemployment rate fell slightly in December as employers added more than 14,000 jobs.
The state Employment Department said Wednesday that no major industry substantially cut jobs in the last month of 2017. Industries adding a lot of jobs were construction, manufacturing and leisure and hospitality...
Documentation of wolves near Oregon’s Mt Hood new benchmark
THE DALLES, Ore. (AP) - A remote camera picked up two gray wolves in Oregon's northern Cascade Mountains, marking the first time multiple wolves have been documented in the area since the species returned to Oregon more than a decade ago.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday the animals were spotted in the White River Wildlife Area and in Mt...