COVID-19

(King County, WA) -- The leader of the union representing King County corrections workers is calling for a two-week quarantined shutdown of the county's jails due to surging COVID-19 case numbers. Guild president Dennis Folk issued a letter to the Department for Adult and Juvenile Detention Thursday urging them to shut down jail operations for two weeks--stressing that the county has a fundamenta

(Salem, OR) -- The Oregon Employment Department reports $24 million in fraud during the first year of the pandemic. $3 million was the result of identity theft cases and $21 million went to unemployment insurance fraud. Investigators have been able to get about a million dollars back so far ...

(Olympia, WA) -- Washington State Senate Majority Leader Andy Billig has COVID-19. The Democrat is fully vaccinated and boosted against the illness. He says says he's not experiencing any symptoms, but did recently test positive. Billig represents the 3rd Legislative District in Spokane ... Read More ...

(Whatcom County, WA) -- Officials in Whatcom County are working to fill the late Washington State Senator Doug Ericksen's seat before the start of the 2022 legislative session. Whatcom County Republicans are expected to meet this week to come up with a list of three potential candidates ...

(Edmonds, WA) -- The Edmonds City Council is moving forward with a controversial new rule requiring restaurants to pay 4,000 dollars to continue using makeshift outdoor dining areas. City Council implemented the fee Monday after three councilmembers boycotted a meeting that was called to consider cutting it in half ...

(Olympia, WA) -- All student-athletes in Washington State are now required to get COVID-19 tests three times a week, even if they're vaccinated. The Washington State Department of Health updated its guidelines following an outbreak traced back to some wrestling tournaments earlier this month ...

(Olympia, WA) -- Washington State Health officials say at least 200 cases of the omicron variant have now been confirmed statewide. King County health officer Dr. Jeff Duchin expects Washington will see a rapid increase in the number of omicron cases in the coming days and weeks ...

(Coeur d'Alene, ID) -- A medical team from the U.S. Army is leaving Idaho after helping Kootenai Health through surge of COVID-19 cases. The team of about 20 nurses, respiratory therapists, and doctors arrived over Labor Day weekend to alleviate strain on the Idaho healthcare system ...

(Olympia, WA) -- If you're planning a trip west of the Cascades, keep in mind all King County restaurants and bars must now verify their patrons' COVID-19 vaccination status before allowing them to dine inside. The requirement first went into effect back on October 25th, but venues that have only 12 seats or less were given extra time to comply ...

(Salem, OR) -- The State of Oregon has paused acceptance of new applications for emergency rental assistance after the Housing and Community Services agency reported that it has allocated all of the $289 million dollars of federal money it received ...