News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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August 10, 2026 Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson signed an emergency proclamation Monday to temporarily suspend some state laws in order to fast-track the recovery process from wildfires ravaging central and eastern Washington. The announcement comes as fires have burned over 700,000 acres in Washington this year, destroying more than 871 homes. "We're in for the long haul on this as a state," Ferguson said during a press conference in Spokane, where fires that began at the start of the month tore... Full story
July 14, 2026 High school seniors in Washington would need to complete student aid paperwork to graduate, under a proposal Gov. Bob Ferguson announced Monday. If students didn't want to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, they could sign an agreement to opt out. Ferguson will press for lawmakers to approve the requirement during the next legislative session, which begins in January. Around half of Washington families qualify for higher education financial aid, according to...
Washington's Department of Ecology announced a statewide drought emergency April 8, marking the fourth consecutive year that part or all of the state has been in a drought. "We declare drought when water supply drops below 75% of normal," said Casey Sixkiller, director of Ecology. "This year, every watershed in our state has met that threshold." Snowpack in the mountains is at about half of normal. The emergency declaration follows an above average wet winter where precipitation levels were...
Two Washington tribal leaders could soon snag seats on the state's Board of Natural Resources, which guides logging sales and other management decisions for millions of acres of public land. Sen. Claudia Kauffman, a Democrat from Kent who's the first Native American woman to serve in the state Senate, proposed Senate Bill 5838. On Monday, it was voted out of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. The bill originally called for only one tribal representative to be appointed to... Full story
