Latest news (Page 30)

Despite setbacks, far-right extremists are winning positions in mainstream Northwest politics
Militia groups, Christian nationalists, anti-vaccine activists and other conspiracy theorists in the Pacific Northwest have all started working together and are forging new connections with the formal political class.

Idaho renters face bigger shortage of affordable homes, national housing report shows
According to 2023 report, Idaho has 38 affordable rental homes for every 100 households with extremely low incomes — a decrease from 42 units in 2022

Where the Starbucks union stands after rallies, proposed audit
As a new CEO takes over, employees of the Seattle-based coffee giant are taking their demands to the street: Stop union-busting and bargain in good faith.

Auditors flag half of Washington counties over COVID-19 aid
Findings of fraud or misuse remained rare despite short deadlines set for local governments to spend billions in emergency relief.

Oregon could tighten climate regulations for data centers, cryptocurrency farms
A 2021 law exempted local publicly-owned and co-op power utilities, common in eastern Oregon, from emissions rules

As election deniers target the U.S. voter database, WA worries
Washington state isn’t pulling out of the Electronic Registration Information Center, but the impact might still be felt here.

EPA and a Montana mining company promise action after InvestigateWest report exposes public health concerns
Previous reporting showed how regulators and the mine teamed up to rebut independent researchers


He’s in a prison cell, with no criminal conviction. Idaho put him there for mental health care.
Legislature will consider Idaho Gov. Brad Little’s proposal for a $24M secure facility — one that isn’t a prison

State caregivers in Oregon group homes reach crisis
Staffing shortages, low pay and safety concerns burn out a Department of Human Services unit that cares for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities

How auditing giant KPMG became a global sustainability leader while serving companies accused of forest destruction
The firm vouched for an Indonesian company with a supply chain beset by deforestation allegations and a project in Canada that led to an Indigenous forest’s “death by a thousand cuts”

Vancouver Public Schools continued to use prohibited restraints on students after state ban
A review of hundreds of pages of records show security guards at Vancouver Public Schools have used banned restraints more than a year after the state outlawed them.