A statewide ban on disconnecting utility services that has been in place for 18 months ends Sept. 30, and it could affect hundreds of thousands of people.
While utility disconnections will be able to resume, a statewide moratorium on evictions issued by Gov. Jay Inslee will remain in place through October. The ban on utility disconnections has prevented companies from shutting off people's water and power for months.
“With the eviction moratorium and utilities, I mean, people are terrified," said Michelle Ballard with the Community Resource Center of Stanwood-Camano, which helps provide services for people impacted financially or otherwise by the pandemic. Read more
A Washington man was found guilty Wednesday in a plot that targeted journalists, including a KING 5 reporter, and members of the Anti-Defamation League.
Kaleb Cole, of Arlington, was found guilty on five counts including one count of conspiracy, three counts of mailing threatening communications and one count of interference with federally protected activities.
The jury deliberated for 90 minutes after the two-day trial, which began Monday. Read more
An effort to recall Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant will likely appear on a single-issue ballot this winter after organizers collected enough signatures.
The recall campaign submitted signatures this month, needing at least 10,867 from voters in Seattle's District 3. As of Tuesday, King County Elections had more than 11,350 accepted signatures, according to an elections spokesperson.
King County Elections hasn't officially certified the signatures. The elections office expects to certify the petition this week. Read more
A group of University of Washington students is demanding that the university offer remote classes to all students this fall.
In-person fall classes started Wednesday as mask-wearing students rushed across the large campus to make it to class on time.
Some students on their way to campus said they were happy they don't have to stare at a computer monitor for long lectures this fall. Read more
COVID-19 vaccinations continue to rise, and recent data shows case rates and the number of hospitalizations are responding with noticeable declines over the last week.
Paired with public masking while indoors and in crowded outdoor settings, the COVID-19 vaccine appears to have stemmed yet another wave of COVID-19 in Washington caused by the highly contagious delta variant.
State and local health officials have sounded like broken records for weeks, repeating the same mantra day after day: the only way the pandemic ends is if more people get vaccinated. Still, there are those who refuse despite being eligible and having no medical or religious reason not to get the shot. Read more
Also see: Seattle local forecast
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