The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is gearing up for what they expect to be a “normal” wildfire season in 2022, but even so, fire activity is still expected on both sides of the Cascades.
“This time of year is what we call our training season and our readiness season,” said DNR Assistant Division Manager of Plans and Information Angie Lane.
The department is spending the spring months readying their personnel and deciding where they’re going to send resources during the summer months. The DNR is also acquiring more firefighting resources through contracts and completing any agreements they have with cooperators and partners.
It’s hard to forecast specifically what this year’s fire season will be like, but early conditions show it will likely be a “normal” season – not extraordinarily different from the past couple of years. Still, that “normal” baseline has been changing. Read more
The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) is on heightened alert not just for COVID-19 but also for tuberculosis as cases rise in the state as well as globally.
The rise of tuberculosis in the state became pronounced in 2021 when 199 cases were reported, a 22% increase from the previous year. Most of these cases were reported in the Puget Sound region, with King, Pierce and Snohomish counties being the hardest hit. Read more
Sound Transit's light rail extension project connecting Seattle to the Eastside is experiencing more delays.
The 14-mile-long, $3.6 billion East Link project is planned to have 10 stations from Seattle’s Chinatown-International District to Redmond. The extension was scheduled to open in the summer of 2023, but Sound Transit officials said a number of factors could push the date back.
Officials said the main factors causing the project to run behind schedule include COVID-19 delays, the four-month concrete workers strike, and quality issues on the I-90 segment of the alignment between the Chinatown-International District and South Bellevue stations. Read more
Twelfth-grade student Sam Bowles is getting a "like" from the staff at Henry M. Jackson High School in Mill Creek.
The suddenly famous social media influencer is using his growing following on TikTok following (1.4 million as of April 2022) to raise awareness and acceptance for what Sam says “is just a word.” Autism.
April is Autism awareness month and 18-year-old Bowles says he is happy to help break down some stereotypes about the disorder he wasn’t diagnosed with until he was 12. Read more
For the last decade, Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll and GM John Schneider have prided themselves on going off the board and finding talent where the other 31 teams may not have looked.
Not this year.
No, this time around we're hearing the words "safe pick" when it comes to their first-round selection of offensive tackle Charles Cross out of Mississippi State.
Safe is nice, but it's no guarantee it translates as productive. Read more
Also see: Western Washington forecast
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