‘Being LGBTQ is not an illness’: Record number of states banning conversion therapy

A record number of jurisdictions this year are taking aim at conversion therapy: an attempt to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity. 'Being LGBTQ is not an illness': Record number of states banning conversion therapy A record number of jurisdictions this year are taking aim at conversion therapy: an attempt to change someone's sexual orientation or gender identity.

Gov. Jay Inslee signs abortion insurance bill

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, center left, is applauded after he signed a measure at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., Wednesday, March 21, 2018, that requires Washington insurers offering maternity care to also cover elective abortions and contraception. less Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, center left, is applauded after he signed a measure at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., Wednesday, March 21, 2018, that requires Washington insurers offering maternity care to also ... more OLYMPIA, Wash.

Washington is latest in handful of states to ban bump stocks

Lydia Ringer, 16, a junior at Roosevelt High School in Seattle, holds a sign that reads "NRA - Not Right for America," Tuesday, March 6, 2018, as she attends a rally against gun violence at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. The rally was held on the same day Gov. Inslee was scheduled to sign a bill banning the sale and possession of gun bump stocks in the state of Washington.

Washington State Is Set to Vote on a Carbon Tax. For the Governor, It’s a Gamble.

Want the latest climate news in your inbox? You can sign up here to receive Climate Fwd: , our new email newsletter. This week in the statehouse in Olympia, Wash., Gov. Jay Inslee is battling to bring a vote on a historic climate change policy that he has pursued for years: instituting the nation's first tax on planet-warming carbon dioxide pollution.

Washington Lawmakers approve legislative records exemption

Rowland Thompson, right, executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, testifies during a joint work session of the Senate and House State Government Committees, Thursday, Feb. 22, 2018, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. The session was held to discuss a bill filed Wednesday by lawmakers who want to circumvent a recent court ruling finding them fully subject to the state's public disclosure laws.

Amtrak train derails, dangles over interstate ina

Several vehicles on I-5 were struck by derailed train cars tumbling down from the tracks above, Pierce County Sheriff's Department spokesman Ed Troyer said. An Amtrak train on its inaugural run derailed south of Seattle on Monday, causing multiple deaths and injuries as rail cars plunged off a bridge over a traffic-clogged interstate, authorities said.

New health benefits among major K-12 reforms of 2017

A new day in health care is slowly on its way for Washington's K-12 school teachers, classroom aides, part-time bus drivers and even lunchroom workers. The new school insurance program, approved by the Legislature in June, is not going to be a quick fix.

Washington Legislature passes paid family leave measure

Sen. Mark Mullet, from left, D-Issaquah, Sen. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Kent, and Sen. Marko Liias, D-Lynnwood, applaud on the Senate floor after the Senate approved a paid family leave program at the Capitol Friday, June 30, 2017, in Olympia, Wash.. The measure, passed on a 37-12 vote Friday and now heads to the House, offers workers paid time off for the birth or adoption of a child or the serious medical condition of the worker or the worker's family member.

Olympia woman says housing services saved her family

Don Benton, a former Republican Washington state senator, talks about his new job leading the U.S. Selective Service System, which registers men for a nonexistent military draft. He also talks about why he likes taking the metro in Washington, D.C. , why he no longer works at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and what really happened when he allegedly called another lawmaker "a trashy, trampy mouthed little girl."

Death penalty repeal bill not expected to advance

In this Jan. 16, 2017, file photo, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, second from left, speaks during a news conference at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., to announce that he and Attorney General Bob Ferguson, third from left, have proposed legislation to abolish the death penalty in Washington state. Despite the backing from Inslee and Ferguson, it appears the measure still won't see a vote in either chamber of the Legislature, leaving it to suffer the same fate as repeal bills introduced in previous years.

Bill would give students control of school-sponsored media

Jaxon Owens, 17, right, editor-in-chief of the Viking Vanguard student newspaper at Puyallup High School, speaks during a Senate hearing at the Capitol Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, in Olympia, Wash. Washington state lawmakers are reintroducing a bill that would protect student journalists' free speech in school-sponsored media at public schools and colleges in response to a 1988 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave administrators control over what gets published in school media.

Sue Lani Madsen: In the gritty details of growth management, local…

The Growth Management Act was passed in 1990 to address development pressures on farmland, the challenge of building schools to match development, and growing traffic congestion. It hasn't delivered, according to many of those testifying at a House Local Government Committee work session in Olympia on September 20th.

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Nyet is Russian for no. What does President Barack Obama get for all his expulsions of Russian alleged spies? Nothing, but nyet! In international diplomacy saying no! exemplifies and amplifies the disrespect Putin has continuously shown for the American president even years before he became a lame duck.