Latest Washington Headlines

All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Washington Governor Declares Emergency in 20 Counties in Wake of Wildfires

Aug 24 2016 // Gov. Jay Inslee has declared a state of emergency for 20 Eastern Washington counties in response to multiple wildfires that threaten homes and natural resources.Inslee issued the declaration Tuesday after touring fires in...

Lockton Hires Mercer’s Bailey for Washington D.C. Office

Aug 24 2016 // Lockton Companies, a Kansas City, Mo., based insurance brokerage, has hired George Bailey as a senior vice president in its Washington, D.C. office. He brings nearly 25 years of experience in the employee benefit and risk...

Washington RV Salesman Charged on $81K Workers’ Comp Scam

Aug 22 2016 // A Tacoma, Wash.-area man faces a felony theft charge after he was caught working while receiving more than $81,000 in workers’ compensation disability payments.Bobby R. Johnson, 47, was charged with first-degree...

Profile: Kevelighan Takes Over at Insurance Information Institute

Aug 22 2016 // In his nearly two decades in government and business, Sean Kevelighan has had his public affairs and communications fitness tested in high-profile situations, most notably working for the Treasury Department and as press...

Family of Washington Man Killed by Tree Toppled in Windstorm Sues

Aug 16 2016 // The family of a Washington state man who was killed during an intense windstorm when a tree fell on his car has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the developer of the project where the tree was located.Jamie Fay was...

Washington Commissioner Fines Pet Insurer for Violating State Laws

Aug 16 2016 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined a pet insurance company $150,000 for violating state laws.Kreidler sayid his agency issued fines in July against American Pet Insurance, which goes under the name...

Interview: Public Affairs ‘Ironman’ Kevelighan Takes Helm at I.I.I.

Aug 16 2016 // Committing to a few extreme physical fitness events every year keeps Sean Kevelighan honest.“That, for me, is the incentive to insure that I keep my training going. It’s really good for your health, obviously,...

Insurer Agrees to $100K Settlement in Washington Dog Shooting Suit

Aug 16 2016 // An insurance company contesting an arbitrator’s award following the shooting death of a dog by a neighbor has agreed to settle for $100,000.The Seattle Times reported Liberty Mutual settled with the attorney...

Washington Tunnel Contractors File $11M Lawsuit

Aug 8 2016 // The contractors who built Bertha the tunnel machine in Washington two years ago have filed a lawsuit seeking $11 million in extra pay.The contractors contend that their efforts working with tough soil conditions cost more...

Traffic Safety Investigators Probing California Bus Crash That Killed 4

Aug 5 2016 // Federal safety investigators converged this week in central California to investigate a highway wreck that nearly sliced a bus in half, killed four people and injured 23.“At this point we don’t know what...

Congress Urged to Interrupt Recess to Act on Zika Funding

Aug 3 2016 // Federal health officials, scrambling to fund efforts to combat the spread of the Zika virus in the United States, said on Tuesday they have provided more stopgap money to various locales while calls grew for Congress to...

Washington Tunnel Contractors File $11M Lawsuit

Jul 25 2016 // The contractors who built Bertha the tunnel machine in Washington two years ago have filed a lawsuit seeking $11 million in extra pay.The Seattle Times reported that the contractors contend that their efforts working with...

Weather Service Determines Tornado Touched Down in Washington

Jul 25 2016 // The National Weather Service says a tornado touched down near Coulee City as severe weather hit the Inland Northwest. The weather service confirmed the tornado touched down at about 3:30 p.m. Friday in the area, about 95...

Washington Transit Operator Settles with Cyclist for $2.75M

Jul 25 2016 // Kitsap Transit has settled a lawsuit with a Washington woman who was hit by a bus while riding her bicycle near Poulsbo.The Kitsap Sun reported the Washington State Transit Insurance Pool, of which Kitsap Transit is a...

Washington-based Spirit Aerosystems Hit with Worker Discrimination Suit

Jul 25 2016 // Employees laid off by Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. in 2013 filed a lawsuit earlier this month accusing the aircraft parts supplier of singling them out by age and disability.Twenty-four plaintiffs were named and...

Washington AG Asks Court to Order Immediate Worker Protections at Hanford

Jul 22 2016 // Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson has asked a federal court to immediately order the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractor, Washington River Protection Solutions, to implement enhanced safety and vapor...

Court Battles Begin as U.S., States Sue to Halt Anthem, Aetna Mergers

Jul 21 2016 // U.S. antitrust enforcers roundly rejected a pair of proposed deals that would consolidate the nation’s five biggest health insurers into just three.The Justice Department filed an antitrust lawsuit to stop Anthem...

Judge Tells Washington Woman to Repay $25K in Workers’ Comp Scam

Jul 20 2016 // A Washington woman injured in a robbery at her workplace pleaded guilty this week to felony theft.Yurizan Cuevas, 33, of Federal Way, reportedly worked full time as a nanny while claiming she was too disabled to work...

Washington Judge Hears Challenge to Law Enabling Uber, Lyft to Unionize

Jul 20 2016 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday wrestled with whether a lawsuit could proceed against the city of Seattle, Wash. over a local law which allows Uber and Lyft drivers to unionize.The litigation is unfolding amid a national debate...

$3.5M Settlement for Family of Dead Washington Bicyclist

Jul 18 2016 // The city of Seattle, Wash. has paid $3.5 million to the family of a bicyclist who died two years ago in a collision with a truck in downtown Seattle.The Seattle Times reported the payment resolves a claim that the...