Latest Washington Headlines

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

Captain Likely Asleep Before Ferry Crash in Washington Last Year, Officials Conclude

Oct 17 2023 // Fatigue and complacency led to a passenger and car ferry crashing into a terminal in Seattle last year, causing $10.3 million in damage to the ferry, according to the National Transportation Safety Board’s final...

Warrant Issued for Former Washington Lawyer Accused of Stealing Insurance Settlement

Oct 16 2023 // A Bothell, Washington man was added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Insurance Fraud Most Wanted list.Clinton Jonathan “Sonny” Behrends failed to appear at his arraignment after being charged by...

Failure of Component Caused Washington Seaplane Crash That Killed 10, NTSB Says

Oct 11 2023 // U.S. investigators have confirmed that a mechanical issue caused the seaplane crash that killed 10 people off an island in Washington state last year.The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigated the Sept....

Washington Insurance Commissioner Issued $262K in Fines for Violations

Oct 4 2023 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines in July and August totaling $262,250 against insurance companies and insurance producers for violating state insurance laws and regulations.Following is a...

Lawsuits Blame Utility for Washington Fire That Killed Man and Burned Hundreds of Homes

Oct 3 2023 // Two lawsuits have been filed against an electric utility for allegedly sparking a fire in eastern Washington that killed a man and burned approximately 240 homes.A lawsuit filed in Spokane County Superior Court says Inland...

Washington Asks Insurers to Expedite Approval Process for Debris Removal After Wildfires

Oct 2 2023 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler sent a letter asking insurance companies and adjusters working with communities impacted by the Gray and Oregon Road fires to expedite the approval process for debris...

Rhode Island Bank to Pay $9M to Resolve Discriminatory Lending Allegations It Denies

Sep 29 2023 // A community bank in Rhode Island agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in lending discrimination by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, a U.S. attorney announced Wednesday.A...

Warrant Issued for Former Washington Lawyer Accused of Stealing Insurance Settlement

Sep 25 2023 // A Bothell, Washington man was added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Insurance Fraud Most Wanted list.Clinton Jonathan “Sonny” Behrends failed to appear at his arraignment after being charged by...

Washington Proposes 4.9% Increase in Workers’ Comp Rates for 2024

Sep 20 2023 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a 4.9% increase in the average hourly rate employers and workers will pay for workers’ compensation insurance next year.If adopted, the increase...

Washington Roofer Who Faked Injury Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud

Sep 1 2023 // A Pierce County, Washington man who removed and installed roofs while claiming he was too injured to work has pleaded guilty to stealing workers’ compensation benefits.Patrick Dean Farthing, 64, pleaded guilty...

Man Kills Three in Racially Motivated Shooting at Jacksonville Store

Aug 28 2023 // A masked white man carrying at least one weapon bearing a swastika fatally shot three Black people inside a Florida store Saturday in an attack with a clear motive of racial hatred, officials said.The shooting in a Dollar...

Washington Commissioner’s Orders Insurers to Extend Policyholders Protections for Wildfires

Aug 25 2023 // Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued an emergency order requiring all property/casualty insurers to provide additional protections for policyholders impacted by the Gray and Oregon Road fires.The...

One Dead, 185 Structures Destroyed in Eastern Washington Wildfire

Aug 21 2023 // A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state had destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead over the weekend.The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of...

Washington Dollar Tree Store Fined for Worker Safety Violations

Aug 21 2023 // Dollar Tree in Washington faces $132,000 in fines for reported work safety violations including locked emergency exit routes, improper stacking of boxes, and scattered debris.The fine is in connection with violations at...

More Funding for U.S.-Based Provider of Retained Climate Risk Reinsurance

Aug 17 2023 // Demex Group raised $5 million from a syndicate of existing and new investors the company says will address accumulating losses caused by secondary perils.The managing general agent, which “operates at the...

ChatGPT-Wary Universities Scramble to Prepare for New School Year

Aug 15 2023 // ChatGPT set the academic world ablaze after it was introduced in November, when the AI chatbot suddenly gave students a hard-to-detect shortcut for completing essays and assignments. Nine months later, as a new school year...

Japan Cannot Confirm Security Leak After Report Says China Hacked Defense Networks

Aug 8 2023 // Japan cannot confirm if any security information has been leaked, the top government spokesperson said on Tuesday when asked about a Washington Post report on Chinese hacking into its defense cyber networks.Chinese...

Washington Dollar Tree Store Fined for Worker Safety Violations

Aug 7 2023 // Dollar Tree company is facing $132,000 in state fines for reported work safety violations including locked emergency exit routes, improper stacking of boxes, and debris scattered on theThe fine is in connection with...

Warrant out for Washington Man Who Filed False Claim for Scuba Gear

Aug 2 2023 // Santiago G. Rodriguez, of Bothell, Washington, was added to Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s most wanted list after being charged with insurance fraud by the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s...

Washington Physicians’ Insurer Issues Notice of Data Privacy Incident

Jul 27 2023 // Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company reported a security incident affecting the personal information for some third-party contractors and the health information for some of its insureds’ patients.“Although we...