Pacific Northwest

Intriguing match-ups in the fall elections emerged Friday as Democrats look to retain control of several seats in the Washington state Legislature.

Two Senate contests should provide a test of voters’ views on new laws, higher taxes and spending decisions pushed through by the majority Democrats over the objections of Republicans.

Races for two other legislative seats will showcase strains within the Democratic Party between its progressive and moderate factions.

Three appointed Democratic lawmakers are breathing easy. They drew no challengers before the filing window closed Friday.

This all but assures the trio — state Sens. Tina Orwall of Des Moines and Emily Alvarado of Seattle, and Rep. Brianna Thomas of West Seattle — will retain their seats for the 2026 session.

Here’s where things stood Friday. Candidates have until Monday to formally withdraw from any of the races.

More details in the article.

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I came across this blog post -- considering that fire season is coming up (or already started in some places) and the PNW's track record, figured some folks may find this useful.

This is a pretty cheap air filter that is easy to construct with minimal tools and works better than putting filters onto a box fan.

The 12-person jury found PacifiCorp negligent on all major counts, including gross negligence, for causing the Santiam, Echo Mountain, 242 and South Obenchain fires. The seven-week class action trial against Oregon’s second-largest utility was held at Multnomah County Courthouse.

Hi all, figured I would get this community started in the hopes others would be interested in joining.

Where are you from? What do you love about Oregon, Washington, BC?

I am Olympia-based now but have also lived in Seattle and Spokane. I so appreciate the laid-back culture and the closeness to nature even within urban environments here in Western Washington.