Evictions spike in Pierce County, around the state
Jul 03, 2025Pierce County had 3,568 evictions in 2024, a 22% jump from the prior year. Evictions were up 33% from pre-pandemic levels.
State program examines alternatives to problematic chemicals in artificial turf, other products
Jul 02, 2025The state departments of Ecology and Health are leading an effort to determine whether turf can be manufactured without hazardous chemicals.
Expanded hospital staffing law begins to go into effect
Jun 26, 2025Hospitals must submit staffing plans that include a minimum number of employees assigned to be in each unit at each hour of the day.
Whooping cough cases spiked sharply in 2024
Jun 19, 2025The state recorded 25 times more cases of pertussis, or whooping cough, in 2024 than in 2023.
Drought declaration covers much of Western Washington — but not Gig Harbor
Jun 12, 2025The state declared a drought emergency for much of Western Washington, but not for Gig Harbor or the Kitsap Peninsula. Here’s why.
Legislature cut key public health fund by $24 million over next two years
Jun 11, 2025Washington public health departments will see a slight reduction in state funding for basic services over the next two years, but the severity and local impacts of that loss on the Kitsap Peninsula remains unclear. State legislators reduced spending on Foundational Public Health Services by $24 million over the 2025-2027 budget. Those funds sustain essential
Legislation makes opening a child care a little easier
Jun 10, 2025As Kimberly Shaw recalls her arduous four-year journey to open the first licensed child-care center on the Key Peninsula, she holds an infant boy in her lap. Getting a permit for a child-care center has been more difficult than Shaw, director of the nonprofit Key Peninsula Cooperative Preschool, initially envisioned. The process has been filled
Rep. Randall settling in to her new role in a very unsettled Washington, D.C.
Jun 05, 2025Emily Randall, the Bremerton Democrat elected last fall to represent the Sixth Congressional District, says she’s “trying to learn this new job while I navigate all this chaos.”
Federal cuts could hamper wildfire efforts, health district warns
May 27, 2025An EPA grant to the Pierce County health district was eliminated, while the federal Forest Service endured thousands of layoffs.
State health care leaders criticize Republicans’ Medicaid plan
May 16, 2025Medicaid, the state-federal insurance program for people with low incomes or disabilities, is a critical revenue source for all hospitals.