Washington Legislature Approves Bills That Regulate Mental Health Outings

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to sign two bills that are responses to last fall's escape by a Spokane mental patient. Both bills will tighten restrictions on supervised field trips. More >

Washington Legislature Approves Dam Compensation Bill

A rural county in northeast Washington is getting a bit of relief, courtesy of the Washington legislature and Seattle City Light. More >

Washington Governor Responds To Idaho Governor’s “Love Letter”

Washington Governor Chris Gregoire has fired back at her counterpart in Idaho. Governor Butch Otter wrote a new economic recruiting letter to Oregon and Washington businesses this week. More >

Personal Indicators Color Perception Of Economic Turnaround

Professional economists tend to judge the state of things with big numbers. Think of the unemployment rate, gross domestic product, and stuff like that. But often we can see the state of the economy with our own eyes. More >

The Race To Replace Westlund Shapes Up

The unexpected race for Oregon’s next state Treasurer is turning out to be a competitive one. Governor Ted Kulongoski today selected Multnomah County Board Chair and former bank manager Ted Wheeler to be the state’s fiscal manager. More >

Gregoire Talks Special Session, Reiterates Opposition To Sales Tax Hike

It’s one-party Democratic rule in Olympia, but that doesn’t mean consensus is easy. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is not ruling out a special session of the legislature. More >

Government Reform Proves A Slog In Olympia

Two years ago, Governor Chris Gregoire called on her fellow Democrats in the legislature to “reboot” state government. But lawmakers from both parties say those efforts have largely been thwarted by special interests. Austin Jenkins reports. More >

Public Radio Poll Shows Many Confused About Health Care Mandate

According to a new poll many people in the Northwest say they’re confused about one key point of President Obama’s health care plan. Doug Nadvornick reports. More >

WA Legislature Enters Final Week , But Overtime Session Possible

The House and Senate still have to reconcile many differences and that could send the Democratic-led legislature into overtime. Austin Jenkins has this update. More >

Oregon: Republican Gubernatorial Hopefuls Debate

Three Oregon Republican gubernatorial hopefuls duked it out at a debate last Friday night. The showdown took place at the annual Dorchester gathering of Republicans in Seaside. Chris Lehman reports. More >

Washington's Death With Dignity Law is One Year Old

Washington’s department of health reports that 63 lethal prescriptions were dispensed during the first 9 months of the state's Death with Dignity Act. Forty seven of those patients used it to end their life. The law turns is now one year old. Correspondent Patricia Murphy reports. More >

Iraqis Travel to Canada to Vote

Decades of violence have scattered Iraqis. The Electoral Commission set up polling centers in sixteen different countries. As Amelia Templeton reports, Iraqis traveled from Portland to Canada to vote. More >

WA “Race To The Top” Bill Stalls In Senate

The Obama administration last week announced the first round of grants to states under the federal “Race to the Top” education reform program. Washington state didn’t apply, but Governor Chris Gregoire wants a chance to qualify for the second round of grants later this spring. More >

Westlund’s Death Creates Open Treasurer’s Race

The death of Oregon state Treasurer Ben Westlund from lung cancer Sunday morning came at an especially awkward time. Because of a filing deadline, major party candidates who want to replace Westlund have until just 5 o’clock Tuesday afternoon to enter the race. More >

Idaho Uses Bad Economy To Lure Oregon Businesses

Idaho Governor Butch Otter has written what he terms “A Love Letter to Our Neighbors.” He’s trying to actively recruit businesses fed up with increasing taxes in Oregon and, potentially, Washington. More >

Former Pit to be Transformed into Community Garden

A coalition of government, businesses and non-profit groups is transforming the vacant lot next to Eugene's Federal Courthouse into a community garden. correspondent Jes Burns reports. More >

Ranchers, Energy Developers Dodge A Bullet On Sage Grouse Status

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar today said the sage grouse warrants listing as an endangered species, but won’t get it. He explained that other critters closer to the brink of extinction take priority. More >

Regional Landfill To Convert Garbage To Mileage

Starting next year, some of the trash you toss out may end up in gas tanks instead of buried at a large regional landfill in eastern Oregon. More >

Audits Finds Security Concerns At Oregon State Data Center

A new audit released today finds ongoing security problems at Oregon’s State Data Center. The Salem facility serves as the central hub for most state government computing needs. More >

Public Radio Poll: 41% Oppose Mandated Health Insurance

People in the Northwest are split over President Obama’s plan to require Americans to buy health insurance. More >

Some NW Wineries Take Issue With Being Reviewed

Some big names in the Northwest wine industry have been quarrelling publicly -- online. The cause of the spat? Wine scores. Anna King reports. More >

Charging Ahead: Electric Vehicle Rollout On Track In NW

The West Coast is about to take part in the biggest rollout of electric cars and charging stations in the world. The first mass-market electric cars go on sale in greater Seattle and Oregon’s Willamette Valley at the end of this year. Tom Banse reports. More >

Idaho Medicaid to be Cut by 3.5%

More than 150,000 children in Idaho rely on Medicaid for their health care needs. Lawmakers Thursday hammered out a budget, and medicaid will be cut by 3.5 percent. Correspondent Samantha Wright finds out how this will impact children in Idaho. More >

Students Nationwide Protest Higher Education Cuts

In Washington state nearly a hundred students skipped class to protest budget cuts at the Capitol in Olympia. More >

Senator Patty Murray Questions Energy Secretary Steven Chu Yucca Mt.

Democratic Senator Patty Murray had tough words today Thursday for federal Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. She’s angry over the decision by the Obama Administration to take Nevada’s Yucca Mountain off the table as a possible nuclear waste storage site. More >

Idaho Lawmakers Concerned for Future of Schools

The public schools budget passed this week by the Idaho State Legislature’s Joint Finance and Appropriations Committee has some lawmakers concerned about the future of those schools. More >

Income Tax Roars Back To Life In Wash. Senate

Lawmakers in Olympia are feeling emboldened by tax hikes approved by Oregon voters in January. More >

WA Senate Passes Constitutional Amendment To Withhold Bail In WA

The Washington state Senate has unanimously approved a constitutional amendment on bail. It would allow judges to withhold bail in more than just capital murder cases. More >

NW Discontent with State Government at 30 Year High

State governments in the Northwest are on the “wrong-track” and spending too much money on non-priority services. Those are the key findings of a new public radio poll of 1,200 residents in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Austin Jenkens reports. More >

Why Sexual Assault is Underreported on College Campuses

University experts say many sexual assaults go unreported because students don’t want to come forward. Last year, more than 60 students sought help from a campus rape crisis center while only 3 rapes were officially reported. More >

Global Water Stress in NW Says Journalist Martha Mendoza

Award- winning journalist Martha Mendoza says global water stress is here, in the United States and the Pacific Northwest. Glenn Mosley reports. More >

Public Radio Poll Shows Oregonians Wary Of Kicker Reform

Oregon lawmakers were correct to question whether voters would pass kicker reform this year. That’s according to a new public radio survey released today. More >

Public Radio Poll: 64% Oppose Democrats’ Suspension Of I-960

Majority Democrats in the Washington legislature appear to have crossed voters in a big way. A new public radio poll shows a hefty 64 percent of Washingtonians oppose the decision to suspend a voter initiative requiring a two-thirds vote for tax hikes. More >

Yakima Water Shortages Likely

The lack of snowpack this winter in the northwest could spell problems for irrigators. That is especially true in areas that have had long term problems with water supply, like the Yakima basin. More >

Edible Idaho: Facing Animal Cruetly in Agriculture

The ethical treatment of farm animals is a growing concern for many Americans. And that puts states with relatively few animal cruelty laws, like Idaho, in the cross-hairs of animal welfare groups. Guy Hand explores animal welfare on the farm. More >

Washington State Moving to One Drug Executions

Washington state is in the process of changing its method of execution from a three-drug protocol to a one-drug system. Patricia Murphy reports. More >

The Relationship Between Midwives and Obstetrics in Idaho

Idaho's senate came close to returning the state to voluntary midwife licensing. The bill died in the state affairs committee by just one vote. The argument that carried the day was that the mandatory licensing law was too new and needed time to prove itself. This reconsidering of midwifery in the legislature raises some questions about the practice. Adam Cotterell reports. More >