#washington-state

Skill builder ride, nice quick after-work destination. It takes 1-2 hours to ride everything. This is a small system of trails that are tightly wound to make the most of a power utility company lot. There are now six trails: Crop Circles (only 1/2 can be ridden), The Tapeworm, Parasite, Mr. DNA, The Silkworm and BermSled. The CycoActive map is out of date and currently only lists a few of the trails, but it will get you started in the right direction. This is a trashy section of young deciduous trees, don't expect nice forest (this area is great night riding, just be cautious of low hanging branches).

Gas or propane stoves, lanterns, or heating devices are permitted in campgrounds and wilderness areas if there is no flammable material within three feet of the device. These stoves must be equipped with an on-off switch or valve capable of immediately extinguishing the flame. Extreme caution is urged with any open flame.

a presentation that the project’s developer gave to the Washington State Parks Commission on Oct. 18, 2023. For the full presentation, see here. (Westport Golf Links, Inc.)

In the early 2000s, Mox Chehalis LLC had plans to develop land owned by the Port of Grays Harbor into a golf resort. 

The plans, which included a hotel and convention center, were met with resistance from Friends of Grays Harbor and other environmentalists, triggering a legal battle that dragged on for about six years.

In 2007, Friends of Grays Harbor and Mox Chehalis LLC signed a settlement agreement that limited the ability of the current and future owners to fill wetlands on the property for golf course development.

Further inspection of the site by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that work carried out by Mox Chehalis included filling wetlands in violation of the Clean Water Act.

To avoid future violations of the federal law, the Army Corps and Mox Chehalis formed a land covenant that, among other limitations, prohibited filling wetlands, clearing vegetation, changing the topography, and constructing buildings on about 114 acres of the land.

Washington purchased the property from Mox Chehalis and J.D. Financial Corp, which shared common ownership, in 2015 using a grant from the State Recreation and Conservation Office.

The environmental groups now suing to halt the project argue the state is subject to the restrictions on development in the settlement agreement and land covenant. 

And they say that Washington law prohibits the state from converting the property into a golf course because of how it was acquired with a Recreation and Conservation Office grant.

The monthly employment report gives a snapshot of Washington's job market. It includes the unemployment rate for Washington and the nation, the number of people working or looking for work in Washington, and the number of jobs in each industry. You can use this report to understand overall economic trends and how different industries are doing.

In 2025, the central Puget Sound region lost 12,900 jobs. If you exclude the anomaly of the COVID-19 pandemic, this is the first time the region has experienced an annual decrease of jobs since 2009, during the depths of the Great Recession.

Historically, jobs in the Puget Sound region have grown by between 30,000-40,000 jobs per year. Employment growth during the Amazon boom was significantly higher, peaking at 61,100 jobs added in 2016.

WAISN builds collective power for immigrants and refugees across Washington through peaceful, non-violent, community led action. We believe Washingtonians should have dignity, respect and autonomy, regardless of immigration status.

E-bikes are bicycles that are assisted by an electric motor. Some e-bikes only provide electric assistance when the rider is pedaling while others can propel the e-bike using electric power alone. Either way, a legal e-bike will always have pedals and a maximum speed of 20mph (when using electric power) or 28mph (with the rider pedaling). The power output from an e-bike motor will never exceed 750 watts.

Electric motorcycles are electrically powered cycles that often do not have operable pedals (but may have foot pegs/ brackets/supports). If the cycle does not have operational pedals capable of propelling it, or exceeds 750 watts, or is capable of going over 28 mph with motor assistance, it is classified as a motorcycle and specific laws apply.

The governor's proposed 9.9% tax on income over $1 million (revenues starting 2029) is the most contentious part of the plan.

In March 2024, the Washington State Legislature adopted Initiative 2111 to prohibit state and local personal income taxes. The measure passed with support from all Republicans and a majority of Democrats in both chambers. A 9.9% tax on personal earnings conflicts with this law. The administration hasn't explained how this complies with I-2111's prohibition.

This would be Washington's 12th income tax attempt since 1932—voters rejected it 11 times. By asking approval for a millionaire-only tax, the administration establishes a graduated framework that would only need legislative modification afterward, not further voter approval.

We strongly oppose an income tax but appreciate Gov. Ferguson's promise to let voters decide. He proposes a constitutional amendment limiting it to income over $1 million, yet his proposal ignores existing constitutional limits. If adopted, this income tax will certainly expand in the future.

The budget shifts $569 million in Climate Commitment Act (CCA) revenue to fund the Working Families Tax Credit. The CCA's original allocation was meant for carbon reduction and infrastructure projects but will now go toward direct cash assistance for lower-income households.

A 1876 article from the Washington Standard introducing the Skagit River to the rest of the state noted that, “The peculiar nature of the river is the Jam, about two miles above Skagit City.”  This snippet understates the obstructions and impact they had on life in town.  There were actually two immense log jams that meant, Jo says, “life and death” to the community.  The older of the two, just below present-day Mount Vernon, was roughly a half mile long, and so dense it had trees 10- to 12-inches in diameter growing out of it.  Reliable estimates pegged its age at around 100 years old.  The second jam, about a half mile upriver from the first, was even larger.  Both jams consisted of several layers of driftwood and debris 30-40 feet deep.

The Kirkland Cannery Building, also once called King County Food Processing Plant and State Cannery Number 4, is a historic building in Kirkland, Washington. It is an 11,000 ft2 cannery, built in 1936 by President Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration (WPA), and was sold to the City of Kirkland in 1941 for $44.79.[1][2] It was operated as a cooperative to benefit the poor during the Great Depression, along with three other WPA plants at Kent, Wapato, and Wenatchee.[3] Citizens could bring in crops, fish, and chicken, to be canned at no charge in exchange for donating one third of the product to "state institutions".[4] During World War II, it "was largely as an aid to the general food conservation program and the war effort rather than as an economic aid to the communities served".

Net Metering is the agreement utility customers enter with their electric utility provider to save money on their electricity bill with solar energy systems. Any excess electricity generated is fed back into the grid, spinning your meter backward and earning credits that offset future electricity consumption, effectively lowering overall energy costs. The rate at which you export energy is the same as the rate at which you purchase, a 1:1 rate. These credits roll over monthly but reset annually on March 31, aligning with solar generation patterns to optimize the utilization of solar-generated electricity.