For the first time in nearly a decade, Tri-Citians can hop on a commercial flight rather than spending hours driving down Interstate 84 to get to Portland. 

A federal judge in Massachusetts June 8 struck down the Trump administration’s efforts to require a $100,000 visa fee for highly skilled immigrant workers, finding the policy is an unlawful tax.

Of the agency’s top priorities is the eradication of Japanese beetles in south central Washington. They’ve been found in Kennewick, Pasco, Sunnyside, Mabton, Wapato and near SeaTac. 

State agency leaders received a dire warning from Gov. Bob Ferguson’s office on June 5 that they’re headed toward “what will likely be the most challenging budget any of us has yet faced.” 

3 Rivers Community Foundation has announced the launch of its 2026 Meet the Moment Campaign, a community fundraising effort supporting nonprofits serving Benton and Franklin counties. 

City of Pasco officials will share on June 10 the latest update on designing and building a future overpass over Highway 395 for pedestrians and cyclists using Sylvester Street. 

Umatilla Electric Cooperative in Hermiston is one of six utilities across Washington and Oregon that have absorbed the bulk of energy demands of data centers in the region. A growing number of utilities are using booming data center demand to justify skirting climate rules in both states that mostly ban the build-out of new gas infrastructure, citing the need for regional energy reliability. 

Ben Franklin Transit is transforming its Pink Bus and Dial-A-Ride into a rolling tribute to local breast cancer survivors – and organizers are asking survivors to submit their names to be displayed on the vehicles. 

The 26th U.S. Secretary of Defense – a Richland High School graduate – will deliver the keynote address at the 2026 Association of Washington Business’s annual Policy Summit in Spokane this fall.

Let’s Go Washington, the initiative sponsor, has until July 2 to turn in at least 308,911 valid signatures of registered voters to qualify for the ballot. State election officials suggest submitting at least 390,000 to account for invalid ones.