An HR consultant hired by the Port of Benton has delivered a scathing 28-page report on port operations, calling the organization “immersed in chaos, confusion and leadership neglect” and laying out sweeping recommendations for restructuring. Attorneys for the administrators vehemently dispute the report’s findings, with one calling it a “hit piece” and the other a “hatchet job.”

Two of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies sued Washington state, alleging a new law to tamp down prescription drug prices for hospitals won’t result in discounts for patients. 

State officials recently announced funding for a slew of solar power projects along with a few other clean energy efforts in the Mid-Columbia. 

Research programs at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory may be facing more belt tightening if President Donald Trump’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year is implemented. 

Opponents of Washington’s new income tax asked the state Supreme Court on April 3 to allow them to pursue a referendum in hopes of giving voters a shot at repealing the controversial new law this November.

Ben Franklin Transit’s board of directors will meet ahead of its regular meeting April 9 to review and discuss findings of a special investigation.

The $16.6 billion supplemental budget expends about $1.2 billion more than the two-year transportation spending blueprint lawmakers approved last year. Under another bill, Washington will do more borrowing to cover added transportation spending. 

Communities across the state have pushed back to varying degrees to permitting homeless shelters and permanent supportive housing in their neighborhoods. 

Washington Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson on March 30 signed historic legislation creating an income tax, saying it is a critical step toward making the state’s system of taxation less regressive.

HVAC replacements for schools and the Toyota Center, canal improvements and cleanup of a massive tire pile north of West Richland are among the capital projects that will receive state funding after being included in the Legislature’s supplemental capital budget.