Chelan County Public Utility District No. 1 complied with state requirements for its 2024–2025 energy conservation target, according to a Washington State Auditor’s Office report released yesterday. Auditors examined whether the district properly developed and adopted its 23,389-megawatt-hour conservation target and acquired sufficient energy savings

Wenatchee listed about $34 million in federal expenditures under the wrong grant program in its 2025 reporting, according to a state audit published September 30, 2026. A similar error in the city’s 2024 reporting left the correct federal program untested until auditors performed a subsequent audit. The Washington State

Mason County understated cash in its external investment pool fund by nearly $14 million and overstated cash in its custodial fund by the same amount after failing to fully report investment transactions, according to a Washington State Auditor’s Office report. The errors did not change the combined ending cash

The Housing Authority of Chelan County and the City of Wenatchee lacked records showing it followed up on life-threatening deficiencies in federally subsidized rental housing within required deadlines, according to a state audit published September 24, 2026. Auditors reviewed a statistical sample of 12 failed inspections from 2025. In

A new fraud investigation by the Washington State Auditor’s Office questions thousands of dollars in travel expenses incurred by two Port Angeles public agencies while Steve Burke served as a port commissioner and the William Shore Memorial Pool District’s executive director. The report, published Thursday, September 24, 2026,

Kitsap County overreported federal opioid grant expenditures by $2.2 million and reported nearly $3.7 million in disaster assistance expenditures in the wrong year, according to a Washington State Auditor’s Office report. The audit covers the county’s 2025 fiscal year. Auditors found that the county’s procedures

Brian Weekes has resigned from the Forks Planning Commission, Mayor Tim Fletcher confirmed to The Olympic Herald, leaving the city's land use panel on the same day a petition seeking his removal was posted online. “Mr. Weekes resigned Monday morning from our planning commission,” Fletcher wrote in an

Ballots for the August 4 primary went in the mail on July 17. They are sitting on kitchen counters across Washington right now, next to a voters' pamphlet that tells you what each candidate says about themselves and nothing about who paid to get that message in front of

The Washington State Supreme Court unanimously ruled on June 25, 2026, that the Department of Ecology acted lawfully when it implemented agricultural fuel exemptions under the state’s Climate Commitment Act, dealing a blow to farming and trucking groups seeking relief from emissions-related fuel surcharges. 📄 Opinion (840KB ∙ PDF file)

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal law does not prohibit states from counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day, a decision that preserves Washington state’s universal vote-by-mail system and maintains current election procedures for Clallam County voters. In a 5-4 decision issued

Washington state residents have until Tuesday afternoon to weigh in on newly proposed revisions to the rules that guide how government agencies handle public records requests. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office has scheduled a public hearing for Tuesday, June 30, 2026, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:

The Clallam County Board of Commissioners has announced the cancellation of two of its scheduled meetings for this week. The commissioners’ weekly work session, which was originally scheduled for today, Monday, May 4, 2026, has been canceled. Furthermore, the board’s regular weekly business meeting, slated for 10 a.m.

The Washington State Supreme Court unanimously upheld the dismissal of a recall petition against Secretary of State Steve Hobbs yesterday, dealing a legal defeat to Tim Eyman. In a decision filed Thursday morning, April 30, the state’s highest court ruled that Eyman’s petition was legally insufficient, clearing Hobbs

Port of Port Angeles Commissioner Steven D. Burke announced Thursday afternoon that he will resign from his elected position, effective today. The abrupt resignation comes hours before the Port Commission was scheduled to hold a special meeting to formally censure him. Fellow Commissioners Connie Beauvais and Colleen M. McAleer had

The Port of Port Angeles Board of Commissioners is moving forward with a formal resolution to censure one of its own members. Commissioner Steven D. Burke is facing an impending censure, scheduled for a special meeting on Friday. The resolution represents a dramatic culmination of months of scrutiny, and follows

State lawmakers representing the 35th Legislative District successfully fought off proposed cuts to secure major funding for the Highway 3 Freight Corridor, according to a joint press release issued Thursday. Senator Drew MacEwen (R-Shelton), Representative Dan Griffey (R-Allyn), and Representative Travis Couture (R-Allyn) announced that the newly

While the City of Langley’s bank accounts appear flush with cash, a closer look at the municipality’s recently released financial data reveals a local government struggling to keep its books straight amidst staggering staff turnover and broken accounting systems. From a purely fiscal standpoint, Langley’s total reserves

The Office of the Washington State Auditor released an accountability audit report last month, detailing the practices and financial health of the Aeneas Lake Irrigation District. Located in Okanogan County near Tonasket, the District is governed by a five-member Board of Directors and provides irrigation to over 1,300

The Office of the Washington State Auditor has released an Accountability Audit Report detailing a severe breakdown in internal controls that cost the City of Mercer Island hundreds of thousands of dollars in public funds. According to the report published in February, the city lacked adequate internal controls over vendor

A former Department of Natural Resources employee is facing allegations of forgery and first-degree theft after a state investigation revealed a years-long scheme involving falsified hotel invoices and unearned per diem payments. Kevin R. Peterson, 36, a former Forest Check Cruiser based in Port Angeles, is accused of

A fraud investigation report released by the Washington State Auditor’s Office has exposed a breakdown in local governance at the City of Mesa, revealing how a lack of basic oversight allowed a former Clerk-Treasurer to siphon public funds for personal use. The report details a pattern of unchecked