Governor Jay Inslee

Washington state correctional facilities will no longer place people in custody in solitary confinement as a punishment — after state officials determined it is not effective.

In less than a month, Washington state's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for most state employees, educators and health-care workers kicks in. Workers still unvaccinated by Oct. 18 could be fired.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has asked the federal government for assistance staffing hospitals and long-term care facilities in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Inslee wrote the White House COVID-19 coordinator that the state Department of Health has requested 1,200 clinical and non-clinical staff, and that he was requesting deployment of Department of Defense medical personnel “to assist with the current hospital crisis.”

Two state mandates are causing some controversy in Washington. The first is Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for health-care workers, educators and state employees. And a new tax-funded program for long-term care is also prompting questions.

A major state employees union is criticizing Gov. Jay Inslee’s implementation of a broad COVID-19 vaccine mandate.Inslee last week ordered state employees…

Updated at 5:35 p.m.: Amid a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, Washington state is expanding its COVID-19 vaccine mandate to include all…

COVID rates are climbing in Washington and across the country. Last week, Gov. Jay Inslee said, "We now are in another wave you might call it the fifth…

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Wednesday declared a statewide drought emergency because of hot, dry conditions that have plagued the region and water…

Updated 1:30 p.m. June 30:Fifteen months after Washington state's first “stay at home” order was issued in response to the coronavirus, businesses across…

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Thursday announced a new COVID-19 vaccine incentive lottery for the state’s military, family members and veterans because…