Local News

A small earthquake rattled the southern Puget Sound area, but there were no reports of damage or injury. The U.S. Geological Survey says the magnitude 3.5 quake struck shortly before midnight Saturday and was centered about 8 miles northeast of Olympia. The Thurston County Sheriff’s office says there have been no reports of damage or injury. But some…

Starting Friday night, the state is funneling westbound Interstate 90 into a single lane at Bellevue Way Southeast  for a week as part of a repair project to the bridge between Bellevue and Mercer Island. Traffic is expected to back up as far as 10 miles, according to state highway engineers. For regular I-90 commuters, what…

The Highway 520 floating bridge will be closed again this weekend as crews continue working on the replacement span and paving new roadway, the state Department of Transportation said. All lanes in both directions between Montlake Boulevard and Interstate 405 will close from 11 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday. During the closure, work crews will pour…

By Seattle Times staff reporter Kyung M. Song WASHINGTON — Gov. Jay Inslee on Monday asked the federal government to declare the Snohomish County mudslide a “major disaster,” which would qualify victims for direct federal aid for housing, unemployment and other losses. Inslee’s request to President Obama comes nine days after the devastation that has killed at…

People whose loved ones are missing following the massive mudslide east of Arlington can call the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management at 425-388-5088 to report their concerns. People also can check the Red Cross website safeandwell.org where disaster survivors can register their names and let family and friends know they are safe.  

This report is by Mark Yuasa, Seattle Times staff reporter Keith Magnuson who lives in Seattle along the shores of Lake Washington, was waterskiing Saturday when he came across a giant dead fish. “At first I thought it was a shark, but then we figured out it was a large sturgeon,” Magnuson said. Magnuson found the sturgeon…

The new temporary Skagit River Bridge on Interstate 5 will be closed one lane at a time on Saturday night for inspections after a metal joint came loose, state transportation officials said. Part of an “L” joint that holds the asphalt in place between the temporary bridge and permanent roadway came loose Saturday morning and the…

David Boardman, executive editor and senior vice president of The Seattle Times, has received the national Society of Professional Journalists’ Ethics in Journalism Award. He was honored for his staff’s coverage of the newspaper’s decision to pay for ads supporting the Republican candidate for governor, Rob McKenna, and Referendum 74, a ballot measure to legalize same-sex marriage,…

KING 5 news had a story tonight about how a Hanford worker believed that a tank containing some of the nastiest radioactive waste in the country was leaking nearly a year before the U.S. Department of Energy acknowledged the problem. Reporter Susannah Frame writes: Why it took DOE and the private company hired to oversee the tank…

Air quality is still hazardous in the Wenatchee, Pateros and Cashmere area due to smoke from forest fires, the state Department of Ecology reported Sunday. Wenatchee area residents are urged to continue to stay indoors, limit physical activity, and keep doors and windows shut. The biggest threat from smoke comes from fine particles that can cause burning…