Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Pennsylvania State Courts Dealing With Cyberattack
Feb 6 2024 // Pennsylvania’s court system was hit with a cyberattack on Sunday that shut down access to key online services including those used to file documents with appellate courts and guardianship reports, as well as to view...
Business Moves
Feb 5 2024 // East Arthur J. Gallagher, Hughes Insurance Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired the Queensbury, New York-based independent insurance agency, Hughes Insurance Agency Inc. From its headquarters in Queensbury and an office...
Former Washington Insurance Producer Pleads Guilty to Theft and Money Laundering
Feb 2 2024 // A Selah, Washington man pled guilty to first-degree theft and money laundering after an investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Criminal Investigation Unit. Jason Eaton was sentenced to 60 days of...
Pennsylvania Counties Still Restoring Systems After Cyber Incidents
Feb 1 2024 // Two Pennsylvania county governments — Bucks and Washington— reported some progress this week restoring computer systems and overcoming the effects of cyber incidents. But both still have work to do to return to...
Worker Loses Legs to Trenching Machine; $150K Fine for Washington Contractor
Jan 26 2024 // A 16-year-old boy was using a walk-behind trencher on a job site in La Center, Washington to dig a channel for fence posts over the summer when he was dragged underneath the blade, causing injuries so severe that he lost...
Washington Commissioner’s Fines Include Order to Stop Selling Insurance, $50K Fine
Jan 22 2024 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued several fines for insurers, agents and entities in December, including ordering Zion Health to stop selling insurance illegally in Washington, fining the company...
Washington State Sues to Block Kroger and Albertsons Proposed Merger
Jan 18 2024 // Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued to block the proposed merger of Kroger and Albertsons, two of the nation’s largest grocery chains. In the suit filed in King County Superior Court, Ferguson argued...
Blizzard Knocked out Power and Closed Highways and Ski Resorts in Oregon and Washington
Jan 11 2024 // A blizzard pounded mountainous areas of Oregon and Washington on Tuesday, knocking out power and prompting the closure of highways and ski resorts. The Washington Department of Transportation closed two mountain passes:...
If China Invades Taiwan, It Would Cost World Economy $10 Trillion
Jan 11 2024 // War over Taiwan would have a cost in blood and treasure so vast that even those unhappiest with the status quo have reason not to risk it. Bloomberg Economics estimate the price tag at around $10 trillion, equal to about...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Members of Enumclaw in Washington
Jan 11 2024 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of “a-” (Excellent) of Mutual of Enumclaw Insurance...
Report: California 4th Most Expensive State for Business Owners, Washington No. 2
Jan 10 2024 // California ranks fourth for high business startup and maintenance costs, following No. 1 ranked New York as as the most expensive state for entrepreneurs, with high commercial rent costs, weekly wages, and LLC filing...
Federal Agency Blames ‘Poor Safety Culture’ for 2021 D.C. Metro Train Derailment
Jan 9 2024 // A top federal transportation safety official on Thursday harshly criticized Washington’s regional transit agency, saying a “poor safety culture” led to an October 2021 derailment that caused hundreds of...
Washington Commissioner’s Fines Include Order to Stop Selling Insurance, $50K Fine
Jan 5 2024 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued several fines for insurers, agents and entities in December, including ordering Zion Health to stop selling insurance illegally in Washington, fining the company...
Washington State’s New Safety Management Rules for Petroleum Workers
Jan 2 2024 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries filed a formal update to workplace safety rules designed to prevent catastrophic events the Tesoro explosion that killed seven workers in 2010 and the Equilon...
Top West Insurance Journal Stories of 2023
Dec 29 2023 // Insurers pulling back from an increasingly risky California market grabbed the attention of Insurance Journal readers this year. This was the subject of the top four most popular stories in Insurance Journal’s West...
Firefighters Battled Blaze in Historic Firehouse Near U.S. Capitol
Dec 18 2023 // Firefighters in Washington, D.C., on Friday battled a three- alarm fire that started in a three-story former firehouse under renovation near the U.S. Capitol. DC Fire and EMS said one firefighter declared mayday and was...
Washington Insurance Commissioner Issued $305K in Fines
Dec 18 2023 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines in November totaling $305,694 against insurance companies and insurance producers for violations of state insurance laws and regulations. Following are the...
Washington College Student Dies, Others Sickened in Apparent Carbon Monoxide Leak
Dec 15 2023 // Authorities brought in outside experts to find the source of carbon monoxide believed to have killed one student and sickened two others at a college in Washington. The experts, from a forensic engineering firm that...
NOAA: Arctic Summer Surface Air Warmest on Record
Dec 15 2023 // A report out this week from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows the Arctic summer surface air temperatures were the warmest on record, with some areas, including northern Alaska and Canada, 7.2...
Crews Work to Contain Gas Pipeline Spill in Washington
Dec 13 2023 // Responders set up a containment boom after a gasoline spill from the weekend failure of part of a pipeline in northwest Washington, but federal regulators reported no signs of any fuel reaching the Skagit River. About...
