Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Bannon Carlson & Kessel in Washington Joins Leavitt Group
May 7 2015 // Bannon Carlson & Kessel Inc. in Tacoma, Wash. has joined Leavitt Group’s Northwest office. Brad Bannon and Mark Hanks, the agency co-owners, along with Dan Delorenzo, vice president, will continue to service...
Washington Commissioner Says Hole-in-One Insurance Scammer at it Again
May 4 2015 // It appears hole-in-one insurance scammer Kevin Kolenda has been at it again, according to detectives in Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office. Kolenda was arrested in mid-April in Norwalk, Conn.,...
Oil Train Safety Bill Passes Washington Legislature
Apr 27 2015 // The Washington Legislature has passed a measure to improve the safety of oil transportation due to a sharp increase in the number of oil-carrying freight trains in the state. Lawmakers reached a compromise Friday afternoon...
Greenberg May Have Advantage with Judge Deciding AIG Bailout Challenge
Apr 22 2015 // Former American International Group Inc. Chairman Maurice “Hank” Greenberg claims the U.S. bailout of the company cheated shareholders out of at least $25 billion. On Wednesday, the judge presiding over his...
Washington Commissioner Says Hole-in-One Insurance Scammer at It Again
Apr 21 2015 // It appears hole-in-one insurance scammer Kevin Kolenda has been at it again, according to detectives in Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s office. Kolenda was arrested on Monday in Norwalk, Conn.,...
Washington Contractor Hit for $1M in Workers’ Comp Premiums and Penalties
Apr 15 2015 // A former drywall contractor in Walla Walla, Wash. must pay more than $1 million in delinquent workers’ compensation premiums and penalties. The Washington State Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals recently held...
Pacific Northwest Study Says More Could Survive Tsunami if They Can Just Walk Faster
Apr 15 2015 // About 5,500 more people could survive a major tsunami hitting the Pacific Northwest if they just walk a little faster to higher ground after roads are knocked out, a new study shows. The report published Monday in the...
Washington Train Company Sues BNSF for at Least $41M
Apr 9 2015 // Two top officials of defunct refrigerated rail service Cold Train are suing BNSF Railway in Washington for $41 million for putting them out of business. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Spokane on Tuesday. Capital...
Washington Sues Highway Builder in $29.4M Suit
Apr 9 2015 // The Utah Department of Transportation is suing a company that built a stretch of Timpanogos Highway south of Salt Lake City that has been plagued by problems. The state agency filed a lawsuit last week in Utah state court...
Washington Ferries Worker Awarded $1 Million in Retaliation Suit
Apr 7 2015 // A Washington State Ferries employee who suffered retaliation after reporting on a co-worker who skipped out on the job has been awarded $1 million. The Kitsap Sun reported that Steve Chaussee was a carpenter foreman at the...
Premera Blue Cross in Washington Says Data on 11M Exposed by Hackers
Mar 18 2015 // Mountlake Terrace, Wash.-based Premera Blue Cross, which sells health insurance in the northwestern U.S., said information on 11 million people may have been exposed in a cyberattack uncovered six weeks ago. Hackers may...
Washington Senate Votes to Lower Work Injury Settlements Age to 40
Mar 12 2015 // The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to lower the age at which an injured worker can settle a claim from 53 to 40. The chamber passed Senate Bill 5513 on a 28-21 vote Tuesday after debate on whether the bill does...
Washington Officials Seek $9M in Case of Drought
Mar 10 2015 // The state of Washington has not yet declared a drought this year, but they’re asking the Legislature for $9 million for drought relief in case it’s needed. The Department of Ecology says snowpack level...
Declarations
Mar 9 2015 // Bad Geometry “Our current station geometry does not serve eastern Washington well.” —John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington, said following a...
USDA Seeks Crop Insurance Products for Specialty Crop, Fruit, Vegetable Growers
Mar 2 2015 // The federal crop insurance program would be extended to growers of specialty crops, fruits and vegetables as well as other farmers who have not had access to policies under new rules proposed by the U.S. Department of...
Former AIG, MetLife Leader Benmosche Dies at 70
Feb 27 2015 // Robert Benmosche, the combative former chief executive officer of American International Group Inc. who led the insurer, once the world’s largest, to repay a $182.3 billion taxpayer bailout, has died. He was 70. He...
States Have No Plans If Health Insurance Subsidies End
Feb 27 2015 // Millions of people could lose health insurance subsidies in the coming months if the Supreme Court sides with opponents of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul. And one thing was clear last weekend as the...
Alaska Becomes 3rd State to Legalize it
Feb 26 2015 // Alaska has become the third U.S. state to legalize marijuana. But the historic day passed with little public acknowledgement in a state with a savvy marijuana culture that has seen varying degrees of legal acceptance of...
Replacing Unsafe Train Crossings Deemed Too Expensive
Feb 26 2015 // The bullet train that will whisk passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles at 200 miles per hour won’t pass through the kinds of intersections that have led to two major commuter-rail accidents this...
Worldwide Taps Day and Donovan in Washington Office
Feb 20 2015 // Worldwide Facilities Inc. has hired Craig Day and Brian Donovan in its Seattle, Wash. Office. Day was named senior vice president, and casualty specialist. He will lead the growth for all lines of business in the...
