Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Washington Asks Insurers to Expedite Approval Process for Debris Removal After Wildfires
Oct 2 2023 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler sent a letter asking insurance companies and adjusters working with communities impacted by the Gray and Oregon Road fires to expedite the approval process for debris...
Rhode Island Bank to Pay $9M to Resolve Discriminatory Lending Allegations It Denies
Sep 29 2023 // A community bank in Rhode Island agreed to pay $9 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in lending discrimination by redlining majority-Black and Hispanic neighborhoods, a U.S. attorney announced Wednesday. A...
Warrant Issued for Former Washington Lawyer Accused of Stealing Insurance Settlement
Sep 25 2023 // A Bothell, Washington man was added to Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s Insurance Fraud Most Wanted list. Clinton Jonathan “Sonny” Behrends failed to appear at his arraignment after being charged by...
Washington Proposes 4.9% Increase in Workers’ Comp Rates for 2024
Sep 20 2023 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing a 4.9% increase in the average hourly rate employers and workers will pay for workers’ compensation insurance next year. If adopted, the increase...
Washington Roofer Who Faked Injury Pleads Guilty to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Sep 1 2023 // A Pierce County, Washington man who removed and installed roofs while claiming he was too injured to work has pleaded guilty to stealing workers’ compensation benefits. Patrick Dean Farthing, 64, pleaded guilty...
Man Kills Three in Racially Motivated Shooting at Jacksonville Store
Aug 28 2023 // A masked white man carrying at least one weapon bearing a swastika fatally shot three Black people inside a Florida store Saturday in an attack with a clear motive of racial hatred, officials said. The shooting in a Dollar...
Washington Commissioner’s Orders Insurers to Extend Policyholders Protections for Wildfires
Aug 25 2023 // Washington state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued an emergency order requiring all property/casualty insurers to provide additional protections for policyholders impacted by the Gray and Oregon Road fires. The...
One Dead, 185 Structures Destroyed in Eastern Washington Wildfire
Aug 21 2023 // A wind-driven wildfire in eastern Washington state had destroyed at least 185 structures, closed a major highway and left one person dead over the weekend. The blaze began shortly after midday Friday on the west side of...
Washington Dollar Tree Store Fined for Worker Safety Violations
Aug 21 2023 // Dollar Tree in Washington faces $132,000 in fines for reported work safety violations including locked emergency exit routes, improper stacking of boxes, and scattered debris. The fine is in connection with violations at...
More Funding for U.S.-Based Provider of Retained Climate Risk Reinsurance
Aug 17 2023 // Demex Group raised $5 million from a syndicate of existing and new investors the company says will address accumulating losses caused by secondary perils. The managing general agent, which “operates at the...
ChatGPT-Wary Universities Scramble to Prepare for New School Year
Aug 15 2023 // ChatGPT set the academic world ablaze after it was introduced in November, when the AI chatbot suddenly gave students a hard-to-detect shortcut for completing essays and assignments. Nine months later, as a new school year...
Japan Cannot Confirm Security Leak After Report Says China Hacked Defense Networks
Aug 8 2023 // Japan cannot confirm if any security information has been leaked, the top government spokesperson said on Tuesday when asked about a Washington Post report on Chinese hacking into its defense cyber networks. Chinese...
Washington Dollar Tree Store Fined for Worker Safety Violations
Aug 7 2023 // Dollar Tree company is facing $132,000 in state fines for reported work safety violations including locked emergency exit routes, improper stacking of boxes, and debris scattered on the The fine is in connection with...
Warrant out for Washington Man Who Filed False Claim for Scuba Gear
Aug 2 2023 // Santiago G. Rodriguez, of Bothell, Washington, was added to Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler’s most wanted list after being charged with insurance fraud by the Snohomish County Prosecutor’s...
Washington Physicians’ Insurer Issues Notice of Data Privacy Incident
Jul 27 2023 // Physicians Insurance A Mutual Company reported a security incident affecting the personal information for some third-party contractors and the health information for some of its insureds’ patients. “Although we...
Washington Declares Drought Emergencies in a Dozen Counties
Jul 26 2023 // A drought emergency was declared in a dozen counties of Washington state because of early snowmelt, a lack of spring rain and low-flowing streams. Some wells in Whatcom County in the northwestern part of the state are dry,...
Viewpoint: Washington’s Aggressive Approach to Preventing Intoxicating Hemp Cannabinoids May Be Good for Other States
Jul 25 2023 // Like other states across the country, Washington has been grappling with how to regulate intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products that are being innovated faster than state lawmakers can respond. The state has...
Washington’s Legal Cannabis Farms Reopen After Pesticide Concerns Halted Operations
Jul 18 2023 // A big mound of fresh dirt sits at Terry Taylor`s marijuana farm in the high desert of north-central Washington state. Each hole for a new plant gets filled with the clean soil. Large swaths of recently installed landscape...
Washington Proposed Rule Beefs up Refinery Worker Protections
Jul 17 2023 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing updated workplace safety rules for petroleum refineries designed to prevent catastrophic events like the 2010 explosion that killed seven workers at...
Washington Commissioner Sends Climate Risk Disclosure Survey to Insurers
Jul 7 2023 // Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler sent out his annual Climate Risk Disclosure survey, requiring insurance companies with more than $100 million in written premiums in the United States in 2022 to respond, his...
