Latest Washington Headlines
All the headlines from our Washington Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Pacific Coast Towns Rethink Tsunami ‘Vertical’ Evacuation Options
Aug 29 2011 // When the next devastating earthquake strikes off the Northwest coast, it is expected to send a tsunami so fast that it could leave coastal communities with perhaps 20 minutes to escape the surge of water. For small towns...
Irene Floods Northeast; Manhattan Spared Worst
Aug 29 2011 // Hurricane Irene swept through Manhattan Sunday but reserved the worst of its fury for towns and suburbs up and down the northeastern United States, where driving rain and flood tides inundated homes and cut power to...
Earthquake Showed Difficulties of Evacuating D.C.
Aug 29 2011 // The nation’s capital has prepared for emergencies with sleek communication systems, intelligence fusion centers and chemical detention centers at train stations. What showed during the 5.8-magnitude quake that shook...
Is ‘Old’ East Coast Prepared For a Powerful Earthquake?
Aug 26 2011 // There was a crack in the Washington Monument, and capstones were broken at the National Cathedral. In the District of Columbia suburbs, some people stayed in shelters because of structural concerns at their apartment...
East Coast Cities, Resorts Prepare for Irene
Aug 26 2011 // North Carolina braced Friday for a direct hit from Hurricane Irene, cities along the U.S. east coast were on alert and millions of beach goers cut short vacations to escape the powerful storm. With more than 50 million...
East Coast Earthquake: Fear, Damage Mixed with Relief, Teasing
Aug 26 2011 // For a few minutes from Georgia to Maine, the question rang out: What was that? The answer — a rare East Coast earthquake, magnitude 5.8 — was far down on the list for most not used to the earth shaking beneath them. In...
East Coast’s Once-a-Century Earthquake Causes Minor Damage
Aug 24 2011 // A strong earthquake rattled the U.S. East Coast Tuesday, sending tremors as far as Canada, damaging well-known buildings in the nation’s capital and sending scared office workers into the streets. There were no...
Entire East Coast Placed on Hurricane Alert
Aug 23 2011 // The United States put its eastern seaboard on alert for Hurricane Irene Tuesday, as the powerful storm barreled up from the Caribbean on a path that could hit the U.S. coast on the weekend. Even as the first hurricane of...
Quake Damages Spires on Washington’s National Cathedral
Aug 23 2011 // The Washington National Cathedral, the highest point in the U.S. capital city, suffered damage in Tuesday’s earthquake, with three spires in the central tower breaking off of the gothic-style building, a spokesman...
Earthquake Rattles East Coast; No Deaths or Major Damage Reported
Aug 23 2011 // A strong earthquake struck the U.S. East Coast and was felt as far away as Canada on Tuesday, shaking buildings in many cities, delaying flights and trains and sending thousands of frightened workers into the...
Washington Auto Glass Fraud Perpetrator Ordered to Pay
Aug 23 2011 // A Burien auto glass company owner who was sentenced for insurance fraud last week now has been ordered to pay more than $1.6 million in restitution to several insurance companies for the overbilling scam. Michael Alan...
Survey Says Washington Drivers Go Slow to Save
Aug 19 2011 // A recent poll from Northwest insurer PEMCO Insurance reveals that while a majority of drivers say they take steps to reduce the amount of gas they use, about eight out of 10 drivers in Washington and the greater Portland...
Washington Court Rules in Single-Car, Underinsured Motorist Case
Aug 17 2011 // A Washington State couple has been turned down on their appeal of a ruling that said Farmers Insurance can deny their uninsured motorist claim following a single-car accident, which they said was caused by another driver...
Washington Insurance Commissioner Fines Health Insurer
Aug 16 2011 // Wshington State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler has fined Regence BlueShield (Regence) $100,000 for denying contraceptive coverage to 984 women. Kreidler learned about the violation from a consumer who contacted his...
Washington State Agent Pleads to Bilking Doctors
Aug 4 2011 // Brenda MacLaren-Beattie, a longtime insurance agent in Des Moines, Wash., has pleaded guilty to first-degree theft for selling fake insurance to oral surgeons in two states. An investigation by Insurance Commissioner Mike...
When Rating Agencies Judge the World – an Analysis
Aug 3 2011 // The man who holds in his hands the fate of U.S. credit, and with it potentially the global economy, favors small tie knots, sports a bushy mustache and smokes his fair share of cigarettes. Beyond that, he is a mystery,...
Agents Question GM Free Car Insurance Deal With MetLife Auto
Aug 1 2011 // Independent insurance agents are raising concerns over a General Motors promotion that offers car buyers in the Pacific Northwest a year of free liability and damage insurance from MetLife Auto & Home. Hoping to put...
Poll Says Washington Drivers Do Not Know Left-Lane Law
Jul 21 2011 // Forty-three percent of drivers in Washington State do not know that it is illegal to impede the flow of traffic in the left lane of a highway, according to a survey by Pemco Mutual Insurance Co., Seattle. “Camping...
Ratings Recap: Washington Casualty, Western, One Beacon (notes)
Jul 18 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A-‘ (Excellent) from ‘B+’ (Good) and issuer credit rating to “a-” from “bbb-” of Washington Casualty Company...
S&P Threatens Downgrade of Insurers, Financial Firms Over Debt Ceiling
Jul 18 2011 // Standard & Poor’s Friday raised the pressure on debt negotiators in Washington, saying it could downgrade insurers, securities clearinghouses, mortgage agencies and a laundry list of other firms without a deal...
