WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse has introduced legislation to help law enforcement in central Washington address the opioid epidemic. The Law Enforcement Officers Prevention Abuse Related Deaths (LEOPARD) Act would authorize rural community response pilot grant programs to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to purchase naloxone, an overdose reversing medication. -0-
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Washington state’s Insurance Commissioner is getting lambasted for adopting a rule this week prohibiting insurers from using credit scores to set rates for auto, homeowner and renter insurance. Several insurance companies filed legal challenges Wednesday seeking to stop the rule, which is set to take effect March 4 and last for … Read more
ELLENSBURG – After a lengthy examination, the Kittitas [ki·tuh·tas] County’s coroner has identified the person killed after a house explosion last month [Jan. 13]. Kittitas County Coroner Nik Henderson says the autopsy took longer due to the damage the victim sustained during the blaze, in which 73-year-old Kathleen Smith died from burns and smoke inhalation. … Read more
EAST WENATCHEE – East Wenatchee is conducting a clean sweep of homeless camps within the city. The City Council has approved a one-time $20,000 payment to Douglas County to remove unauthorized homeless camps as part of a previous agreement between the city and county to remove what many residents say are eyesores in the community … Read more
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) – Cleanup continues at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. The U.S. Department of Energy said Wednesday that workers have started the first large-scale treatment of an estimated 56 million gallons of radioactive waste stored in 177 underground tanks on the former nuclear weapons production site where the plutonium was made for the atomic … Read more
The Washington State Department of Health recently released its hospital executive employee financial data for 2020. The report shows that hospitals across the state paid over 20 million dollars in bonus/incentive compensation in 2020. Locally, the two top administrators for the largest healthcare networks in north central Washington were compensated nearly $100,000 in bonuses in … Read more
ELLENSBURG – Central Washington Equine Hospital is close to completing its so-called “state-of-the-art’ horse hospital in downtown Ellensburg. An exact opening day of the 12,000 square foot hospital has not been disclosed, but it is expected to be completed within the next month. -0-
QUINCY – Anyone who may have witnessed a hit-and-run near Quincy Wednesday afternoon that left two people injured is urged to call Washington State Patrol. Washington State Troopers say a driver crossed the centerline on SR 283 near the I-90 junction and hit a vehicle heading in the opposite direction, causing it to overturn and … Read more
OLYMPIA – In a win for those struggling to make ends meet, Washington state’s Insurance Commissioner has adopted a temporary rule banning insurers from using credit scores to set rates for auto, homeowner and renter insurance for three years after the end of pandemic-related federal and state emergency financial protections. The rule goes into effect … Read more
WENATCHEE – Confluence Health has acknowledged that one of its nurses distributed disinformation to patients about COVID treatments. In an email between independent journalist Dominick Bonny of Wenatchee and Andrew Canning, a former spokesperson for Confluence Health, confirmed that the nurse stapled Ivermectin information to patients discharge papers, which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration … Read more