Maya Leshikar | The Seattle Times

Rep. Tarra Simmons was recently elected to the Washington state Legislature. Simmons is a lawyer, mother, and former nurse, who is focused closely on issues around prison reform, as a formerly incarcerated person who struggled with trauma and drug addiction in her past.

Saturday February 6, 2021

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April 18, 2021 at 6:00 am

Rep. Tarra Simmons hits her stride in first term in Olympia

After a life of crime, addiction, displacement, Rep. Tarra SImmons brings life experiences to the Washington Legislature to help pass bills geared toward restoring lives...

Duane Dunn, owner of Emerald Leaves in Tacoma, hangs out in his Tacoma store in March. A bill to expand the marijuana social equity program is in the Legislature. The bill aims to get more cannabis business licenses in the hands of people from communities disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs. Dunn says the licensing system favors people already wealthy and connected and the social equity program could level the barriers to getting a license. He got his retail license after marijuana was legalized in the state and opened his store in 2015. (Ellen M. Banner / The Seattle Times)

April 7, 2021 at 6:00 am

Washington’s Legislature moves to address equity in the cannabis business

After a year in which governments and businesses experienced a racial reckoning after the death of George Floyd, Washington's Legislature is moving forward in addressing...

Local News

FILE – In this Jan. 7, 2021, file photo, the Legislative Building is shown partially shrouded in fog at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Washington state’s richest residents, including Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, would pay a wealth tax on certain financial assets worth more than $1 billion under a proposed bill whose sponsor says she is seeking a fair and equitable tax code. Under the bill, starting Jan. 1, 2022, for taxes due in 2023, a 1% tax would be levied not on income, but on “extraordinary” assets ranging from cash, publicly traded options, futures contracts, and stocks and bonds. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

March 25, 2021 at 10:34 am

Bill restoring voting rights to Washingtonians with felonies heads to Gov. Inslee for signature

A bill that would immediately restore voting rights for those who have been convicted of felonies once they leave prison passed the state Senate and...

Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos CQ, speaks at a press conference at Renton City Hall in Renton, Wash. Monday, March 22, 2021. “Anti-Asian violence, anti-Asian bias and xenophobia have been with us in this country for centuries,” she says. “But particularly since the rise of the coronavirus, anti-Asian acts of violence have been on the rise.” 216701

March 22, 2021 at 5:40 pm

King County devotes $5M of its federal COVID-19 aid to battling anti-Asian hate

King County will spend $5 million to support multicultural media and battle hate and bias, said King County Executive Dow Constantine, as he joined Gov....

Debra Entenman is a Democratic candidate seeking election to the Washington House of Representatives to represent District 47a. Entenman is running in the general election on November 6, 2018, after advancing from the primary on August 7, 2018.

March 21, 2021 at 6:00 am

Bill to create civilian office to investigate lethal force, serious injuries by police advances in Washington Legislature

A bill making its way through the Washington Legislature would create a civilian office that would investigate incidents of lethal force by law enforcement agencies....

First Lady Jill Biden makes remarks, Tuesday, March 9, 2021 at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Oak Harbor, Wash. 216602

March 9, 2021 at 3:34 pm

First lady Jill Biden visits Washington military bases in support of families VIEW

Jill Biden made her first visit to Washington as first lady Tuesday, visiting with military families from Whidbey Island Naval Air Station and the JBLM...

Gov. Jay Inslee, center, holds a meeting with Spokane Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Adam Swinyard, left, and Spokane Mayor Nadine Woodward, as he toured Stevens Elementary School on Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2021, in Spokane, Wash. (Dan Pelle/The Spokesman-Review via AP) WASPO206 WASPO206

March 2, 2021 at 7:37 pm

Inslee signs bill allowing COVID-19-related waivers of some graduation requirements

Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill allowing school districts to grant graduation requirement waivers for students whose education was affected by COVID-19. After...

FILE – In this Dec. 4, 2018 file photo, pedestrians make their way toward the Legislative Building at dusk at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. The Washington Supreme Court ruled Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 that the Public Records Act fully applies to state lawmakers. The justices heard oral arguments in June on the appeal of a case that was sparked by a September 2017 lawsuit filed by a media coalition, led by The Associated Press, which was seeking sexual harassment reports, calendar entries and other documents from legislators. The justices found for the media coalition in a 7 to 2 decision. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

February 24, 2021 at 6:00 am

Police officers who witness excessive force must intervene, Washington state Senate votes

A bill that would require law enforcement officers to intervene if they witness another officer using excessive force passed out of the Washington state Senate...

Local News

February 23, 2021 at 6:00 am

More veterans, seniors, people with disabilities could qualify for property tax exemptions under House bill

Republican-sponsored HB 1438 would allow people with an income above the various thresholds in Washington state to qualify for the exemption by deducting medical expenses...

Local News

In this photo taken in May, 2019, customer Torre Treece, left, talks with Rad Power Bikes sales associate Becs Richards about the two electric bikes he bought at the shop in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) (Elaine Thompson / AP)

February 19, 2021 at 7:14 pm

Washington sales tax exemption for electric bikes moves forward in Legislature

A House bill that passed out of the finance committee in Olympia on Friday would promote the use of electric bikes by exempting them from...