If you call 911, you expect someone to answer quickly and send help. But that system is strained these days by a shortage of dispatchers. The problem has grown worse during the COVID pandemic. In Washington, some State Patrol dispatch centers have a vacancy rate over 50 percent. And one office got so short-staffed it had to close.

There is a new option to escape a tsunami if you’re on the southwest coast of Washington when the Big One strikes. The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe on Friday dedicated a 50-foot tall evacuation tower in Tokeland, Washington. Tribal leaders and the Federal Emergency Management Agency said the new tsunami refuge platform should be an example and inspiration for other vulnerable coastal communities.

A federal study ordered by Congress concluded it would be feasible to reintroduce sea otters to the Oregon and northern California coasts. However, that finding doesn't mean the super-cute predators will be relocated into their former ocean habitat anytime soon.

Washington Democrats were bracing for a tough showing in state legislative races. But they are pleased with the early results of Tuesday's primary.

In Washington’s race for Secretary of State, the top two finishers after the initial vote count were Democrat Steve Hobbs and independent Julie Anderson. Hobbs, who currently holds the office, had about 41 percent of the vote. Anderson, who’s the Pierce County Auditor, had nearly 13 percent. But Republican Bob Hagglund was trailing a close third.

Residents in Yakima County are fed up with their pesky neighbor. It smells. It’s noisy. And, they say, it’s harmful to their health.

The classic black-and-white photos from early decades of the American West often fail to capture the diversity of the people who came here. Chinese migrants helped build the railroads and were big in gold mining. Basque people from Spain became known for sheep herding. The first Filipino cannery workers arrived around the turn of the last century. Now, Oregon archaeologists are on the surprising trail of Japanese families who lived in a now-vanished lumber company town.

Checking every inch of a streambed for freshwater mussels requires a snorkel and a wetsuit. It’s a messy job, but it’s vitally important as these keystone species are declining throughout the West.

An adventurer from Western Washington cast off this week trying to become the first person to traverse the Northwest Passage on a standup paddleboard. The passage is the fabled, but normally frozen, sea route between the Atlantic and the Pacific across the top of Canada.

Scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are tagging and releasing lamprey to learn more about their journey to sea from inland rivers.