NEWS

(NEWHALEM)– The second of two emergency repair projects on State Route 20 is expected to finish work about a week early and in time for the Juneteenth holiday weekend. The Washington State Department of Transportation expects to fully reopen North Cascades Highway by Friday, June 19, provided the weather cooperates and no unexpected obstacles arise, according to a news release from the agency. A section of SR 20 between Ross Dam Trailhead (milepost 134) and Porcupine Creek (milepost 156) has remained closed since North Cascades Highway partially reopened from the east side April 30. This closed section of highway was severely damaged in several areas by     (read more)

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- The Skagit County Public Works Department has started work to remediate the Whitmarsh landfill site on March Point Drive near Padilla Bay. The department contracted Strider Construction in 2025 and cleanup activities are ongoing. Nearby residents will see additional heavy trucks in the area transporting materials to the site. The cleanup is expected to be finished by October 2026, according to a news release from the county. The landfill began as an unregulated dump site in the 1950s until the County took over operation as a disposal site through its closure in 1973. A sawmill operated on the site in     (read more)

(ANACORTES)– Travelers will soon see a permanent speed limit reduction along a 4-mile stretch of eastbound and westbound State Route 20 in Skagit County from Sharpes Corner to Pass Lake north of Deception Pass. The permanent speed will be reduced from 50 mph to 45 mph along both directions of SR 20 between mileposts 43.52 and 47.8. The decision to reduce the speed limit was made in response to community safety concerns and after a review of speed and collision data in the corridor, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation. WSDOT maintenance crews will replace the existing speed limit signs     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)- The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) has been awarded a $2,264,970 grant over the next three years by the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration. Washington State will match this funding, bringing the total to $4.5 million. These funds will help qualified healthcare providers in Washington pay off their student loans, according to a news release from WSAC. Healthcare providers who earn a degree through a graduate program are typically saddled with $100,000 in student loans. For those who earn a professional program degree, that figure jumps to $200,000. The Washington Health Corps (WHC), a loan-repayment program managed by WSAC, has seen     (read more)

(BELLINGHAM)- As recently as 2007, the Georgia-Pacific West Pulp and Tissue Mill was the cornerstone of downtown Bellingham. Eighty years of paper manufacturing operations left the area contaminated, and the Washington Department of Ecology has been working with the Port of Bellingham to clean it up. Ecology invites you to comment on a legal document that makes sure the remaining contamination is addressed. The 74-acre Georgia-Pacific West cleanup site is divided into two separate areas, the Pulp and Tissue Mill Area and Chlor-Alkali Area, according to a news release from Ecology. The Pulp and Tissue Mill Area was cleaned up     (read more)