NEWS

(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Skagit County will begin accepting applications Friday, April 17, 2026, for grants to fund the construction of public facilities that retain and/or create family-wage jobs or affordable workforce housing projects, in accordance with RCW 82.14.370. In an update for the 2026 application cycle, Skagit County will be soliciting two separate applications for these grants. One application will be for economic development projects, and the second application will be for projects supporting affordable workforce housing, according to a news release from the county. The deadline to submit applications is May 22, 2026, at 4:30 p.m. Application materials are available at www.skagitcounty.net     (read more)

(BELLINGHAM)– As part of a project to restore fish passage at Friday, Lake and Chuckanut creeks near Bellingham, the Washington State Department of Transportation will relocate the well-known Bellingham Rock starting as early as Monday, April 20. Bellingham Rock has served as a community billboard along Interstate 5 for more than five decades. The rock is located within the active construction area at Chuckanut Creek, where contractor crews working on behalf of WSDOT will replace culverts that currently block native fish from passing. This work is part of a statewide effort to correct fish passage barriers and comply with a federal court     (read more)

(OLYMPIA)– An important safety tool for the Washington State Department of Transportation and Washington State Patrol is showing encouraging results after a year of making the roadways safer for everyone. The Work Zone Speed Camera Program began enforcement on April 16, 2025, on Interstate 5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The program started with one camera and expanded to six, which have been used in more than 675 deployments at 46 job sites, according to a news release from WSDOT. Early data from work zones where the camera conducted frequent enforcement shows an overall reduction in speeding. For example, on I-5 near JBLM, more than 60% of     (read more)

(CAMP MURRAY, WA)– Residents who applied for federal individual assistance resulting from the severe storms, straight-line winds, flooding, landslides and mudslides that occurred in designated counties December 5-19, 2025, will soon be contacted by housing inspectors with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Those who suffered disaster-related damage in Chelan, Grays Harbor, King, Lewis, Pacific, Pierce, Skagit, Snohomish, Thurston, and Whatcom Counties - including the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Lummi Nation, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, Nisqually Indian Tribe, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Puyallup Tribe, Quinault Indian Nation, Samish Indian Nation, Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe, Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe, Snoqualmie Indian Tribe, Squaxin     (read more)

(BELLINGHAM)– Both lanes of northbound Interstate 5 reopened Wednesday, April 15, south of Bellingham after a March 19 landslide between milepost 248 and 249 forced them to close. The Washington State Department of Transportation executed an emergency contract March 21, and crews began working seven days a week stabilizing the slope and clearing debris. Geotechnical engineers performed a final inspection to confirm the stability of the slope before northbound I-5 lanes reopened, according to WSDOT. Slope stabilization and clearing At approximately 9:30 p.m. March 19, a 250-foot-long, 100-foot-tall section of a slope above northbound I-5 sent thousands of cubic yards of boulders, trees and other debris toward     (read more)