Far West

Lawmakers passed a stopgap $150 million loan fund for hospitals in fiscal distress, and will discuss longer-term solutions as the session progresses.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed legislation Tuesday improving a tax increment financing program created in 2021 that wasn't working as intended.

Although Hawaii lawmakers nixed his proposed tourist tax, Gov. Green points to positives.

Seattle's Sound Transit, the biggest beneficiary of a federal low-interest loan program, had received three more loans totaling $327 million.

Providing enough housing for middle class and homeless people has topped legislative agendas in three West Coast states and Hawaii this session.

"We need to have the debt ceiling raised quickly with close to $30 trillion in debt at risk," said Steve Mnuchin, the former treasury secretary.

Las Vegas sees March visitor totals similar to pre-pandemic March 2019, putting in on solid fiscal footing.

A draft environmental report released by a federal agency could threaten California and Arizona's water supply, if the states don't reach an agreement on their own to protect the Colorado River.

It's one of four state cases accusing Wall Street banks of a "robo-resetting" scheme that kept interest on variable-rate debt artificially high.

The state's record per-pupil spending counteracts concerns over enrollment declines.