Jacob Jones
@jonesdaily.bsky.social
Investigative journalist in WA. Formerly: Investigations editor at Cascade PBS/Crosscut; Reporter at Whitman County Watch, Inlander, The Daily World. Signal: jonesdaily.37
To see results for the August Primary Election, visit https://results.votewa.gov/results/public/washington/elections/20260804 Remember, results are updated as the counties report them and are unofficial until they are certified.
Election Results
results.votewa.gov
The ballot drop box at Indian Trails Library, which was inside an evacuation zone, has been emptied and closed, but Dalton confirmed no ballots there were burned. www.khq.com/news/wildfir...
Wildfire evacuees in Spokane can still vote before primary election tomorrow
Spokane, Wash. — The Spokane area fires are leaving many voters away from their homes, just as the primary election approaches.
khq.com
Plan ahead for wildfire smoke with #WSU’s updated interactive AIRPACT6 tool, which delivers detailed 72-hour air quality forecasts for communities across the Pacific Northwest. news.wsu.edu/press-releas...
Wondering about tomorrow’s air quality? Check WSU’s new interactive tool
AIRPACT6 tool can provide targeted 72-hour forecasts for particulate matter and ozone levels, among other data.
news.wsu.edu
NEW: In a stunning admission, the Trump administration admitted in court documents that it canceled billions in energy grants to states "based solely" on politics -- and whether that state was represented by Democrats and backed Harris in 2024. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
Did you know we have one-stop shop on our website for all things Spokane elections? Well, we do! Click the link below for our comprehensive election coverage + voting resources:
Spokane Election 2026 – RANGE Media
Welcome to RANGE’s one-stop shop for Washington election stuff. Here you’ll find resources for voting, links to voters guides and our coverage on it all. We’ll be updating this page with more of our c...
rangemedia.co
Spokane County Auditor candidate Michael Cathcart says he rejected a proposal last year from Dale Whitaker to hire him if he became auditor. Cathcart is now facing a deluge of attacks from fellow Republicans. More on the battle behind the scenes from Daniel Walters:
Cathcart says opponent offered to stay out of auditor race for job promise
“[Whitaker] offered that he would not run against me if I were to hire him,” Cathcart said.
rangemedia.co
Smoke from wildfires burning near Palouse Falls (the Lyons Ferry Fire), other parts of Eastern Washington and Canada put Spokane’s air quality index into the very unhealthy to hazardous ranges on Friday, July 17.
The Atlas of Surveillance, our database mapping police surveillance tech across the U.S., turns six this week! Want to know how police are keeping tabs on you and your neighbors? Search for your town on the Atlas of Surveillance: www.atlasofsurveillance.org
The College Journalism Network at CalMatters investigated how public campuses throughout California were complying with a state law that requires transparency about military equipment. This guide is for student journalists to investigate their own campuses. cal.news/4faihq9 📸 Adriana Heldiz
How a data leak unmasked an Idaho state employee raising thousands of dollars a month in subscriptions by anonymously promoting pro-Russian commentary, white nationalists and Nazi memes. My new story for @investigatewest.bsky.social: www.investigatewest.org/idaho-labor-...
Idaho labor economist ran far-right online accounts
Sam Wolkenhauer ran anonymous accounts that generated thousands of dollars in subscriptions while posting pro-Russian commentary, slurs and Nazi imagery
investigatewest.org
An Idaho labor economist's anonymous accounts generated thousands of dollars in subscriptions while posting pro-Russian commentary, slurs and Nazi imagery: www.investigatewest.org/idaho-labor-...
Idaho labor economist ran far-right online accounts
Sam Wolkenhauer ran anonymous accounts that generated thousands of dollars in subscriptions while posting pro-Russian commentary, slurs and Nazi imagery
investigatewest.org
#IdahoFire www.propublica.org/article/tim-...
A U.S. Senator Pushed to Cut Firefighting Aircraft Inspections the Same Month His Former Company Failed One
Before entering politics, Tim Sheehy ran an aerial firefighting company, Bridger Aerospace. In the Senate, he has sought to cut regulations and expand the government’s use of private aircraft on wildf...
propublica.org
A new customer is seeking an agreement with local power company Avista that would draw massive amounts of electricity. What do you think it is? Here’s more: www.spokesman.com/stories/2026...
Avista agrees to framework to provide single business with power equal to half of all Spokane County customers
Avista has entered into a memorandum of understanding with one "large load" customer, but details of the business – and if it's a data center – were not released.
spokesman.com
PACER absolutely should be free. There’s no legitimate reason why members of the press and public should be charged for access to public records they themselves look up online.
Free Law Project ⚖@free.law · 2mo agoPACER is an insecure and illegally expensive disaster that’s been hacked numerous times. We and others have been working on the new bill below to finally fix it. This will make it free and modern. Let’s go!
My former PBS colleague Farah would make a great hire for any WA state newsroom...
farah eltohamy فرح التهامي@farahe.bsky.social · 2mo agowon my third 1st place spj award today and i’m finding it difficult to celebrate bc i’m still unemployed!!!! i might just leave journalism altogether despite loving it so much lol
Congrats to @brandonblock.bsky.social, @farahe.bsky.social, @lizzgiordano.bsky.social and Jaelynn Grisso of the former Cascade PBS Investigations team on their latest SPJ Region 10 Awards for their reporting work in 2025: www.spjwash.org/2026/06/spj-...
I spent the day in Longview- 11 identified in Longview chemical-tank disaster: 'Still hard to grasp the magnitude' www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
11 identified in Longview disaster: ‘Still hard to grasp the magnitude’
After the deadliest industrial accident in modern state history, Longview residents swiftly came together to support Nippon Dynawave workers and their families.
seattletimes.com
Forral is found guilty of conspiracy to injure the property of federal officers (counts C and D). They found Forral guilty of aiding and abetting in the conspiracy as well.
When 46-year-old Jim Wetmore died on the floor of an Amazon facility, @ryanjhaas.bsky.social was the sole Oregon reporter to write about that. He didn't stop there: today at @thewesternedge.bsky.social, Ryan examines the hot, stuffy, loud conditions at PDX9: www.thewesternedge.media/p/sweaty-stu...
Sweaty, Stuffy and Loud: Inside the Amazon Warehouse Where Jim Wetmore Died
After the 46-year-old worker collapsed in April, employees and his family began to wonder if working conditions played any part.
thewesternedge.media
Congratulations to the winners and finalists of the 2025 IRE Awards! Awards will be presented at the 2026 IRE Conference in National Harbor, MD on Friday, June 19, during the Awards Luncheon. Full list of winners and finalists: https://bit.ly/4cS2qfN
We've cleaned up (or attempted to) and released 1,460 ICE use-of-force incident narratives, dates, and participants, including regional divisions, facilities, and law enforcement agencies. There are more stories to be told with this data. github.com/wpinvestigat...
GitHub - wpinvestigative/ice-reports
Contribute to wpinvestigative/ice-reports development by creating an account on GitHub.
github.com
The wait is over. 🏆Congratulations to the 2026 #Pulitzer Prize winners – from scrappy local newsrooms to moving immigration coverage, we’ve put together a full list of the distinguished winners and finalists. Read it now: www.poynter.org/reporting-ed...
Here are the winners of the 2026 Pulitzer Prizes - Poynter
Details and links to this year’s recipients of American journalism’s highest honor
poynter.org
Scoop: Gov. Ferguson’s sign-off policy is creating bottlenecks at state agencies, delaying public updates — including on bridge repairs, federal shutdown impacts and vaccine guidance. www.axios.com/local/seattl... #waleg
Scoop: Governor sign-off rule snarls flow of information in Washington
Records show delays in public updates on vaccine access, measles exposure risk and more.
axios.com
Content farms using AI and/or cheap overseas labor to mass request bod camera footage for their clickbait YouTube channele are ruining the free public requests process. Sometimes they even imply this is journalism. Curses upon their households
RANGE Media@rangemedia.co · 3mo ago"As someone born and raised in Spokane, there has got to be an untapped gold mine for Spokane bodycam videos,” one commenter wrote on a video. But now, the county is charging for access to that footage, after online accounts started mining cop footage for content. New by @danieltwalters.bsky.social
The training is mandated by Initiative 940, which went on to become the 2019 Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act.
WA audit: Just 16% of veteran officers have finished required police training
The training is mandated by Initiative 940, which went on to become the 2019 Law Enforcement Training and Community Safety Act.
bit.ly
The U.S. Senate has voted, 50-49, to repeal the ban on mining near the Boundary Waters.
Live: Senate voting on reopening mining near Boundary Waters
Sen. Tina Smith spoke for hours to oppose the measure Wednesday night. If passed, the legislation would head to the president’s desk.
bit.ly
Amazon has reached out to The Western Edge with an additional statement. The company acknowledged work continued after a 46-year-old man died at an Oregon distribution center on April 6. Amazon says staff were too focused on life-saving efforts to stop work across the building.
‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility
A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.
thewesternedge.media
We've now obtained the 911 calls related to this death. They indicate the injured man possibly had a head injury of some type.
‘Everyone is Replaceable’: Death Rattles Oregon Amazon Facility
A worker died at Amazon’s Troutdale warehouse last week. Employees were told to look away.
thewesternedge.media
