By Jake Goldstein-Street | Reporter
Gov. Bob Ferguson this month asked the state’s Building Code Council to adopt an emergency rule allowing owners of homes destroyed in this summer’s wildfires that were built before 2015 to rebuild in line with less restrictive residential energy codes adopted in 2015. For homes constructed after 2015, the governor is pushing for owners to be able to rebuild to the energy code that was in effect when their residence was first constructed.
In their first meeting since receiving the letter, council members said they want to support the community’s recovery but flagged several concerns and challenges.
Also in today’s edition…
• Criticism mounts in Washington over Canadian pipeline project.
• The Trump administration moves to reopen Alaska national preserves.
• And, killings of bears are skyrocketing.
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A Cal Fire firefighter works amid the remains of homes destroyed in the Old Trails Fire on Aug. 6, 2026 in Spokane, Washington. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
By Jerry Cornfield
Some members of the Building Code Council are concerned about the precedent of reverting to older standards for new homes. Any change of building code standards through code waivers can have broad impacts and unintended consequences, they said.
There are statutory realities: an emergency rule to allow use of the older codes would only last 120 days and could expire before many owners are ready to rebuild.
And there are political realities: Controversial code changes drawn up since 2015 are geared to get new homes built with electric heat pumps rather than natural gas, an idea widely disfavored on the east side of the state. Several people expressed concern that homeowners would be deterred from rebuilding if required to install a heat pump.
Medium-sized tankers, like this one anchored near Anacortes, could be joined in the Salish Sea by much larger crude oil supertankers if Alberta, Canada succeeds in building a new pipeline and export terminal to the southern British Columbia coast. (Photo by Tom Banse)
By Tom Banse
The proposed Pacific Link crude export project entails a 775-mile pipeline from Alberta’s northern oilsands region to a new tanker loading terminal on the Strait of Georgia in the Vancouver suburb of Delta. As proposed, the pipeline will be capable of delivering up to 1 million barrels per day to a pair of supertanker berths located less than two miles from the maritime border with Washington.
The massive undertaking has environmentalists, tribes and Democratic politicians in the Evergreen State sharpening their elbows. They are deeply concerned about increased tanker traffic and oil spill risk in the shared Salish Sea and are working to coordinate their opposition efforts with like-minded British Columbians.
By Yereth Rosen
Sport hunters will be able to bait bears in Alaska national preserves, under a final rule the Trump administration recently announced. Bear baiting, which involves use of food stockpiles to attract bears that are then killed and harvested, is a controversial practice. Supporters say that it is a standard hunting method that, as regulated by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is conducted in a controlled and careful way, affecting only a few animals. But critics say it is unethical and dangerous to wildlife and people.
By Alex Brown
On the subject of bears, wildlife officers in many states have received a record number of calls, working overtime through the summer to deter bears, put out traps and euthanize animals who pose persistent problems. Across much of the United States, a warm winter and persistent drought have decimated the natural foods that black and brown bears rely on. With nearly every station at the buffet in short supply, the adaptable eaters are turning to human food.
ICYMI
Department of Social and Health Services eyes cuts, modernization for 2027 | by Paul W. Taylor
At Washington state Capitol, No Kings rally is all about voting early | by Jerry Cornfield
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