Denys and his family made a new life in Washington away from the chaos of the war in Ukraine. But he and other Ukrainian immigrants are now stuck in limbo after the Trump admin froze a program giving them temporary legal status. bit.ly/47IzFQD

After the maternity ward in Baker City, Oregon closed in 2023, Teela Banister and her husband had to drive nearly an hour to get to a hospital with an obstetrics unit. She ended up giving birth in this car, about halfway to the hospital. investigatewest.org/rural-oregon-t

Seattle activists seeking to preserve the city's tree canopy contend changes to a tree preservation ordinance are driving an escalation in the number of trees being removed by builders. www.investigatewest.org/developers-t...

NEW: Two years into Seattle's updated tree protection ordinance, the number of trees toppled for development escalated markedly in 2025, an analysis of city data shows.

The state levied the seven-figure penalty days after we reported on how regulators failed to take steps to immediately stop the company from releasing more polluted stormwater into the South Yamhill River. www.investigatewest.org/oregon-fine-...

Following our investigation last week, the editorial board of Yamhill County, Oregon's News-Register called for reform and dismissed state officials who claimed to be keeping the public aware of ongoing pollution issues around a water treatment facility. newsregister.com/article?arti...

Outstanding work from @investigatewest.bsky.social: A wood treatment facility on the South Yamhill river in Oregon has polluted a town’s drinking water source for years with a now-banned chemical. State and federal regulators who knew didn't stop it. www.investigatewest.org/oregon-wood-...

NEW: InvestigateWest reporting shows how Oregon regulators kept potential contamination of a town's water supply hidden from the public while failing to take measures to stop a treatment facility from releasing more contaminated water.

UPDATE: Local officials aren’t concerned about accusations of racism against an Idaho sheriff, despite calls for accountability

UPDATE: Mercer Island schools assessing sexual abuse protocols after an investigation by InvestigateWest and the Mercer Island Reporter.

LABOR: 'This is a wonderful way to make six figures saying no’: Retired docs earn millions examining injured Washington workers (via Cascade PBS)

NEW: For some attorneys, the courts’ decisions not to issue firearm surrender orders seem to have more to do with political will than with upholding the law.

Just as bad journalism hurts journalism at large, good journalism — hard-hitting, expensive, ambitious reporting that holds power accountable — raises the bar for everyone.

UPDATE: After InvestigateWest published a story earlier this month, Idaho’s Vallivue School District changed its policy to require officers to run any inquiries from federal immigration authorities past district administrators.

NEW: A new investigation by InvestigateWest reveals that Idaho’s push to ban “sexually provocative” performances was built on a deceptively blurred image, promoted by the state’s leading Christian Nationalist group.

NEW: An abandoned ferry in the Puget Sound represents a shared struggle across the West Coast: to sell an old ship or destroy it.

NEW: Do Oregon parents get enough mental health support during pregnancy? Help us answer that question

Important and grim reporting from @investigatewest.bsky.social and the Mercer Island Reporter on Mercer Island School administrators covering up a teacher's misconduct for nearly a decade www.investigatewest.org/a-beloved-me...

NEW: A beloved Mercer Island teacher was accused twice of sexual misconduct with students. The school district kept it quiet.

NEW: How Homeland Security’s “welfare checks” on migrant students have triggered fear and legal questions in Idaho.

Following news reports about a young girl’s suicide at the Spokane facility, the Washington State Nurses Association is accusing Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center of retaliation after nurses were fired and disciplined. Story by @investigatewest.bsky.social Photo by @erickdoxey.com

EXCLUSIVE: Washington's largest nurses union is accusing Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center of retaliation after the Spokane hospital fired 15 nurses and disciplined another following news reports about a 12-year-old girl's suicide at the facility.

NEW: Forest collaboratives formed in the wake of the Pacific Northwest’s “Timber Wars” have become major power players operating largely out of the public eye.

NEW: Cuts to Medicaid and a change restricting services for some immigrants loom over Washington’s 27 community health centers.

NEW: Oregon quietly halted a new Medicaid program for people leaving prison. Whether it goes forward may be up to the Trump administration.

In 2022, the nonprofit newsroom @investigatewest.bsky.social exposed how Jehovah’s Witnesses covered up decades of sexual abuse in Washington state. Learn how free legal help from ProJourn supported its investigation in the thread below 👇

NEW: With powerful allies in the pulpit and the Pentagon, the Christian Nationalist-led Idaho Family Policy Center seizes its moment.

NEW: Accused of racism and retaliation, this Idaho sheriff is now working with ICE.

Huge thanks to @investigatewest.bsky.social for getting Betty and Shirley's story in front of more people. (If you aren't already reading and following InvestigateWest, here's your nudge!) www.investigatewest.org/news/he-was-...

NEW: Deportation flights at WA airport up dramatically this year, advocates say.

NEW: Federal agencies are offloading aging Navy and Coast Guard vessels at public auctions — often to underqualified private buyers — only for these ships to rot, leak toxins, and cost states like Washington and Oregon millions to clean up.

Wrapping up my first week in Oregon reporting for @investigatewest.bsky.social by way of Report for America, so I feel like it is as good a time as any to put the bat signal out for story tips! Got an idea? Reach me at [email protected]!!

NEW: Officials repeatedly ignored guidance regarding their $4.5 million purchase, jeopardizing federal funding.

CJR looks at local reporters covering extremism, including our own democracy and extremism reporter Daniel Walters (cc: @reportforamerica.bsky.social). www.cjr.org/analysis/loc...

UPDATE: Oregon’s labor bureau gets a major funding boost after InvestigateWest detailed the agency’s struggles to resolve claims and recover wages for stiffed workers.

NEW: A last-minute deal preserves Oregon’s program for disadvantaged businesses.

UPDATE: Following our reporting of a teen trafficked by a man she met on Tinder, prosecutors have filed charges against her alleged trafficker for sexually exploiting her and three other women.

InvestigateWest is thrilled to announce Danielle Dawson as our new collaborative investigative reporter based in Oregon, where she will focus on the central and eastern regions of the state.

NEW: Oregon’s historic 2024 campaign finance law meant to end million-dollar contributions and provide more transparency about political donors could be delayed for several election cycles.

Big news! InvestigateWest is excited to welcome award-winning journalist Thy Vo to our editing team!

IMPACT: A new watchdog state government report, sparked by InvestigateWest reporting, documents Idaho’s lack of accountability measures in children residential treatment facilities.

NEW: WA farmworkers fear reporting sexual harassment to federal anti-discrimination agency under Trump

NEW: Evictions in WA skyrocket, overwhelming legal aid program for low-income renters

UPDATE: Snoqualmie, a Seattle suburb, has fired its police chief for sexual comments and other violations. This is the same police department under fire for not aggressively investigating rape cases, as InvestigateWest reported earlier this year.

UPDATE: To ensure that guardians ad litem are protecting children, some legislators, family law attorneys and advocates point to a model code developed by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.

UPDATE: A bill that could simplify the jurisdictional patchwork in Oregon Indian Country was signed into law this week.

UPDATE: A case that InvestigateWest examined about spousal identity theft leads to criminal charges.

Incredible reporting by @investigatewest.bsky.social's Melanie Henshaw on Bureau of Indian Affairs killings... "Amid a nationwide reckoning over police use of force, the BIA has largely evaded widespread or public scrutiny of its policies," Henshaw writes. www.investigatewest.org/investigatew...

An analysis of over 2,700 family court cases from 2005 to 2014 found that when mothers make abuse claims, they lose custody a quarter of the time. Adding a guardian ad litem to the case raises that risk to 36% on average. From @investigatewest.bsky.social:

NEW: Guardians ad litem are appointed to represent the interests of children in custody battles. Experts say their presence often results in mothers losing their kids to their abusers.