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| Year | Stories |
|---|---|
| 1854 | 3 |
| 1859 | 1 |
| 1860 | 4 |
| 1861 | 6 |
| 1862 | 3 |
| 1863 | 2 |
| 1864 | 1 |
| 1871 | 1 |
| 1872 | 3 |
| 1876 | 25 |
| 1877 | 19 |
| 1878 | 5 |
| 1879 | 2 |
| 1880 | 3 |
| 1882 | 1 |
| 1883 | 12 |
| 1884 | 12 |
| 1885 | 13 |
| 1886 | 8 |
| 1887 | 7 |
| 1888 | 5 |
| 1889 | 41 |
| 1890 | 13 |
| 1891 | 39 |
| 1892 | 45 |
| 1893 | 65 |
| 1894 | 67 |
| 1895 | 90 |
| 1897 | 2 |
| 1898 | 3 |
| 1899 | 16 |
| 1900 | 2 |
| 1902 | 2 |
| 1903 | 33 |
| 1904 | 9 |
| 1905 | 1 |
| 1907 | 1 |
| 1908 | 14 |
| 1909 | 71 |
| 1910 | 8 |
| 1911 | 16 |
| 1912 | 5 |
| 1914 | 4 |
| 1915 | 4 |
| 1916 | 10 |
| 1917 | 7 |
| 1923 | 9 |
| 1924 | 1 |
| 1925 | 1 |
| 1928 | 1 |
716 stories matching session
- A Legislature in the Homestretch: Saloons, Gambling and a Fight Over Pledges
With days left in Olympia, Washington lawmakers weigh local option, an anti-racetrack law, a sweeping criminal code and a bill aimed at unions and suffragists.
- Washington's First Impeachment Trial Is Losing Its Charges to a Comma
Insurance Commissioner J. H. Schively's Senate trial drops twenty-six counts down toward half of them on a technicality, while the sixty-day legislative clock runs out Saturday at midnight.
- The Great Legislative Mess of 1877
A scathing editorial reveals how Washington Territory lawmakers spent their time sight-seeing instead of legislating, resulting in a chaotic pile of 'undigested' laws.
- Seattle's Fire Chief Accused as the Council Wrestles a Telephone Franchise and a Paving Bill
Both houses of the city council meet late into the night: charges that Chief Hunt holds office under false pretenses, a twenty-five-year franchise for the Seattle Home Telephone Company, and a fight over who pays for the sick and injured.
- Lawyers Close Ranks Behind the Courts as Populism Roils the Bar
At the State Bar Association's Seattle session, a Spokane lawyer's attack on corporate influence in the judiciary drew a swift resolution of confidence—and a fight over nonpartisan judges and a state law school.
- Streetcar Workers Demand Open County Meetings
Seattle’s Street Railway Employes’ Union petitions the legislature to force county commissioners to do the public’s business in public, after years of closed-door executive sessions.
- The Mugwump’s Ledger: How Seattle’s Territorial Secretary Gamed the Law Printing Contract
A fierce editorial exposes Secretary Owings for delaying the publication of territorial laws to favor a cronies’ printing bid, while padding the bill with 40 pages of his own party platform.
- Republican Deadlock Finally Broken in Olympia
After intense lobbying and political maneuvering, John B. Allen secures the support needed to likely become the next U.S. Senator.
- The Last Midnight of the Washington Constitutional Convention
After fifty days of grueling debate and back-room maneuvering, delegates in Olympia finally finish the document that would define the state’s future.
- Olympia’s Capitol Fight: Donate the Land or Lose the Statehouse
A late-night Senate debate over the new state capitol turned on eleven acres, a $150,000 land scheme and whether Olympia should pay to keep the building—before the bill passed to applause.
- The Governor’s Executive Fiat
After the state legislature deadlocked and failed to elect a U.S. Senator, Governor McGraw unilaterally appointed John B. Allen to fill the seat.
- A $10,000 Railroad Check and a Whispering Campaign in Olympia
In 1895, Washington's legislature gathered to choose a U.S. senator, and the Seattle press heard that the Southern Pacific had put $10,000 behind one candidate.
- Ending the Corporate Bias Against Married Workers
A new state law finally forces employers to pay damages to the families of single men killed on the job, ending a decade of discriminatory hiring practices.
- The Legislative Shuffle: How Power Really Worked at Olympia
A rare look behind the curtain of the 1923 state legislative session, where committee back-scratching, lobbyist influence, and alcohol fueled the fate of over 600 bills.
- The Chaos of Washington's Pre-Civil War Legislature
As the nation teetered on the brink of war, Olympia's Eighth Legislative Session descended into partisan bickering, salary disputes, and frantic attempts to define Washington Territory's loyalty to the Union.
- A Federal Injunction Kills the Northern Pacific Strike Before It Starts
As receivers slash wages 3 to 5 percent, a Milwaukee judge bars the railroad brotherhoods from ordering a walkout—and the order is being extended 'to cover this state,' binding Northern Pacific men all along the line to Seattle.
- A Legislative Committee Finds the University of Washington Packed, Broke, and Worth Building
After touring the cramped old campus and the rising new grounds between Lake Union and Lake Washington, a joint legislative committee urges bonds, more books, a smaller board of regents, and a dry zone around the university.
- The Governor’s Violin Fell Silent at the Bohemian Club
Charles B. Laughton—former acting governor, lawyer, and celebrated fiddler—died mid-sentence in Tacoma after a legislative session, leaving behind a career tangled in vetoes and a school-book scandal.
- The Struggle for Labor's Voice in Olympia
A scathing critique of Washington's 1909 legislative session, highlighting failures in labor protection and the growing influence of corporate lobbyists.
- The Disgraceful Scrawl of Territorial Law
A scathing editorial from the Weekly Dispatch reveals that the Territorial Legislature's laws were so poorly drafted, blotted, and grammatically mangled that the editor suggests burning them to avoid litigation.
- The Secret Plot to Block a City Appointment
When labor leaders discovered a politician was angling for a street commissioner post, they held a secret midnight meeting to kill his candidacy—but a reporter was listening through a hole in the roof.
- Fifty Shingle Men March Up the Hill—and Back Down Again
Seattle's shingle manufacturers spend a full day fixing prices, then panic and rescind the whole scheme in the final five minutes.
- A Fraternal Leader Draws the Line at English—and at the Ballot Box
Visiting Knights of Pythias supreme chancellor W. W. Blackwell wants the order to require English and ties voting rights to language, warning of foreign anarchists.
- Olympia's Backroom Bargain Over a Senate Seat
Lawmakers arrive in Olympia pledging to organize fast, but the fight over a U.S. Senate seat and the speakership is already reshaping the session.
- A Legislature Deadlocks Over a U.S. Senate Seat
A joint-session vote fails to choose a senator, and the Post-Intelligencer demands that the Republican majority settle the contest in caucus before the session is consumed.