Phuong Le

Associated Press

In this May 8, 2008 file photo, Vulcan Inc. Founder and Chairman Paul Allen attends Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World Gala in New York. Allen, billionaire owner of the Trail Blazers and the Seattle Seahawks and Microsoft co-founder, died Monday, Oct. 15, 2018 at age 65. Earlier this month Allen said the cancer he was treated for in 2009, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, had returned.

Paul Allen, Microsoft Co-Founder, Dies at 65

"Personal computing would not have existed without him," Bill Gates said in a statement.

This April 2, 2010 file photo shows a refinery owned by Andeavor, formerly Tesoro Corp. including a gas flare flame that is part of normal plant operations, in Anacortes, Wash. A campaign bankrolled by the oil industry has raised $20.46 million to defeat a carbon pollution fee on the ballot in Washington state aiming at tackling climate change.

Big Money Pours into Carbon Fee Fight

The initiative would charge large carbon emitters fees on fossil fuels used or sold in the state or electricity generated within the state.

The U.S. government will pay $925,000 and improve worker safety to settle a lawsuit over employee exposure to chemical vapors at the nation's most polluted nuclear weapons production site. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018, that the U.S. Energy Department will test new technology to capture and destroy dangerous vapors that escape from nuclear waste storage tanks at Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

U.S. Agrees to Improve Safety at Nuke Site

The agreement represents a major win for hundreds of workers who have been getting sick for years while cleaning up the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

State Fights Trump's Plan for Coal Plants

They say the EPA plan threatens lives, props up an old technology and is illegal.

In this May 24, 2018, photo, paid signature gatherer John Ellard, right, gives thumbs-up as two men stop to sign petitions to put on the November ballot a referendum on Seattle's head tax, in Seattle. Seattle city leaders say they'll work to repeal the tax passed just last month on businesses such as Amazon and Starbucks designed to help pay for homeless services and affordable housing. Amazon and other businesses had sharply criticized the levy, and the online retail giant even temporarily halted construction planning on a new high-rise building near its Seattle headquarters in protest.

Seattle to Repeal Tax Opposed By Amazon

The quick surrender showed the power of Amazon.

In this Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, file photo, large spheres take shape in front of an existing Amazon building, behind, as new construction continues across the street in Seattle. Amazon said Wednesday, May 2, 2018, it is pausing construction on a new high-rise building in Seattle while it awaits the outcome of a city proposal to tax worker hours. The Seattle City Council has been weighing a proposed 'head tax' on high-grossing businesses as a way to raise about $75 million a year for affordable housing and homelessness services.

Amazon Halts Construction Project

The company could pay more than $20 million under the proposal.

A sign warns of an underground pipeline as people construct a 'watch house' near a gate leading to Kinder Morgan's property during a protest against the company's Trans Mountain pipeline expansion in Burnaby, British Columbia, Saturday, March 10, 2018.

Thousands Protest Canada Pipeline

An expansion would nearly triple the flow of oil from Canada's tar sands to the Pacific Coast.

Amazon Settles Over Pesticides

It's one of the largest penalties assessed under federal pesticides laws.

In this file photo, Allen Cooke, left, and Nathan Cultee emerge from the hold of the Marathon after having separated out the 16 farm-raised Atlantic salmon they caught fishing off Point Williams, Washington.

Salmon Processor Fined After Fish Escape

Improper use of nets could place a unique strain on Washington's fishing industry.

A citizen holds a sign as he protests in Tacoma outside a public meeting to gather opinion on a proposed methanol plant that would be built at the Port of Tacoma.

Permits Invalidated for Plant

The permits were for a $2 billion project to manufacture methanol from natural gas.

This March 16, 2017 photo shows the sewage pump room at the West Point Treatment Plant in Seattle. The plant is still recovering from a massive equipment failure that crippled operations and caused millions of gallons of raw sewage and untreated runoff to pour into the United States' second largest estuary.

Update: Sewage Plant Spill

Treatment plant puts things back together after pouring millions of gallons of raw sewage into the water.

In this Feb. 16, 2017, file photo, Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson sits in his corner office overlooking downtown Everett, Wash. Stephanson is suing pharmaceutical giant Purdue Pharma, becoming the first city to try to hold the maker of OxyContin accountable for damages to his community. Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma argued in court documents filed Monday, March 20, 2017, there is no legal basis for such a lawsuit.

City Sues OxyContin Maker

The city's mayor said the opioid crisis has overwhelmed the city's resources, stretching everyone from first responders to park crews who clean up discarded syringes.