On August 19, 2008, Washingtonians vote for the first time under the "top two" primary system. Voters can choose candidates of different parties for different offices and the top two vote-getters for ...
On August 29, 2008, photographer Hugo Ludeña; Cathryn Vandenbrink, regional director for nonprofit real-estate developer Artspace Projects; youth-arts program Coyote Central and its cofounder M...
On September 13, 2008, The Seattle Public Library celebrates the successful completion of its ambitious "Libraries for All" capital project with open houses at the Central Library and in the 26 new an...
On the afternoon of September 25, 2008, Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan bank, is seized by the federal Office of Thrift Management. It is the largest bank failure in United St...
On September 30, 2008, in one of the more unique bank robberies in Washington state history -- one that makes the national news -- an armored car guard is robbed outside of a Bank of America branch in...
On Halloween night, Friday, October 31, 2008, the Sonics -- Tacoma's legendary '60s garage-rock band -- reunite to perform at Seattle's Paramount Theatre. The venue is the very site of their last loca...
In the election of November 4, 2008, a record-setting 84.6 percent of Washington registered voters cast ballots, most by mail in the weeks and days before the official election date. State voters over...
On November 5, 2008, the Greenbridge Library in White Center officially opens with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. It is one of the smaller libraries in the King County Library System (KCLS) and is unique ...
At 10:00 p.m. on the Thursday evening, November 6, 2008, the Snoqualmie Casino holds its Grand Opening event. Located 30 miles east of downtown Seattle, the 170,000-square-foot facility features a 51,...
On November 20, 2008, the new third runway at Seattle-Tacoma (Sea-Tac) International Airport opens to scheduled air traffic when an Alaska Airlines flight takes off for Denver following a dedication c...
In December 2008, Qualco Energy, a nonprofit organization located in Monroe, Washington, activates its anaerobic digester and begins operations. Established by representatives from the Tulalip Tribes,...
On December 17, 2008, Kenneth L. Milette of Newport in Pend Oreille County is sentenced in federal court in Spokane for illegally possessing and selling Indian and historic artifacts he has taken from...
On December 17, 2008, record cold temperatures and snowfalls east of the Cascade Mountains kick off what will become nearly two weeks of wild weather that eventually impacts most of the state. Spokane...
On December 30, 2008, officers of the Seattle Japanese Language School (SJLS) and the Nikkei Heritage Association of Washington (NHAW) officially agree to merge their organizations at a signing ceremo...
On January 3, 2009, members and descendants of Seattle's First People, the Duwamish Tribe, held a Grand Opening ceremony at their beautiful new Duwamish Longhouse and Cultural Center (4705 West Margin...
On January 7, 2009, Royal Alley-Barnes (b. 1946), a veteran administrator with the Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, becomes executive director of the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center ...
On January 9, 2009, the Hearst Corporation, owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, announces that the newspaper is up for sale. The P-I's parent company states that unless a buyer is found within 60...
Early Friday morning on January 16, 2009, a fire breaks out at the Alki Homestead restaurant in West Seattle. The Seattle Fire Department responds quickly to a report of smoke coming from the building...
On January 31, 2009, the King County Library System (KCLS) and the City of Carnation dedicate the new $3.7 million Carnation Library, built on the site of its previous building at 4804 Tolt Avenue in ...
On March 4, 2009, the the lumber-carrying and cod-fishing schooner Wawona, her masts cut to stumps and name board askew on the crumbling stern, is towed from her longtime berth in Waterway 4 in South ...
On March 17, 2009, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer publishes its final edition, bringing an end to a history that began 146 years earlier, on a hand-cranked wooden press in a frontier town of only a fe...
On March 19, 2009, Sounders FC makes its Major League Soccer debut, beating the New York Red Bulls 3-0 before a capacity crowd at Qwest Field. It is a rousing start for an expansion team, and not only...
On April 23, 2009, bartender James Hakel (b. 1981) ends his tenure as official director of libations for HistoryLink.org. Hakel, who has overseen HistoryLink's weekly staff meetings at the Red Lion Ho...
On May 6, 2009, Avista Utilities, the Sierra Club and the Center for Environmental Law & Policy work out a dam-relicensing agreement that restores full-time flows to the Spokane Falls in downtown Spok...