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...
On June 13, 2009, a new Burien Library officially opens as part of Burien Town Square, a public-private development intended to revitalize the city's downtown core. The library shares a three-story bu...
On July 1, 2009, activist Estela Ortega becomes the executive director of El Centro de la Raza (The Center for People of All Races), a community gathering place in Seattle’s Beacon Hill neighbor...
On July 18, 2009, Seattle's light-rail era begins as Sound Transit's Link light-rail trains carry their first passengers between downtown Seattle and Tukwila in south King County. The event, anticipat...
On July 29, 2009, a scorching weeklong heat wave across the Pacific Northwest peaks with record-high temperatures being set in various area towns. Seattle reaches 103 degrees Fahrenheit for the first ...
On July 29, 2009, a record-breaking 103-degree day in the Puget Sound region, a ribbon-cutting celebration is held in Tacoma's New Salishan neighborhood for the grand opening of the Kimi and George Ta...
On Sunday, August 2, 2009, Everett citizens celebrate the renewal of the 1911 Snohomish County courthouse with a tour of the facility, a display and program about its history, and a ribbon-cutting cer...
On August 18, 2009, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1955) finishes third in the primary election and loses his seat after two influential terms in which he built a national reputation as an environment...
On September 4, 2009, visual artist Jesse Higman; Seattle Opera director Speight Jenkins (b. 1937); Artist Trust, a nonprofit providing support to individual artists; Northwest Tap Connection, an urba...
On October 7, 2009, workers install a sparkling new vertical marquee on the historic Paramount Theatre at 9th Avenue and Pine Street in Seattle. The marquee, fabricated by The Sign Factory of Kirkland...
On October 11, 2009, at 6 a.m., a massive landslide in the Nile Valley demolishes a half-mile of State Route 410 and redirects the flow of the Naches River. This is one of the largest landslides in th...