NEWS
(NORTHWEST WASHINGTON)- A significant drop in home mortgage rates is positive for both buyers and sellers, according to a leading Northwest Washington real-estate broker. According to Mortgage News Daily, the average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage dropped 16 basis points to 6.29% on Friday, Sept. 5, following the release of an August employment report that was weaker than expected. The 30-year fixed rate has been gradually declining since hitting a peak of 7.08% in May. “Mortgage rates are now hovering right around the low 6% range,” said Kena Brashear, co-owner and designated broker for The Muljat Group in Bellingham in a news release. (read more)
(OLYMPIA)– The Office of the Secretary of State (OSOS) announced on Tuesday, Sept. 9, that it will fund Multi-State Information Sharing & Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) membership costs for all 39 county auditors and elections offices. The MS-ISAC is a trusted cybersecurity partner to over 18,000 state, local, tribal, and territorial government organizations who offer low-cost cybersecurity tools. Membership provides counties access to cyber threat intelligence, incident response support, and real-time information sharing – services that will help further protect county elections infrastructure, according to a news release from the Office of the Secretary of State. “Protecting election security at the local level where our elections (read more)
(MOUNT VERNON)- Skagit Valley College (SVC) has announced that SVC instructor, Sunaina Virendra, has been selected as a fellow in the Northwest Accreditation Commission’s Higher Education Leadership and Innovation Fellowship for 2025-26. Virendra serves as department chair for the college’s applied bachelor’s programs in management and healthcare management, according to a news release from SVC. This prestigious fellowship recognizes outstanding leadership and dedication to higher education. The fellowship supports higher education leaders in developing and implementing initiatives that enhance institutional effectiveness, promote student success, and foster sustainable academic programming. Fellows engage in collaborative research and strategic (read more)
(SKAGIT COUNTY)- Three teenage entrepreneurs received $9,000 in awards Aug. 27 from Youthpreneurs of NW Washington to help them grow businesses they launched. Malachi Larsen, 19, of Burlington was named Youthpreneur of the Year and given a $5,000 award, according to a news release. As a sophomore at Burlington-Edison High School, he founded Pacific Kickz, which buys, sells and trades rare sneakers and clothing locally and online internationally. Ella Jones, 15, of Ella’s Photo Booth in Burlington and Gunnar Williamsom of Custom Freeze Drying in Mount Vernon each received $2,000 honorable mention awards. The awards were open to teenagers and young adults up to (read more)
(OLYMPIA)– The state Commercial Aviation Work Group will host its fourth public meeting of 2025 Wednesday, Sept. 17, at the Union Gap City Hall. This will be the group’s seventh meeting overall since it was created by the state Legislature in 2023, according to a news release from the Washington State Department of Transportation. The work group was formed to evaluate the long-range commercial aviation and transportation needs of the state. Members are asked to research alternatives for more aviation capacity and expanding the use of existing airports and multimodal opportunities. The work group is not tasked with searching for or building (read more)