On October 13, 1978, a new section of Interstate 90 opens to traffic, bypassing the city of North Bend. This eliminates Washington's last I-90 stoplight, which was in downtown North Bend when the high...
On Sunday evening, October 22, 1978, federal agents conduct drug raids on Barnes Island in the San Juan Islands and at a stash-house in Sumas, Whatcom County, arrest six men and seize 91 bales of mari...
On October 30, 1978, the Committee of 33 is officially incorporated under Washington law as a 501-C nonprofit organization. First established in the 1960s, the elite organization of women, whose membe...
On November 7, 1978, Seattle voters reject Initiative 13 decisively, by nearly two to one. Initiative 13 would have repealed city ordinances protecting employment and housing rights for homosexuals an...
On November 7, 1978, King County Councilman Mike Lowry (1939-2017) wins a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives by defeating incumbent Republican Congressman Jack Cunningham. The race is contentio...
On November 25, 1978, a gathering of more than 2,000 people commemorates the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans at the first Day of Remembrance program, held at the Western Washington Fair gr...
On December 8, 1978, a federal grand jury indicts 15 men in Pierce County, including Sheriff George V. Janovich (1928-2005), for engaging in a widespread racketeering conspiracy. The gang, known as â...
On December 15, 1978, the Smoke Shop on the Tulalip Reservation west of Marysville in Snohomish County makes its first liquor sales. The store's entry into the liquor business comes later than planned...
On January 1, 1979, after nearly four years in Alburquerque, New Mexico, Bill Gates (b. 1955) and Paul Allen (1953-2018) move their fledgling computer-software company to Bellevue. The move returns th...
On January 8, 1979, state representatives elect both Republican Duane Berentson (1928-2013) and Democrat John Bagnariol (ca. 1932-2009) to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. The novel arrange...
On January 12, 1979, Bellingham Police detectives arrest Kenneth A. Bianchi as the prime suspect in the strangulation murders of two Western Washington University students, Karen L. Mandic and Diane A...
On February 3, 1979, Chinese Vice Premier Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), arrives in Seattle for a 40-hour visit. Deng, whose name is also sometimes written as "Teng Hsiao-ping," is on the last leg of a ni...