On November 17, 1998, Governing Magazine names Seattle Public Utilities director Diana Gale one of America's Public Officials of the Year at a Washington, D. C. banquet attended by President Bill Clin...
On Wednesday afternoon, November 25, 1998, an explosion and fire erupts in the coking plant at the Equilon Puget Sound Refinery in Anacortes, killing six refinery workers who were attempting to restar...
On November 27, 1998, in the worst bus accident of Metro's 25-year history, the driver of a southbound Route 359 express bus is shot twice as the bus begins crossing the Aurora Bridge, which crosses t...
On December 15, 1998, after a decade of planning and a year of construction, Sammamish's first library opens. Part of the King County Library System (KCLS), it is located at 825 228th Avenue NE in the...
On January 11, 1999, state representatives elect both Republican Clyde Ballard and Democrat Frank Chopp to be Speaker of the House of Representatives. The designation of two co-Speakers, instead of th...
On January 15, 1999, the HistoryLink.org website is launched. HistoryLink.org is a free, evolving online encyclopedia of Seattle and King County history, which will soon expand to cover the entire sta...
In December 1999, Comite Pro-Amnistia General Y Justicia Social is organized as a grassroots organization in Seattle to draw attention to the plight of immigrant laborers in Western Washington. The gr...
In 1999, science-fiction writer Octavia Butler (1947-2006) moves to Seattle. Butler, one of the few African American women to achieve significant success as a science-fiction writer, has already had a...
On March 16, 1999, the Department of the Interior lists nine salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest as endangered species. They join 15 other population groups of salmon already so listed. The listing c...
On March 17, 1999, the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBA) approves a mission statement for Built Green, a residential building program designed to help home buyers and ow...
On March 17, 1999, Seattle's new Town Hall is launched with a free celebration of "Seattle's Favorite Poems," hosted by Robert Pinsky (b. 1940), poet laureate of the United States. As a warm-up for th...
On March 26, 1999, Microsoft Corporation stock splits for the eighth time since the stock became available to the public on March 13, 1986.
On February 4, 1999, senior partners of Bogle & Gates vote to dissolve the 108-year-old law firm effective March 31. The decision is precipitated by the defection of eight key lawyers to the Minne...
On April 16, 1999, Washington Governor Gary Locke signs into law SB 5734, which sets forth April 16 as Mother Joseph Day and September 4 as Marcus Whitman Day. These days (which are not legal holidays...
On April 19, 1999, Seattle's Space Needle officially becomes a city historic landmark, perpetuating the legacy of the Seattle Center as a distinctive local institution.
On May 17, 1999, for the first time in more than 70 years, Makah whalers successfully hunt a gray whale in the waters off the Olympic Peninsula, where their ancestors hunted whales for thousands of ye...
On May 28, 1999, King County officials formally dedicate Cottage Lake Park. The 22-acre park on the north shore of Cottage Lake is located on the site near Woodinville where for many years Norm and Ge...
On June 7, 1999, the Forests and Fish Agreement between private timberland owners, tribes, and state and federal government agencies results in the state Salmon Recovery Plan which is signed into law....
On Thursday afternoon, June 10, 1999, a 16-inch fuel line owned by the Olympic Pipe Line Company ruptures in Bellingham, spilling 277,200 gallons of gasoline into Hanna and Whatcom creeks. The volatil...
On June 22, 1999, Seattle Rape Relief, the oldest rape crisis center in the United States, announces that it will close.
On July 15, 1999, Safeco Field -- a long-sought, baseball-only stadium with a retractable roof -- opens to critical acclaim and some public resentment. The new half-billion dollar home of the Seattle ...
On July 21, 1999, the Kitsap County Commissioners declare Port Gamble a Rural Historic Town, laying the groundwork for development of the old company town. Port Gamble was owned by Puget Mill Co. and ...
On August 22, 1999, after weeks of rumors, Bill and Melinda Gates officially confirm their intention to reorganize and expand their philanthropic activities as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation....
On August 31, 1999, the City of Sammamish formally incorporates. After a decade of wrangling, one failed vote for incorporation, and an unsuccessful attempt to annex to Issaquah, voters approved the i...