On April 19, 2005, King County is officially renamed in honor of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) when Governor Christine Gregoire (b. 1947) signs into law Senate Bill 5332. The sig...
On April 24, 2005, hours before the State Legislature adjourns for the year, a bipartisan majority in the House of Representatives approves a 16-year, $8.5 billion transportation revenue package, the ...
On May 14, 2005, the Lao Highland Community Center, a project of the Lao Highland Association, opens in southeast Seattle near the Othello Playground. The community center, located at 3925 S Bozeman S...
On May 14, 2005, the new Ballard Branch, The Seattle Public Library, opens at 5614 22nd Avenue NW. The library's sloping roof has 17 solar panels at its peak and is covered with low-water-use native ...
In May 2005, the Cascade Land Conservancy (later renamed Forterra) outlines the Cascade Agenda, a 100-year conservation plan to protect 1.3 million acres of forest, farms, and other Puget Sound land. ...
On June 6, 2005, Chelan County Superior Court Judge John E. Bridges concludes the closest and most contested governor's race in state history by rejecting numerous Republican challenges and upholding ...
Beginning on June 7, 2005, archaeologists from Eastern Washington University unearth Native American artifacts from People's Park in Spokane, and their discoveries reveal the site as the oldest contin...
On June 11, 2005, the new $735,000 International District/Chinatown Branch, The Seattle Public Library, opens at 713 8th Avenue S. The branch is situated in the International District Village Square I...
On June 25, 2005, at 1 p.m., past and present library staff, city officials, and residents gather at the Bothell Library to celebrate 100 years of library service to the community. Fifty-nine of those...
On June 30, 2005, sailing vessels from around the world enter Commencement Bay in a Parade of Sail that kicks off Tacoma's first Tall Ships Festival. For the next five days, 29 tall ships, highlighted...
On July 16, 2005, Virginia Mason Medical Center opens its expanded Center for Hyperbaric Medicine on Seattle's First Hill. Featuring two large pressure vessels capable of accommodating up to 16 seated...
On Wednesday afternoon, July 20, 2005, federal agents conduct a drug raid at a stash-house on the U.S.-Canadian Border, north of Lynden, Washington, arresting three men for conspiracy to smuggle marij...
On July 20, 2005, James Doohan dies from pneumonia and complications from Alzheimer's disease at his home in Redmond. Doohan is best known for portraying Engineer Montgomery Scott in the original Star...
On July 30, 2005, the Tri-Cities Fever wins the National Indoor Football League championship in its first year of existence. Tri-Cities overcame early season difficulties and personnel changes to beat...
On August 1, 2005, the Seattle City Council approves renaming a two-block stretch of street in honor of the Fremont Troll sculpture that graces its north end. Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1955) says that th...
Between August 5 and August 19, 2005, a wildfire burns nearly 52,000 acres of terrain in central Columbia and Garfield counties in the Blue Mountains. More than 100 homes and another 100 outbuildings ...
On August 13, 2005, Ebey Waterfront Park in Marysville opens. The 5.4-acre park and boat ramp caps 60 years of talk among Marysville citizens to build a site on Ebey Slough that will provide easy acc...
On August 17, 2005, Sound Transit installs the first rails for the Central Link light rail line. The line will run from SODO (south of downtown Seattle) to Tukwila and then to the airport. It is sched...
At noon on Friday, September 2, 2005, in what has become an annual tradition since their creation in 2003, the Mayor's Arts Awards are presented by Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1955) as part of Bumb...
On September 11, 2005, the childhood home of the rock star Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970) is moved from Seattle's Central Area to Renton. The move ends a four-year struggle over the house between the City o...
On the weekend of September 16-18, 2005, Spokane celebrates the opening of the reconstructed Monroe Street Bridge, which spans the dramatic Spokane River gorge. The new bridge faithfully replicates th...
On September 20, 2005, four members of the Metropolitan King County Council square off in two contested primaries, one Republican and one Democratic, to decide who will be eliminated from the council....
From October 14 through 17, 2005, the Tri-Cities celebrates the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had explored the area 200 years before, in 1805. Peop...
On October 22, 2005, the Lake City Branch, The Seattle Public Library, reopens after a $3,883,201 expansion project. Located at 12501 28th Avenue NE, it is the 17th project completed as part of "Libra...