On November 8, 2005, Washington voters overwhelmingly approve a sweeping ban on smoking indoors (and near doorways), and authorize performance audits of government agencies. Two initiatives proposing...
On December 6, 2005, Spokane voters recall Mayor Jim West (1951-2006) from office by a margin of 65 percent to 35 percent in a special single-question election. Ten days later, the election will be ce...
On December 8, 2005, a new anti-smoking law goes into effect in Washington state, banning smoking in all public places and work areas and requiring people who light up to stay at least 25 feet away fr...
On December 16, 2005, the Future of Flight Aviation Center at Paine Field in Mukilteo opens its doors to the public. With an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and speeches by Governor Christine Gregoir...
On December 22, 2005, Weyerhaeuser Company's large-log sawmill in Aberdeen closes after 81 years of operation. Eighty-three employees, some of them third-generation sawmill workers, lose their jobs. A...
On January 24, 2006, two murder suspects attempt to flee into Canada at the Peace Arch Crossing in Blaine. The suspects, wanted in a murder case in Richmond, California, flee northbound on Interstat...
On January 31, 2006, Governor Christine Gregoire (b. 1947) signs a law that adds "sexual orientation" to existing prohibitions on discrimination in employment, housing, lending, and insurance. The sig...
On February 5, 2006, the Seattle Seahawks play in Super Bowl XL (No. 40), marking their first appearance in the National Football League’s championship game. They face the Pittsburg...
On February 14, 2006, Seattle-based Theo Chocolate makes its first batch of chocolate bars, becoming the nation's first producer of organic and free-trade chocolates. The company, founded by Joe Whinn...
On March 21, 2006, after years of controversy and litigation delays, King County officially opens the central seven miles of the East Lake Sammamish Trail. The 11-mile trail runs from the end of the ...
On March 25, 2006, Kyle Huff opens fire at a rave afterparty held at 2112 E Republican Street in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Six people are killed and two are wounded. Police officer Steve L...
On April 10, 2006, more than 15,000 people, mostly Latinos, converge from across the state to march through the streets of Seattle to protest a bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 4...
On May 1, 2006, thousands of people march the streets of Seattle and Yakima in support of immigrants' rights in some of the largest marches in recent history. The march, characterized as "the day with...
On May 27, 2006, a major exhibit of work by ceramics artist Akio Takamori (1950-2017) opens at the Tacoma Art Museum. Titled Between Clouds of Memory: Akio Takamori, A Mid-Career Survey, it includes w...
On June 5, 2006, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service approve Washington's Habitat Conservation Plan enacted by the State Legislature in 1999. Under the plan, p...
On June 11, 2006, Intiman Theatre Artistic Director Bartlett Sher (b. 1959) and Managing Director Laura Penn (b. 1961) accept the 2006 Regional Theatre Tony Award at Radio City Music Hall in New York ...
On July 2, 2006, the 500-foot Kaiser Aluminum smokestack -- 38-year fixture on the Tacoma waterfront -- is demolished to make room for Port of Tacoma expansion of marine terminals along the Blair Wate...
On July 6, 2006, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and the City of Seattle sign the Muckleshoot Settlement Agreement. The agreement resolves the issues raised in a 2003 lawsuit challenging the city's Cedar...
On July 7, 2006, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (b. 1955) ceremonially welds the first rail of the planned South Lake Union Streetcar line between downtown Seattle and Lake Union. U.S. Senator Patty Murra...
On July 15, 2006, the Northgate Branch of The Seattle Public Library opens its doors to patrons. The $6.7 million building is the first branch for the Northgate neighborhood and was built with funds f...
In the early morning hours of July 17, 2006, Conner M. Schierman, age 24, breaks into the home of the Milkin family and stabs to death Olga Milkin, age 28, her two sons, Justin, age 5 and Andrew, age ...
On July 22, 2006, Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo officially opens a 1918 wooden carousel with hand-carved horses donated by Seattleites Tom and Linda Allen of the Alleniana Foundation in December 2000. ...
On August 5, 2006, the old Cascade Lumber Company mill in Yakima is closed by Yakima Resources, Inc. after 103 years of operation. The mill first opened in 1903 to cut lumber floated down the Teanaway...
On August 7, 2006, four men brandishing weapons rob the Bank of America branch in South Tacoma of $54,011. An alert bystander sees the bandits exit from an automobile wearing balaclavas and carrying h...