Nisqually Valley News

12/08/2025

Thurston County has hired a new health officer to serve in the county’s Public Health & Social Services Department (PHSS).

Dr. Barbra Villona will serve as the county’s lead medical authority on communicable disease response, health advisories and key public health policy decisions, the county announced Thursday.

The announcement comes after a year-long, highly competitive recruitment process, the county stated in a news release.

Thurston County has hired a new health officer to serve in the county’s Public Health & Social Services Department (PHSS). Dr. Barbra Villona will serve as the county’s lead …

12/08/2025

Three people were hospitalized after a six-vehicle crash involving a school bus and a car hauler on northbound Interstate 5 in Thurston County on Thursday morning.

There were no kids on the school bus at the time of the crash, according to reporting by KIRO 7 News.

The driver of the car hauler, identified by the Washington State Patrol as Juan Hernandez Santos, 40, of De Huentitilan, Mexico, was arrested for driving without a valid commercial driver’s license.

The car hauler was reportedly driving northbound on I-5 at Martin Way in Lacey when the cars in front of it slowed for traffic, according to the state patrol.

Three people were hospitalized after a six-vehicle crash involving a school bus and a car hauler on northbound Interstate 5 in Thurston County on Thursday morning. There were no kids on the …

12/08/2025

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Geoffrey Stiller operated on the cutting edge.

In 2017, the Spokane-area doctor began offering surgeries that he said nobody else was performing in Washington, Idaho or Montana. Vaginoplasties with pe**le inversions — removing most of a transgender person’s p***s and constructing a va**na in its place — helped put Stiller on the map.

When Stiller faced conservative backlash at a small-town hospital, the Washington Post wrote a glowing story about his compassion for trans patients. When he was picked as the surgeon to perform a gender-transition operation on an Idaho prisoner, public radio profiled him at length. And when the number of gender-transition surgeries almost tripled from 2016 to 2019, the New York Post illustrated the story with Stiller’s picture.

Yet in the past five years, running clinics in Spokane and Moscow, Idaho, Stiller has been sued for malpractice four times. The latest suit was filed earlier this year by Ashley Miller, both a patient and later an employee, who alleged a series of ethical lapses by Stiller, including involving an unlicensed staff member in a procedure, reusing implants, sexually harassing staff, keeping shoddy medical records, and potentially performing surgery while intoxicated.

In one instance, a front office supervisor with no medical training assisted with removing part of a trans patient’s p***s — an event captured in a photograph presented to her as a gag gift during an employee’s birthday party, Miller’s lawsuit claims.

Cosmetic surgeon Dr. Geoffrey Stiller operated on the cutting edge.  In 2017, the Spokane-area doctor began offering surgeries that he said nobody else was performing in Washington, Idaho …

12/07/2025

House and Senate Republicans say they have a “front row seat to a train wreck” next month as the Legislature prepares to fill a $2 billion state deficit with more taxes amid record spending.

State lawmakers will convene for the 2026 legislative session on Jan. 12, but will only have 60 days to fill the shortfall, compared to the 105-day caucus this year. Democrats passed the largest tax increase in state history last April to fill another deficit estimated at around $16 billion, with almost no time to spare.

The majority submitted its revenue proposals 12 days before the end of the last session, with little input from Republicans, who wanted to balance spending without new taxes. Facing another deficit, rumors are milling about a potentially unconstitutional income tax, with a $5 billion proposal already on the table.

“You know, Republicans have got ideas as well to actually help us get out of this, but it comes down to the average citizen,” Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane Valley, told The Center Square, alluding to repeated tax hikes as of late. “Are you broke yet? Gosh, you probably will be after the 2026 session, that’s for sure.”

House and Senate Republicans say they have a “front row seat to a train wreck” next month as the Legislature prepares to fill a $2 billion state deficit with more taxes amid record …

12/07/2025

A judge last month once again upheld Washington’s 2023 law banning the sale of certain semiautomatic fi****ms classified as assault weapons.

But the dispute is likely not over. The gun rights advocacy group suing to overturn the ban says it will appeal. And whether restrictions like Washington’s are constitutional may eventually be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Washington’s law doesn’t prohibit owning assault weapons, just their manufacture, importation, distribution or sale. The term “assault weapon” is defined in the law, including with a list of specific firearm models, such as AR-15s.

The Silent Majority Foundation, along with gun sellers in Moses Lake and Ephrata and individuals, sued over the ban in 2023 in Thurston County Superior Court. They say it violates the state constitution that protects the right to bear arms.

A judge last month once again upheld Washington’s 2023 law banning the sale of certain semiautomatic fi****ms classified as assault weapons. But the dispute is likely not over. The gun …

12/06/2025

Gov. Bob Ferguson warned Tuesday that the budget proposal he’ll release this month will rely solely on spending cuts and not higher taxes to overcome what he says is a multi-billion dollar shortfall.

“That’s the plan,” Ferguson told reporters at the state Capitol. “I don’t plan on balancing the budget with revenue.”

“It’s a fluid situation, as you might imagine, but that is our focus right now,” Ferguson said.

The first-term Democrat also said he would not sign any increase in sales or property taxes, two established options lawmakers could use to raise revenue quickly.

Ferguson’s comments offered the clearest insight yet on his approach to writing his first spending plan, due out in about two weeks. It puts him at odds with progressive Democrats clamoring for new taxes on wealthy residents and large corporations.

Gov. Bob Ferguson warned Tuesday that the budget proposal he’ll release this month will rely solely on spending cuts and not higher taxes to overcome what he says is a multi-billion dollar …

12/06/2025

IN FOCUS: Residents of Yelm and surrounding communities got an early taste of the holiday season, as the annual Christmas in the Park Parade rolled down Yelm Avenue during the morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 6.

Attendees began lining up for the annual event well before 8:30 a.m. and Joseph Richardson, Yelm City Councilor, kept folks entertained as he emceed the parade.

Christmas in the Park activities continue today through 2 p.m. at Yelm City Park!

Photos by NVN editor Jacob Dimond.

12/06/2025

IN FOCUS: Residents of Yelm and surrounding communities got an early taste of the holiday season, as the annual Christmas in the Park Parade rolled down Yelm Avenue during the morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 6.

Christmas in the Park activities continue today through 2 p.m. at Yelm City Park!

Photos by NVN editor Jacob Dimond. More pictures from today’s parade to come!

12/06/2025

Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, on Tuesday held a press conference to announce legislation for a new payroll excise tax on high-income earners, aimed at “protecting Washington’s budget and public services from the severe impacts of H.R. 1, the federal tax package recently passed by Congressional Republicans and Donald Trump,” according to Scott’s press release.

On the steps of the legislative building in Olympia, the first-term Democrat told a dozen reporters that “progressive revenue” is needed to ensure that the ultra-wealthy pay their fair share.

The representative's payroll excise tax proposal is intended to offset federal funding cuts that President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4.

Scott's legislation aims to generate more than $2 billion annually for social service programs that are facing funding cuts at the federal level.

The bill would target private employers whose workers earn more than $125,000 a year. It would impose a 5% tax on payroll expenses above that salary threshold. Companies with more than 50 workers, a payroll exceeding $7 million, and gross receipts exceeding $5 million would be subject to the tax.

Rep. Shaun Scott, D-Seattle, on Tuesday held a press conference to announce legislation for a new payroll excise tax on high-income earners, aimed at “protecting Washington’s budget and …

12/06/2025

When the longtime superintendent of the Washington State School for the Blind resigned this summer, he blamed harassment from a former employee.

An investigative report, obtained via public records request, concluded Scott McCallum himself sexually harassed a female colleague during his final years on the job.

The investigation, completed in mid-May, found McCallum hugged a female coworker and softly said in her ear twice that “you look good.” She reported feeling sick and losing sleep after the 2024 incident.

McCallum confirmed to investigators that he’d hugged the woman, saying he hardly recognized her because she’d lost weight. He said his comment about her looks was not sexual.

In an earlier incident, McCallum was accused of showing a woman a picture of his buttocks while flipping through his phone’s camera roll during a school award ceremony. McCallum said it was unintentional, calling the moment embarrassing. He said the photo was taken to show sores from his new rowing machine. It wasn’t clear from the report if this was the same woman from the hugging incident.

When the longtime superintendent of the Washington State School for the Blind resigned this summer , he blamed harassment from a former employee. An investigative report, obtained via public …

12/06/2025

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FREE Pictures with Santa is happening now until 7 pm at the Yelm Community Center!