On February 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that the first person in the United States had died from COVID-19 — a man in his fifties living in Washington state. Since then, close to 28 million Americans have been infected with the novel (new) coronavirus, officially known as SARS-CoV-2, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
- PUB DATE: 3/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: Everyday Health

One year ago this weekend, on Leap Day 2020, what was then the nation’s first known coronavirus death was announced here in the Puget Sound. Seattle-King County Public Health stated that the death was a man in his 50s at EvergreenHealth Medical Center in Kirkland. Public Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin also noted a cluster of COVID-19 cases at Life Care Center in Kirkland, the greatest number of cases seen in one spot in Washington to that date.
- PUB DATE: 3/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: My Northwest

A man trapped under a heavy bale of hay at a Franklin County farm has been airlifted to the hospital Monday morning for treatment of injuries. Franklin County sheriff's deputies and fire crews responded to the scene, near Peterson Road, at about 5 a.m. and found the 50-year-old local man trapped under the hay bale, estimated to weigh about 1,500 pounds.
- PUB DATE: 3/1/2021 12:00:00 AM - SOURCE: KOMO-TV ABC 4 Seattle

The last time the ground shook in a big way in Washington was 20 years ago, and here are a few things that happened: The tower at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport twisted and buckled, shattering windows as an air traffic controller warned off approaching planes. In Seattle's Pioneer Square, brick walls and parapets peeled away from centuries-old buildings, flattening cars and clogging roads with tons of debris.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2021 9:48:08 AM - SOURCE: Centralia Chronicle

In the midst of a global pandemic, two local firefighters have gone above and beyond to help not just their communities, but the country, work toward recovery. “It’s a chance to give back to someone that you don’t know and that needs you the most,” said Adam Wunsch, a firefighter and paramedic with the Burlington Fire Department.
- PUB DATE: 2/28/2021 12:18:29 AM - SOURCE: Skagit Valley Herald (GoSkagit.com)