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2012 was off to a good start, according to the Oregon Employment Department.
State economist, Nick Beleiciks, says more people are working in manufacturing, education, health services and the financial industry.

Nick Beleiciks: "The monthly job gains was really large. It's the largest we've seen in the last year. 54-hundred jobs in January. The last time we had a one month gain like that was last January. So that was a nice surprise."

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are hurtling toward a deadline to adjourn next Thursday. Majority Democrats still have to agree on a plan to re-balance the state budget. Tuesday, Senate Democrats unveiled a blueprint that includes a controversial move: paying a couple of bills a day late.

BOISE, Idaho — A controversial bill that would stop the wind energy industry for two years has narrowly passed an Idaho House panel.

The House Local Government Committee passed the measure late Wednesday. The vote followed nearly four hours of testimony from supporters and opponents.

This bill doesn’t do away with government subsidies for wind farms. But it does put the brakes on an industry that has seen tremendous growth over the past several years.

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- If you buy your own health plan, you probably go through an insurance broker. By next year you’ll be able to shop through a health insurance exchange. Most states are creating their own marketplace for people to compare and shop for health plans. Reporter Ruby de Luna has a preview of what Washington's exchange could look like, and what to expect.

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon lawmakers are negotiating a way to wrap up business this week. They’re scheduled to adjourn on Wednesday. Some bills are passing, but major legislation remains bottled up in committee.

The oil company BP is zeroing in on a cause for last week's explosion at its big Cherry Point refinery near Ferndale, Washington. But the investigation and repairs are moving slowly. That doesn't bode well for gasoline prices in Western Washington and Oregon. Correspondent Tom Banse reports.

SPIRIT LAKE, Idaho - Idaho is one of only three states that don’t consider animal cruelty a felony. That would change under a bill now in the Idaho House. The measure allows up to a year in jail and a $9,000 fine for the worst types of abuse. Yet the measure hasn’t drawn cheers from animal rescue groups.

In the Washington state Senate, a short-lived era of bipartisan cooperation on the budget appears over. Majority Democrats Tuesday will unveil their plan to rebalance the budget. But Republican leaders say they won’t be there.

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Washington voters consistently send Democratic majorities to the statehouse. But four times over the past 20 years they’ve also voted to require a supermajority of the legislature to raise taxes. Most recently, in 2010. Now a group of Democratic lawmakers and their allies are challenging the constitutionality of that two-thirds rule. Oral arguments are scheduled for March 9th. Olympia Correspondent Austin Jenkins previews the case.

SALEM, Ore. – Oregon is putting the finishing touches on a gleaming new mental health hospital. The Salem facility replaces a crumbling 130-year-old building and is hailed as a new chapter in the state's troubled history of treating people judged guilty but insane. But there are far more mentally ill people in Oregon’s standard prisons. And the inmates with the most severe mental problems are housed in a ward designed for hardened criminals. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman found that facility isn’t designed for treatment.