Washington
Karen Keiser appointed to Washington Health Benefit Exchange Board – The B-Town (Burien) Blog

Former Washington State Senator Karen Keiser has been appointed to the Washington Health Benefit Exchange (Exchange) Board of Directors, the organization announced this week.
Keiser, who retired last year after serving nearly 30 years in the state Legislature, was appointed by former Gov. Jay Inslee before he left office in mid-January.
“We are excited to welcome Karen Keiser to the Exchange Board. Throughout her time in the Senate, Karen shaped Washington state’s implementation of the Affordable Care Act and championed numerous policies to improve access to high-quality, affordable health care,” said Exchange CEO Ingrid Ulrey. “Her background and expertise will help guide the Exchange into the future.”
Keiser, a longtime advocate for health care reform, played a key role in expanding Washington’s health coverage during her tenure as chair of the Senate Health Care Committee.
“I am so pleased to take on this new role on the Exchange Board,” Keiser said. “When I became Chair of the Senate Health Care Committee, our state’s uninsurance rate was near 16%. With the effective implementation of what was called ‘Obamacare,’ the Exchange successfully reduced our uninsured rate to below 5%. I am thrilled to join the Exchange to protect and expand those gains.”
Keiser represented Washington’s 33rd Legislative District, which includes Burien, Des Moines, Kent, Normandy Park, and SeaTac. She was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1996 and later to the Senate, where she became its most senior member before her retirement.
Before her political career, Keiser worked as a broadcast journalist in Portland, Denver, and Seattle, and later as the communications director for the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. She holds degrees in political science from UC Berkeley and a master’s in journalism.
The Washington Health Benefit Exchange oversees Washington Healthplanfinder, the state’s online health insurance marketplace, and Washington Apple Health (Medicaid). Enrollment in Apple Health is available year-round, while the next open enrollment period for Washington Healthplanfinder runs from Nov. 1, 2025, to Jan. 15, 2026.
For more information on health insurance options, visit wahbexchange.org.
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Washington
Washington lottery player hits $7.4 million jackpot. See where the ticket was sold

Biggest Mega Millions win of all-time, Publix grocery store in Florida in 2023
The biggest Mega Millions win of all-time is $1.58 billion, won in Florida in 2023.
Another multimillionaire is born.
One lucky player in Washington state won $7.4 million after hitting the jackpot in the Lotto game, Washington’s Lottery announced in a June 6 news release.
The player, whose name was not released, purchased the ticket at the QFC in Enumclaw at 1009 Monroe Avenue for the May 14, 2025, drawing, the release said.
The retailer gets a selling bonus of $74,000 and intends to donate $20,000 to the Enumclaw Food Bank, according to the release.
“It’s not every day a winning ticket is sold in your store, and our team wanted to do something special,” Brent Stewart, president at QFC, said in the release. “Donating to the Enumclaw Food Bank is the perfect way to live out our purpose to feed the human spirit and help people in our community.”
The win comes after a Mega Millions ticket worth $2 million was sold in Washington for a drawing in April.
What is the Lotto game?
Lotto is a Washington state jackpot game, according to Washington’s Lottery.
The cost of a ticket is $1, and players pick two sets of six numbers between 1 and 49. Alternately, players can have numbers selected for them with the Quick Pick system.
Jackpots start at $1 million and grow until a player hits all six numbers.
Can lottery winners in Washington remain anonymous?
Washington’s Lottery is a public agency subject to the Washington Public Records Act, according to the agency’s website. The names of lottery winners may be revealed through public records requests, even if a trust is established.
Washington
City, county weigh agreement with Washington Square developer to fix roads, sidewalks
With no immediate signs of work resuming at Washington Square, city and county staffers are recommending negotiations with the developer of the failed condominium project to compel him to repair public roads and sidewalks surrounding what has become a downtown eyesore.
As of May 1, city code enforcement and permit violations reached more than $413,350 in fines and commissioners voted last month to “take legal action to foreclose code liens and seek recovery of other legal remedies,” city documents said.
Aside from the liens, both city and county staffers have had discussions with property owner Ken McDermott regarding “restoration of the sidewalks and traffic lanes that were closed on Gadsden (Leon County road), Calhoun (Leon County road) and Jefferson (city road).”
On June 11, city commissioners will take up whether to enter into an agreement.
“If the city and developer can agree on the restoration work, the terms can be incorporated into a written agreement,” city documents said. “This agreement could be joint with the county (and include the county right-of-way) or could be solely with the city (and specific to Jefferson Street).”
The mixed-use project was once a promising development billed as downtown’s next big thing with proposed office space, a garage and a Loews Hotel. Construction began in late 2019 but work came to a screeching halt by May 2020.
What followed were lawsuits with the city regarding easement disputes and contractors stating they hadn’t been paid for the full scope of services. The development, which occupies a city block on Calhoun Street, is now a graffiti-tagged eyesore with rusted rebar jetting out of cement.
Work hasn’t picked up in five years, despite hints as of last year from McDermott that there was early interest from undisclosed parties to erect a scaled-down development on the site.
“This time, early plans describe a seven-story hotel with 160 rooms and 100 apartments at 219 S. Calhoun St. (formerly the site of the Ausley and McMullen law firm) compared to the property’s original grand plan for 270+ hotel rooms, office space and a four-story garage,” an August 2024 article in the Tallahassee Democrat stated.
At its June 10 meeting, county commissioners will decide whether to direct staff to enter into an agreement for restoration work for the county’s right-of-way areas.
The work, at the developer’s expense, would include milling, resurfacing and restriping, planting vegetation and removing all materials from the right-of-way that may include fencing and barricades. The county notes “McDermott is willing to complete the restoration work as quickly as possible.”
“Should the present negotiations with the owner and developer fail, or should the owner and developer enter into the agreement and thereafter fail to perform, the County Attorney recommends that the Board authorize staff to file a lawsuit against the Developer and Owner on behalf the County seeking all legal remedies available at law and equity,” county document said.
Contact Economic Development Reporter TaMaryn Waters at tlwaters@tallahassee.com and follow @TaMarynWaters on X.
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