SEATTLE (AP) — The abolishment of the death penalty was voted the state’s top news story of 2018 by Associated Press staff and member editors.

Other top news items of the past 12 months included the awarding of a new professional hockey franchise for Seattle, the death of Microsoft co-found Paul Allen, the end of a long-running court battle over education funding, the airline employee who stole an airplane from Sea-Tac and was chased by military jets before crashing it into a small island in Puget Sound, the suicide of  Washington State quarterback Tyler Hilinski, and the ongoing plight of our local orcas, notably the mother that kept her dead calf afloat for three weeks, drawing international attention.