SLPD swears in newest officer, hiring for police chief

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake Police Department swore in its newest officer, Yuriy Bezzubenko at the Soap Lake City Council meeting Wednesday.

Rent stabilization bill makes progress in Olympia

OLYMPIA — A Washington bill to limit residential rate increases may have a shot at passing this year, according to its primary sponsor, state Sen. Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle. “I am very hopeful, and I think there is momentum,” Alvarado said. “I think the bill, where it’s gotten to at this point, is a compromise. I think it’s a balanced approach.”

Soap Lake council debates downsizing itself

SOAP LAKE – The Soap Lake City Council voted for the second time to postpone action on changing the number of city council members at Wednesday’s meeting. The council has seven seats and five members; however, there is a proposed ordinance to drop the council down to five seats. The ordinance would not go into effect until the next election, meaning the city still has to fill the two empty council seats regardless.

Road construction ramping up for summer

MOSES LAKE — It’s still early in the spring and as a result still early in the road construction season, but there are some long-term projects already underway. Short-term projects are starting here and there around the region. Drivers heading north to Chelan who plan to take Highway 97A Monday will encounter traffic slowdowns at the Knapps Hill tunnel north of Entiat. Maintenance and inspection work will require flagger-controlled traffic.

Odessa groundwater funding in proposed Senate budget

OLYMPIA — A funding request for a section of the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Project has been added to the proposed Senate capital budget. If it’s included in the final capital budget, the EL 22.1 lateral would receive up to $44 million in funding at the request of Ninth District Senator Mark Schoesler, R – Ritzville.

The Shack to hold grand opening tomorrow

MOSES LAKE — The Shack will hold its grand opening tomorrow from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Moses Lake. The Shack, owned by Rick Rodriguez, will carry electronic accessories similar to those carried by the now-defunct Radio Shack chain. Rodriguez previously owned the Radio Shack store in Moses Lake before the chain folded in the 2010s. The Shack is the first business to take up occupancy in the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce’s business incubator at 301 W. Broadway Ave., according to the chamber.

Law enforcement logs for April 4, 2025

The reports below were provided by the sheriff's office or police department indicated. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Tennis roundup for April 4, 2025

COLUMBIA BASIN — Here's how Basin tennis teams fared last week:

Legals for April, 4 2025

Guns, cocaine paraphernalia seized in drive-by investigation

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Police Department announced the successful execution of search warrants that resulted in officers confiscating a dozen firearms and evidence of cocaine sales at a home in the 200 block of W. Knolls Vista Drive. The search was associated with the second of two drive-by shootings in Moses Lake in less than two weeks.

Mavs take 2-0 victory over West Valley

Moses Lake looks to maintain momentum heading into remainder of season

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake Mavericks soccer team gained a 2-0 victory in a Tuesday night game against West Valley High School. “I felt pretty confident in the first half and then I kind of honestly slowed down in the second half,” said Mavs player Felimon Sanchez. “But overall, it seemed to be pretty good.”

‘Wherever there’s need’

Moses Lake Christian Academy students get an education outside the classroom

MOSES LAKE — Some Moses Lake Christian Academy students are getting a little different education this week. “We’re on our Extended Learning Week, where we send out groups of students to get experiences outside the classroom,” said MLCA teacher Tyler Tadema.

GCHD presents challenging but important work, officials say

MOSES LAKE — The Grant County Health District has a lot of jobs and, said GCHD Administrator Theresa Adkinson, some of them are pretty difficult. “We have a hard job – I tell staff that all the time,” Adkinson said. “We do really hard things. We are part of really hard conversations. But we are also community members, and we too are invested in (the decisions). Everything that we put forward as a public health agency is impacting our own families and lives. We’re also living it.”

Big baby ready for some snuggles

SOAP LAKE – Buddha is a great big boy full of love and energy. He loves to play in the water, go on walks, cuddle and sunbathe. He is still young, a little over a year old. He is a bullmastiff and boxer mix who weighs about 100 pounds. He is neutered, up to date on shots and ready to be adopted whenever. If you want to add Buddha to your family visit RockBottomRocker.org and fill out an application. If you can’t adopt right now but want to help a local shelter, visit the site and click “donate,” or reach out to the shelter via Facebook to coordinate food donations.

Grant PUD considering solar power agreement

EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District commissioners will consider purchasing the electricity produced at a proposed solar farm between the Grant County International Airport and Rocky Ford. Under the agreement with Quincy Solar, the PUD would receive all the electricity generated by the project. It's planned to produce 120 megawatts of power. The contract would run for 20 years.

Cougs recover from deficit in close win over ‘Zags

SPOKANE – On Tuesday, April 1, Washington State University (10-18) baseball made a comeback late in the game after being down 5-0 against Gonzaga (12-14) to win 7-6. The comeback was topped off with a two-run single executed by Ricco Longo in the tenth inning according to a statement from WSU Athletics.

Legals for April, 3 2025

Bridge 247 replacement to begin this year

MOSES LAKE – Grant County Public Works is anticipating ramping up plans to replace Bridge 247, which has been down since February 2024. In the Grant County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, Public Works staff shared that a Department of Transportation grant was approved and the project could now move forward.

Groff students settling into new campuses

MOSES LAKE – The Moses Lake School District is settling students and teachers into classrooms Groff Elementary will be closed for the remainder of the school year after electrical issues resulted in the injury of an unidentified individual. The school was originally planned to be closed March 3 through March 7 with students attending classes from home. However, at the March 6 school board meeting, it was announced the school would remain closed for the remainder of the school year.

March 2025 a busy month for Basin law enforcement

MOSES LAKE — March was a busy month for law enforcement with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, Moses Lake Police Department and Adams County Sheriff’s Office all involved in investigations. The month had high speed chases, drive-by shootings and suspects fleeing from law enforcement, along with some other cases. Here is a recap of the cases that occurred in March.