LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: The weight of officials’ words...

We live in a time where the old axiom, “The pen is mightier than the sword,” rings truer than ever. Social media gives anyone and everyone with half a thought an option to get their opinions – factual, unfounded, unnecessarily inflammatory or just plain asinine – out to a broad audience.

Legals for June, 26 2025

WA may have to dip into emergency reserves, despite historic tax increases

(The Center Square) – Despite passing the largest tax increase in state history amid record revenue levels, Washington state’s wallet may be empty by the end of the 2025-27 biennium, according to a new report by the state Economic and Revenue Forecast Council.

Two arrested, charged with murder in May shooting

SCHWANA — An East Wenatchee man and a Mattawa man have been booked into the Grant County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of a man near Schwana May 28.

Resource fair held at Open Doors Sleep Center

MOSES LAKE — With the Open Doors Sleep Center closing in days, several community resources gathered there Monday for a resource fair to ensure people have access to alternative resources. Several groups spoke with sleep center clients and provided alternatives in the community.

Legals for June, 25 2025

Connelly Park to reduce hours after vandalism, crimes

MOSES LAKE — Connelly Park, a popular recreational area managed by the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District, will reduce its hours and close on Sundays and Mondays amid rising incidents of vandalism and violence.

Legals for June, 24 2025

Moses Lake Special Olympics bocce team excels at state championships

MOSES LAKE —The Moses Lake Special Olympics’ bocce team participated in the state tournament in Tacoma over the weekend. The bocce team took home six medals altogether with three gold, two silver and a bronze and had two players finish fourth. “We had it at the Puget Sound University for (state competition); it was a really nice place, and they treated the athletes very well,” said Shane Lunderville, the bocce coach for the Moses Lake Special Olympics team. “We also got to go to a Rainiers game that Friday night so that was really special for the athletes.” The bocce team played both individual and unified matches during the tournament. For the individual play on day one, the team earned one gold, two silvers, one bronze and had their last two players earn fourth place at the tournament. The unified teams for bocce played o

Seattle man injured in Saturday morning crash

MOSES LAKE — A Seattle man was transported to Samaritan Hospital after he drifted off the road while driving about one mile east of Moses Lake late Saturday morning.

Port of Mattawa to implement new procedures for expenses

MATTAWA — The Port of Mattawa will update its policies for expenditures following recommendations from the Washington State Auditor’s Office. Auditors found that port policies left it vulnerable to possible misuse of its funds.

Bids opened for Moses Lake downtown resurfacing project

MOSES LAKE — Some streets in Moses Lake’s downtown area that are now two lanes in each direction will be reconfigured to one lane in each direction with a center turn lane as part of a resurfacing project. The chip-seal project is tentatively scheduled to begin in July.

Emotional space

Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation unveils new, larger building

MOSES LAKE — The Columbia Basin Cancer Foundation finally has some breathing room. “We were really shoved into a little box,” said Community Relations Coordinator Amanda Carpenter. “We made it work, and it was great for the time we had it, but this space works so much better for us. It’s a lot more comfortable for our clients and comfortable for us. We’re not climbing on top of each other now.” The foundation unveiled its new office at 1022 S. Pioneer Way Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting for the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce and burgers sizzling on a grill outside. The occasion was also the foundation’s annual Celebrate Life event to honor cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. The new facility has something the foundation has long dreamed of, a family room where patients, caregivers and families can have some privacy as they deal with the emotional cyclone that comes with cancer.

Legals for June, 20 2025

Authorities release images of how fugitive Travis Decker may have altered appearance

(The Center Square) – The Chelan County Sheriff’s Office has released new images of what Travis Decker, the Wenatchee, Wash., man suspected of killing his three young daughters, might look like after having been on the run for several weeks. Decker, 32, has been charged with kidnapping and killing his daughters, 5-year-old Olivia, 8-year-old Evelyn and 9-year-old Paityn. The girls’ bodies were found at the Rock Island Campground in Leavenworth on June 2, asphyxiated to death. Multiple local and federal agencies are assisting in the manhunt, with the U.S. Border Patrol taking the lead in the search. Earlier this month, Gov. Bob Ferguson activated the Washington National Guard to aid law enforcement in the search for Decker.

Washington deploys new tools hoping to prevent summer traffic deaths

OLYMPIA — Summer in Washington is supposed to be a season of celebration: high school graduations, family road trips, long weekends at the lake. But traffic safety officials view it as the most dangerous time of year. The 100 days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are statistically the deadliest stretch on Washington’s roads. This year, the state is expanding efforts to turn the tide on a post-pandemic spike in highway fatalities. “In 2023, we had the highest number of traffic deaths that we’ve seen in 33 years,” said Shelly Baldwin, acting director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. Speaking on TVW’s Inside Olympia, she told host Austin Jenkins, “It’s just unbelievable when you think about all the progress we’d made prior to this.”

Washington State Patrol plans emphasis patrol around Gorge Amphitheater

QUINCY — The Washington State Patrol will be conducting additional patrols in the area around the Gorge Amphitheater this weekend, the first of a number of “High Visibility Enforcement” patrols scheduled over the summer. Jeremy Weber, WSP District 6 public information officer, said the goal is to ensure people get where they’re going and back home without incident.

Double duck rescue: a tale of feather heroics in Moses Lake

MOSES LAKE — Two daring rescues unfolded yesterday, reuniting ducklings with their anxious mothers for the first time and relocating them entirely after the second.

Legals for June, 19 2025

Man impersonating Washington state agency stole $90K in fraud scheme, charges say

OLYMPIA — Last fall, thousands of businesses and charities received bills that appeared to be from the state of Washington. Many recipients obliged, sending payments totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars in response to the state’s “Corporations & Charities Division.” While that agency exists within the secretary of state’s office, the letters were part of a fraud and money laundering scheme carried out by a former postal worker arrested this week, according to an indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.