Gaetz and DeSantis: A friendship that may become a liability

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — When he launched his campaign to become Florida’s governor in January 2018, few expected

Wahluke athletes take first steps toward building track program

MATTAWA — Wahluke athletes took good early steps toward rebuilding the high school track program at their own Windbreaker Invitational last Friday..

Rolling with the changes: Moses Lake’s first responder calls increase as new laws take effect

MOSES LAKE — In the past two decades, call volume for the Moses Lake Fire Department has increased an average of 2.5% a year, said MLFD Chief Brett Bastian.

Road upgrades near Gorge Amphitheater on schedule

GEORGE — The asphalt is going down on sections of Silica Road Northwest and Southwest and West Baseline Road near the Gorge Amphitheater. Grant County Engineer David Bren said the project is on schedule. “They’re paving already,” Bren said.

Columbia Basin Foundation works to help establish legacies

EPHRATA – The Columbia Basin Foundation has been working for years now to help ensure community members throughout the Basin can leave a lasting legacy in their hometowns, counties and communities they’re a part of, said Corrine Isaak, CBF executive director. That was the goal set by founders Rick Honsowetz and Randy Dickinson, she said.

Garden wisdom

Growing plants, greening lawns and saving water subject of Grant-Adams Master Gardeners symposium at BBCC

MOSES LAKE — Using water more efficiently in the garden and on the lawn will be the subject of presentations and demonstrations April 20 at the Eco-Gardening Symposium by the Grant-Adams Master Gardeners.

Senior Picnic celebrating 10 years of fun

MOSES LAKE – The venue is booked. The menu is prepared. The band is scheduled. It must be time for another Senior Picnic at the Grant County Fairgrounds. This year sees the annual event celebrating a decade of fun for the Columbia Basin Senior Forum’s signature event, said Karisti Cox, chairperson for the event.

Statewide crime mostly down, still higher than 2019

LACEY — While crime in most categories declined in Washington between 2022 and 2023, crime rates are still higher than they were in 2019. The Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs released crime data for 2023 Tuesday.

Mavs win title at Big 9 districts

MOSES LAKE — The Mavericks outscored second-place Wenatchee by over 100 points at last weekend’s Columbia Basin Big 9 district championships meet in Moses Lake, qualifying for 10 swims at next week’s state championships in the process.

Gesa, Red Cross join forces against home fires

MOSES LAKE — There are few things more frightening than a house fire. One of them is having a house fire and not knowing it. “Oftentimes home fires happen because it's an older building or an older neighborhood where they just never installed smoke alarms, so they don't even know when there's a fire most of the time,” said Amber Merrill, community relations manager for Richland-based Gesa Credit Union. “It's really difficult in those situations because when you actually start to notice that there is a home fire, it's when you're seeing flames, and typically, at that point, the fire department is responding.”

Sentenced defendant thankful for arrest

Long-term opiate addiction led to poor choices, woman says

EPHRATA – Melissa Shelby Mattingly, 48, of Moses Lake was sentenced after entering guilty pleas on six felony charges – and thanked the court for compassion and said that her arrest was a blessing. “I think my arrest probably saved my life, and although I am facing an exorbitant amount of time away from my children and my parents, I know that I am lucky to still have my life, and I hope that I can at least use my experiences to let other people know that this is the result of fentanyl,” Mattingly said prior to sentencing.

Mavs lose season opener to Kennewick

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake High School girls basketball team took an early lead, lost it, fought to overcome a second-half deficit but fell short, losing their season opener to Kennewick, 55-49 Friday.. Head Coach Matt Strophy said it had the characteristics of a first game of the year. “Early on, they created the pace instead of us controlling the pace. So they sped us up, and we want to dictate that,” Strophy said. “I don’t mind if we go fast, but we have to want to go fast, not them make us go that way. They made us do a lot of things we didn’t want to do.”

Fire district proposals, commission races to be decided in Grant Co.

EPHRATA — Grant County voters will receive ballots this week for the primary election Aug. 5. Two county commission seats, two requests for increased fire district levies (called a levy lid lift) and one fire district EMS levy will be on the ballot in addition to federal and state offices.

‘My honor and pleasure’

Grant Co. Fire District 7 chief set to retire

SOAP LAKE — Grant County Fire District 7 Chief Kirk Sheppard is set to retire on Sept. 16. Sheppard is hanging up his helmet after a total of 28 years in fire service, 24 of those as chief of GCFD7.

Vantage Highway fire causes haze, threatens 40 structures

Blaze impacts about 8,000 acres so far

VANTAGE - A fire is burning on the western side of the Columbia River north of Vantage along the Vantage Highway, leading to the mobilization of state resources to combat the roughly 10,500-acre blaze which threatened about 40 structures Monday. “We have resources from all across the state because this is a state mobilization fire now,” said Grace DeBusschere, public information officer with Kittitas Fire District 7. “We have (Washington State Department of Natural Resources) ground resources from all across the state. We have local fire district resources and mutual aid partners.” A small amount of Bureau of Land Management land is also involved in the fire, so BLM staff are on hand to assist as well, along with Department of Fish and Wildlife responders. The state mobilization order, authorized by Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste at the request of Kittitas County District 4 Fire Chief William Rose, allows those additional resources to respond to the fire, DeBusschere said. Efforts to contain the blaze, which caused a haze of smoke across much of northern Grant and Kittitas counties, include aerial firefighting apparatus such as planes and helicopters. Boats with first responders aboard could also be seen from the Frenchman Coulee area moving around the area impacted by the fire, which she said was spreading in a northerly direction as of Monday at about 2 p.m. No cause has been identified for the fire at this time; however, it is thought to have started around 1 p.m. Monday. The fire caused the evacuation of the city of Vantage, along I-90 on the east end of the bridge over the Columbia River. No injuries or structure losses have been reported at this time, DeBusshere said...

Mariners score 4 in 9th after Ohtani departs, top Angels 6-2

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Shohei Ohtani turned in his usual strong start. Long after he was gone, things were anything but normal.

Santana's homer rallies Mariners for 4-3 win over Yankees

SEATTLE (AP) — In a clubhouse with little experience of being in a playoff chase, Carlos Santana is the old guy that can be turned to for advice and guidance.

The Favored Farmhouse

Helping Basin residents find ways to just slow down - or wake up

MOSES LAKE — Daphne Martinez has a rather odd confession to make for a coffee shop owner. “So, I’m not a coffee drinker,” Martinez said as she sat with her husband Derek in front of the Favored Farmhouse’s espresso machine. “I grew up on Folgers. My mom, my grandparents, all drank Folgers drip coffee.” “So, I like black coffee with sugar. I’m not a fancy coffee drinker,” she added. While you can get fancy coffee drinks at The Favored Farmhouse, the menu at the coffee bar betrays another of Daphne’s loves — mixed non-alcoholic drinks made with soda pop. From the Summer Kiss (Sprite, raspberry puree, pineapple and cream) to the Gone Wild (Coke or Diet Coke, fresh lime, coconut, cream), the menu is full of soda drinks Daphne Martinez created and named herself...

Georgie's Gently Used

Local shop owner aims to help community

EPHRATA – Georgie Youngers, owner of Georgie’s Gently Used at 506 C St. SW in Ephrata, said she knows what it’s like to need affordable options to take care of yourself and your family. Youngers moved to Ephrata after a divorce to be close to her mother, she said. While she was recovering financially from the divorce, she cleaned houses and turned to thrifting and yard sales to make ends meet...

Stage front...

Guitarist wants music to be the focus of performances on tour through Basin

MOSES LAKE — Guitarist Pierre Bensusan will perform in concert at 7 p.m. Wednesday in Moses Lake for the first in a series of Columbia Basin appearances sponsored by the Learn from the Masters Music Outreach. Bensusan will perform in Moses Lake at the Civic Center Auditorium at 401 S. Balsam St. in Moses Lake, then in Ellensburg on May 19, in Wenatchee May 20 and at Cave B Winery near Quincy on May 21. All concerts are free of charge. Bensusan said his goal is to make the music, not the instrument or the player, the center of the performance. “I wouldn’t really want people to think about the guitar when I play, but about the music and what it evokes,” he said. “I’m telling a story with it, and after a while, player and guitar become invisible. People use sound and sonic images to go into their own inner self and dimension. Music is only a pretext for all of us to get there, player and listener.”