Pfizer 1Q sales and profit down, but it maintains 2020 views

Drugmaker Pfizer said the COVID-19 pandemic will reduce its second-quarter sales, as quarantines around the world are reducing visits to doctors — by patients with chronic conditions, parents bringing in kids needing shots and the company's sales representatives.

Pfizer 1Q sales and profit down, but it maintains 2020 views

Drugmaker Pfizer said the COVID-19 pandemic will reduce its second-quarter sales, as quarantines around the world are reducing visits to doctors — by patients with chronic conditions, parents bringing in kids needing shots and the company's sales representatives.

Pandemic leads to Idaho potato market woes

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has caused a once strong potato market to make an abrupt about-face, leading some Idaho growers to dump surplus spuds from storage cellars or to feed them to cattle.

Moses Lake takes double-digit win over Eagles

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake girls basketball picked up a strong win over Issaquah at home on Friday night, defeating the Eagles 65-45.

RV issues

Moses Lake still looking for a parking sport for recreational vehicles used as residences

MOSES LAKE — The city of Moses Lake is still looking at sites for parking RVs used as residences — eight of which are parked along North Central Drive — and hopes to have some possible options to give to the city council at their next formal meetings in early May. “We are looking at surplus city properties, and we will bring options to you on May 11 to move the units,” City Manager Allison Williams told council members during their previous regular meeting on April 11...

QVMC board authorizes bond sale

Proceeds to be used to build new Quincy hospital

QUINCY — A general contractor for the new Quincy Valley Medical Center is scheduled to be hired by the end of January, with the goal of starting construction in the summer of 2023. Hospital district commissioners authorized the sale of $46 million in construction bonds at the regular meeting Monday. “That is a big deal,” said commissioner Anthony Gonzalez. The vote to authorize the bond sale was 4-0; commissioner Sherri Kooy was absent. “That is a huge deal,” commissioner Michelle Talley said in agreement with Gonzalez...

Moses Lake pushes through weather challenges

MOSES LAKE — The City of Moses Lake has spent nearly all of the money it allocated in its 2022 budget for snow removal. “The city’s budget included funds for this snow event,” wrote Assistant City Manager Rich Huebner in an email to the Columbia Basin Herald. “If we have another significant snow event before the end of the year, the City Manager has the authority to authorize an emergency expense, and a subsequent budget allocation can be completed.” ...

Broncos playing well at the right time

RITZVILLE – After winning 10 of their final 12 games, the Lind-Ritzville/Sprague Broncos advanced to state with a 50-48 win over Okanogan in the 2B District 6/7 Crossover. “Very happy for them to get the job done,” LRS Head Coach Dustan Arlt said. “Overcame some ups and downs throughout the year and some close losses. Started playing really well the last week of the season and it’s continued through districts and playoffs.” ...

Cougars head back to state

A year after winning it all, Warden heads back to 2B girls tourney looking for another trophy.

WARDEN – The 2022 champion Warden Cougars are heading back to the 2B Girls State Basketball Tournament, entering this year’s state bracket with an 18-4 record and an Eastern Washington Athletic Conference Title. “They’re excited to be there again, and understand this is a really cool opportunity for them,” Warden Head Coach Josh Madsen said. “I also think they’ve got some confidence about them as well. They’ve been playing pretty well and deserve to be there, and are looking forward to seeing what they can do once they get there.” ...

Warden defense powers Cougars to 52-42 win over Othello

OTHELLO — The Warden girls basketball team used a scrambling defense and an intense press to come away with a 52-42 win over the Othello Huskies in Othello Wednesday. Warden Head Coach Josh Madsen said the Cougar defense helped make the difference on a night when the offense went cold. “Tonight we had a really rough shooting game. Our defense needs to keep us in it, and it did,” Madsen said. “We were just a mess to start the game, mentally,” he said. “It took us a while to settle down. We shot terribly most of the game, but really bad in the first half. Finally settled down in the late first quarter, second quarter, and started playing our game a little bit.” Othello jumped out to an 11-0 lead, and led 16-7 at the end of the first quarter. The Cougar press started gaining in effectiveness in the second quarter, however, and Warden took its first lead of the game, 23-22, with about two minutes left in the second quarter. The Cougars led 25-24 at the half.

Othello boys take 71-28 win over Warden

OTHELLO — An aggressive Othello defense and what Warden Coach Brent Erdman said was a depleted Warden bench combined to give the Huskies boys basketball team a decisive 71-28 victory Wednesday in Othello. “We’re still trying to get healthy as a team,” Erdman said. “We’re missing a lot of kids, so we’re not at full strength. So that’s tough.” Warden scored the game’s first two points, but once Othello took a 3-2 lead, they never trailed again. The Huskies led 14-12 at the end of the first quarter, and Othello Coach Roman Pruneda said his team picked up the tempo from there. “We came out a little flat. We weren’t playing as aggressive on defense as I wanted them to, being a little timid,” Pruneda said. “But as we started going in the quarter, the kids picked it up. They found more of a sense of urgency from there on.”

Resolutions and Reflections

Basin residents reflect on 2022 and look forward to 2023

MOSES LAKE – With the new year, many people create new year’s resolutions and reflect on the year they just had. Many new year’s resolutions are related to mental and physical health, finances and breaking bad habits. “Well it takes 21 days to develop a habit so you just have to be persistent,” said Lynn Alderson of Moses Lake...

Added options

George development eases the housing strain a little

GEORGE — The new housing in George is almost finished. “We had a 27-lot subdivision,” said Drew Scott, owner of CAD Homes LLC, which is building the houses. “We started last year and it's all sold out now. It went quick.” ...

Warriors rally from early loss

ACH takes fourth on the diamond at 1B tournament

YAKIMA – The No. 5 seed Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors left the 1B State Softball Tournament with a fourth-place finish, rallying after a first-round loss to DeSales to reach the third/fourth-place contest against Mossyrock. “It’s pretty incredible,” ACH Head Coach Graham Grindy said. “It’s been a great season. They played very well in league in the regular season. In districts and regionals, we had to play through some adversity and lose a game, and do what was necessary to qualify. I think that was the most impressive thing about this group, is that they came together and fought and battled.” ...

Huskies swing into 3rd

Othello places well in 2A state tourney

SELAH – After an opening-round loss to No. 12 seed Olympic, the No. 5 Othello Huskies rallied off five-straight wins to take home a third-place trophy at the 2A State Softball Tournament over the weekend. Othello notched its second-straight top-three finish with an 8-2 win over Aberdeen in the third/fourth-place game on Saturday at Carlon Park...

Eclectic bargains abound at Rusty Mammoth Sale

MOSES LAKE — Jewelry, art, household items and old books and magazines – the pickings at the Moses Lake Museum’s Rusty Mammoth Sale Saturday were pretty diverse. “(We sold) some furniture items and a really lovely jewelry box,” said Museum Director Dollie Boyd. “There was a lady lined up at the door this morning for that. Lots of cool ceramics and, you know, quirky things. We had a ton of costume jewelry this year, too. That took a long time to price.” ...

Wahluke students eye opportunities on Outdoor Career Day

MATTAWA — There are many different ways to find and train for a career, and there are lots of careers out there. That includes jobs young people might never have considered. Showing young people what’s possible is part of the motivation behind Outdoor Career Day at Wahluke High School.

A full deck

Former Moses lake bar aims to become a destination brewery

MOSES LAKE — It’s had a few names in its time, that old building at 302 W. Broadway Ave. It’s been Barney Google’s, Ginny’s, the Mighty Quinn, the LakeFront Bar & Grill and most recently, the Broadway Bar & Grill. Now it’s going to get a whole new lease on life. “The whole building is going to be stucco,” said Anna Van Diest, who with her husband Rob bought the building in November 2021. “It's going to be an off-white, like a bone color, with black windows and doors. And we're going to have a couple of new windows put on the front.” ...

Ephrata council urges patience on pickleball progress

EPHRATA — Members of the Ephrata City Council told residents trying to raise money for a new, purpose-built pickleball court for the city to be both patient and persistent in their efforts even if it seems the city is not acting quickly. Shelley Slininger, a long-time Ephrata resident, spoke to the council during a regular meeting on Tuesday on behalf of a group of citizens seeking to raise money for new pickleball courts. Slinginger said she was frustrated at how slow the city’s process has been, especially given that the citizens group approached the council in February for help in applying for a Lauzier Foundation grant with a deadline of April 30...

31 flavorful years

Baskin Robins' employee reflects on more than three decades of serving scoops.

MOSES LAKE — Lori Friend was 31 years old when she started dishing up Baskin-Robbins’ 31 flavors of ice cream in Moses Lake in 1992. “I’ve been here 31 years at this very location,” Friend said. “I’ve been through three owners. They’ve been really good to work around my schedule and my kids’ schedules. So I’ve just continued on working here.” ...