Plastic bags are a good way to sow before the spring weather comes

MOSES LAKE — Winter may be wheezing out its last gasps, but we’re still a ways off from time to put most spring plants outdoors. Seeds can be planted ahead of time in milk jugs or ice cube trays, but there’s a third medium that’s had some success: plastic resealable bags. “You can start sweet peas in bags,” said Valerie Parrott, president of the Columbia Basin Garden Club. “You can start a lot of winter sowing things putting them in the (plastic) bags. Just line them up outside.” The bags should be filled with some sort of absorbent material. Parrott uses potting soil, but moss, coffee filters or towels are also options, according to the website Gardening Tips and Tools.

Legals for February, 21 2025

WA Senate passes bill to boost housing supply by eliminating parking requirements

(The Center Square) – Washington state needs to build more than one million housing units over the next two decades, but one proposal intends to clear the way by repealing the state’s minimum parking requirements. Spokane eliminated its parking requirements last year to encourage the development of empty lots around town. The Legislature wants to follow suit with Senate Bill 5184, but only for cities with more than 20,000 people, extending to roughly 60% of Washingtonians.

Six Broncos headed to the west side to compete

RITZVILLE — As six Broncos get ready to hop on the bus for Tacoma, Coach Jason Hilzer said he’s proud of his team and is looking forward to seeing the brackets that indicate who his folks will be paired up with. “It’s been going pretty good. (We’ve been doing) drills, live wrestling and just kind of getting ready to look at the brackets and who they potentially would have to go against,” Hilzer said.

ACH Warriors take youth, strength to Tacoma

COULEE CITY — The Almira/Coulee-Hartline Warriors have 10 boys and three girls who earned a position at the Mat Classic this weekend. The roster includes three seniors, one junior, four sophomores and two freshmen on the boys’ side. The girls side includes a junior, a sophomore and eighth-grader Karis Butler. “She’s had a phenomenal year for an eighth grader, and it’s going to be exciting to see how the tournament goes for her. It’d be pretty incredible to get an eighth grader on the medal stand at Mat Classic,” Coach Brandon Walsh said.

Knights ready for battle in the Dome, coaches say

ROYAL CITY — Royal High School girls wrestling coach Jesus Carlos Villa said the Knights have a chance to do well at Mat Classic 2025, and it’s a testament to his wrestlers and the coaching staff. “It’s about peaking at the right time. You never want to peak too early, because then you wrestle too flat, and you definitely don’t want to peak too late, because the opportunity is gone. I feel like the girls are coming along. The coaches are doing a great job of keeping the girls motivated, trying to keep them technically sharp,” Villa said. “I’m the head (coach), but they’re the ones that are in there helping motivate the girls.”

Wahluke wrestlers set to represent Mattawa well

MATTAWA – The Wahluke High girls wrestling team is sending four athletes to the Mat Classic in Tacoma this weekend. The girls will be joined by Alex Tapia from the boys team and the hope is that he and his fellow Warriors represent the school well.

Fairy tales meet marathons

Ephrata High School drama puts on double feature with a month to prepare

EPHRATA —This weekend, Ephrata audiences will step into a whimsical world where fairy tales meet marathons and laughter dances in the air like confetti. Ephrata High School’s drama department invites the community to join them for a double feature: “Race Day” and “Snow White and the Seven Endings” are taking the stage for closing weekend this Friday and Saturday. The opening weekend kicked off with enthusiastic crowds and some unexpected twists for the cast and crew. “It’s been an incredible journey,” said director Marla Allsopp. “We had to pivot from our original plan of performing ‘Around the World in 80 Days’ due to some casting challenges, but the students showed immense resilience and commitment. They wanted to keep moving forward, and we ended up choosing two new, hilarious shows that would allow them to shine.”

Josh Turner to headline Party in the Dirt

North Idaho State Fair announces lead musical act

The North Idaho State Fair has announced that multi-platinum country music sensation Josh Turner will headline the Party in the Dirt Concert Series with a performance Aug. 19 in the Findlay Arena.

Annexation request may be coming to Othello

OTHELLO — New property could be coming into the city of Othello, destined for eventual development. Othello City Council members approved a “notice of intent” for annexation at the regular meeting Feb. 10. Development Director Anne Henning said in a separate interview that the notice of annexation starts the process, but that’s just the start. “The council looks at the boundaries of the proposed annexation, the zoning and the indebtedness,” Henning told council members. “Approving it to move forward doesn’t mean you’re approving the annexation.”

Legals for February, 20 2025

E Hele Mai i Kaua‘i: Leave the Moses Lake Winter Behind and Find Aloha on the Garden Isle

Aloha mai kākou! If you’re waking up to frost-covered windshields and dreaming of warm sands between your toes, let me introduce you to the perfect winter escape—Kaua‘i.

WA Ag overtime bill in full effect, despite calls for change

Legislators look to fine tune ag labor law to balance needs of farmers, farmworkers

OLYMPIA - Washington is now one of the first states to fully extend overtime pay to agricultural workers who work beyond 40 hours per week. The law, passed in 2021 after negotiations between labor advocates and agricultural producers, is now in full effect, sparking industry debate. “We compromised a lot,” said Edgar Franks, political director for farmworkers union Familias Unidas por la Justicia. “We thought we had a pretty good bill for both sides.”

BASIN HOOPS ROUNDUP: Some teams advance, some go home in district basketball

MOSES LAKE — The field is narrowing as boys and girls basketball teams from around the Columbia Basin work their way toward the state tournaments. Some teams are already on their way to state; others are still in contention. Where teams are and where they’re headed is listed below.

Washington winter fun

Where to go in the Evergreen State to hit the slopes and enjoy the outdoors

MOSES LAKE – The Columbia Basin may be in the flatlands, sort of, but area residents who enjoy the slopes have a lot of options to choose from just a bit of a road trip away if they’re craving a ski weekend. With the recent snows, packing up skis and poles may be a good way to have an adventure as spring starts to peek around the corner.

One booked, another unidentified in rural business burglary

MOSES LAKE – A 24-year-old Moses Lake man was apprehended by the Grant County Sheriff’s Office Crime Reduction Team and other law enforcement Friday during a burglary in a rural area of Moses Lake, according to a GCSO statement.

Snow bikes make for a unique way to shred the mountain

“A SNO-GO,” I promptly smiled back to him. “Basically, a bike on skis.”

Legals for February, 19 2025

Mavs defeat Sunnyside, finish third in league

Moses Lake enters districts with confidence as regular season fades

MOSES LAKE – The Mavericks closed out the regular season with a trip to Sunnyside on Thursday night, coming out on top of a closely contested game with a 67-66 win over the Grizzlies. “They’ve been playing better, scoring more,” Head Coach Craig Groth said. “We’ve been doing a little bit better job on defense in certain situations and winning games leading up to that. Even games we haven’t won, we’ve been in really close games. Our confidence is really good right now, we felt great going into the game.”

Treasure troves

Appraisal fair lets folks find out what their heirlooms really are

MOSES LAKE — It’s sometimes said that one person’s trash is another’s treasure, but sometimes people have treasures stashed away that they haven’t thought about in years. The Moses Lake Creative District will give those folks a chance to find out from a professional what they really have in that attic.