Lind council rescinds vote to vacate Mayor’s position

LIND – The Lind Town Council voted 4-0 Tuesday to approve motions by council member Robert Dew to rescind the council’s April 23 votes to vacate Mayor Paula Bell’s position and appoint council member Jamie Schmunk as temporary mayor. Council member Mike Wold was absent. Dew said that he had previously believed the votes to be legal, but has since heard conflicting opinions on the subject.

Quincy tennis finishes season

QUINCY — The Quincy High School tennis team ended its season Saturday at the boys Caribou Trail League championships and the girls District 6 championships in Quincy. Both were qualifiers to advance in state competition, and the Jacks failed to send any players to the next round.

Home sales up despite higher interest rates

KIRKLAND — Activity in the housing market increased in April in spite of rising interest rates, according to data from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, which compiles statistics from 26 of Washington’s 39 counties. Interest rates have increased by 0.38 percentage points over the past month to 7.17%, continuing to constrain prospective buyers’ purchasing power and prospective sellers’ willingness to give up low-interest-rate mortgages, according to the NWMLS.

Grant Co. generating interest as solar farm location

EPHRATA — With solar power touted as an important part of meeting future energy needs, Grant County is getting increasing interest from companies proposing to build solar generating facilities. Grant County Deputy Development Director Jim Anderson-Cook said that currently county officials are working on eight proposed projects. All of them are between Royal City and Coulee City, most in the Quincy-Ephrata area. “We are getting a lot of attention,” Anderson-Cook said. “The Columbia Plateau in general is getting a lot of attention.”

Grant PUD general manager announces resignation

EPHRATA — Grant County PUD General Manager Rich Wallen has announced his resignation, effective June 14. Wallen will become the chief operating officer of the Chelan County PUD. Wallen’s resignation was submitted May 7. It was announced in a press release, and Public Information Officer Christine Pratt said the PUD would not have any further comment. Wallen has worked for the PUD for seven years; he was appointed as general manager in February 2022. He started as managing director of power production in 2017 and was named chief operating officer in 2019.

Lawmaker hopes to ensure WA bridges aren't vulnerable to Baltimore bridge collapse

(The Center Square) – More than five weeks after the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore, the remains of a fifth construction worker were recovered on Wednesday. The victim was identified as Miguel Angel Luna Gonzalez, 49, of Glen Burnie, Md., state officials said in a news release. Gonzalez was one of six workers who went missing in the collapse. One additional worker remains missing.

Owners of Mattawa Fitness Club have big plans

MATTAWA — Ulises Sanchez and Hector Guerrero said their business started as one of those casual conversations, a couple of friends kicking around possibilities. “It started as an idea,” Guerrero said. “We’re both gym people; we go to the gym all the time. And everybody has that conversation, ‘Oh, we should just do a gym one day.’ And one thing led to another.”

Lind council attempts to vacate mayor’s seat

LIND – Lind Town Council members voted 3-0 to vacate Mayor Paula Bell from her position during the April 23 regular town council meeting, citing numerous complaints and claiming Bell violated her oath of office and refused to perform several of her duties.

DEA warns of increasing xylazine in illicit fentanyl

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has issued another warning about the growing prevalence of a veterinary sedative in illicit fentanyl supply.

Debate attempts to address dam breaching questions

PASCO — People gathered at Columbia Basin College in Pasco last Thursday to witness a debate regarding whether it was a good idea to remove dams on the Lower Snake River to improve salmon populations. The debate comes after months of discussion at the local, state and federal levels about whether or not to keep the dams there. Policy set on that issue may impact the future of dams on the Columbia River and other streams in Washington and elsewhere.

Powering affordability

OneD Battery Sciences plant almost online

MOSES LAKE — More affordable electric vehicles are on the way. That was the takeaway from a tour that OneD Battery Sciences offered to a small contingent of Moses Lake community members Thursday afternoon at the company’s SINANODE plant on Road N Northeast.

Othello Community Hospital now hosting Ritzville mobile clinic

OTHELLO – Othello Community Hospital has begun partnering with the Ritzville-based East Adams Rural Healthcare to provide mobile primary care clinic services once a week in Othello, outside the hospital. The clinic, a 40-foot motorcoach, is fully equipped to provide clinic services on the go. OCH Chief Executive Officer Connie Agenbroad explained the need behind the partnership.

Legals for April, 25 2024

Legals for April, 24 2024

Code changes add to housing costs, industry spokesman says

MOSES LAKE — There have been some changes to the Washington State Building Code that stand to add to the cost of building homes, a spokesman for the Building Industry Association of Washington said.

ACDC and Port of Othello consider indoor farming in the Basin

OTHELLO – Representatives of both the Port of Othello and the Adams County Development Council reflected on the viability of indoor or vertical farming greenhouses in Grant and Adams Counties after they attended the 11th Annual Indoor Ag-Con March 11-12 in Las Vegas.

WSU researchers have identified several "vampiric" bacteria

PULLMAN – Some of the world’s deadliest bacteria seek out and feed on human blood, a newly-discovered phenomenon researchers are calling “bacterial vampirism.”

Grant PUD sets community meetings on rate policy

Board seeking input on how residents feel rates should be set

EPHRATA — Grant County PUD commissioners and staff will be soliciting the opinion of PUD customers on the future of its rate structure in a series of public meetings beginning next week.

Grant supports helping the power grid prepare for the future

PULLMAN — A Washington State University-led research team has been selected to receive a $2.4 million U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant to better prepare the power grid for the changing world of electricity production, including the increasing use of renewable power and the increase in extreme weather events related to climate change. As part of the project, the researchers are developing open-source planning tools for modeling the complexities and uncertainties that come about from the use of renewables and from extreme weather events. The project, funded through the DOE’s Solar Energy Technologies Office, is led by Mani Venkatasubramanian, Boeing Distinguished Professor of Electrical Engineering in the WSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and director of the Energy Systems Innovation Center.

Grant PUD sets public meeting to gather rate policy opinions, ideas

EPHRATA — Grant County PUD commissioners and staff will be soliciting the opinion of PUD customers on the future of its rate structure in a series of public meetings beginning next week. Commissioners will be talking to different classes of customers at different times throughout April and May. A meeting with ag customers is up first, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. April 16 in the commission hearing room at PUD headquarters, 30 C St. SW in Ephrata. The meeting with small and medium-size business customers also is April 16, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Moses Lake Civic Center auditorium, 401 S. Balsam St. Residential customers are invited to a discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. May 21 at the Civic Center Auditorium in Moses Lake.