After successful legislative sessions for both receiving funding and approval of forming a bi-state commission for a new Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge, the next pressing step is to get a management contractor in place.  Port of Hood River Executive Director Michael McElwee says this would be a multi-disciplinary firm to act as a “department of replacement bridge” to coordinate financing, engineering, permitting, public outreach, and toll and revenue studies.  Also, McElwee says they need to get paperwork done with the states to access funds to begin engineering work for a new bridge.

Klickitat County has a new emergency notification system, but users of the previous system shouldn’t notice a difference.  Emergency Management Program Coordinator Frank Hewey says previously entered data has been downloaded into the new system and it has been tested to ensure it’s there.  Klickitat County residents who are not signed up for emergency notifications can do so by going to klickitatcounty.org and clicking on the emergency info tab.

No announcement yet on the selection for The Dalles City Manager, but Mayor Rich Mays says they expect that to happen sometime this week.  The selection was made in an executive session, and Mays says at this point it’s just a matter of finishing up a contract.  The Council and a separate community committee interviewed four candidates last week prior to the executive session where the selection was made.

Oregon’s unemployment rate dropped to 4% in February, from 4.2%, as revised, in January.  The Oregon Employment Department says the rate is now at its lowest level since prior to the pandemic-induced recession in March 2020 when it was 3.5%.  Department senior economic analyst Anna Johnson says the state saw stronger job gains in February.  In February, 59,000 Oregonians had been unemployed for less than six months, which was near the lowest number in two decades.  Meanwhile, 24,000 Oregonians had been unemployed for more than six months, as the number of long-term unemployed decreased rapidly since hitting a recent peak of 65,000 in April 2021

Mid-Columbia Community Action is reporting the results from the January 2022 Point in Time count, and while the numbers have not yet been confirmed by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, preliminary data shows an overall 50% increase in people experiencing houselessness throughout Wasco, Hood River, and Sherman Counties as compared to data collected in 2020.  Increases in overall houselessness are reflective of few affordable housing options coupled with the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had across the region.  In Wasco County, there was about a 70% increase in people experiencing houselessness, with a significant increase in the number of sheltered individuals, reflective of the increase in the number of shelter beds in the community.  Hood River County saw a nearly 27% increase in houseless community members between 2020 and 2022.  There was also a notable increase among Native community members experiencing houselessness in Hood River County.  While the overall numbers were small, Sherman County showed a slight decrease in individuals experiencing houselessness.

The Dalles Public Works Department crews are expected to complete stage two of a stormwater system main installation at the intersection of West 10th St. and Walnut St. tomorrow.  On Thursday crews are expected to move to stage three of the project which will see the system main installed on West 10th between Walnut and Snipes, requiring a full closure of the section of street for up to eight days.  Through traffic will be detoured to West 7th via Walnut and Snipes.  Traffic control and closures will remain in place until completion of the work.  No parking will be allowed within the work area due to heavy equipment use and the location of the trench.  

Fishery managers closed sturgeon retention in The Dalles Pool in the Columbia River from The Dalles Dam to John Day Dam and all adjacent tributaries effective Monday night to stay within catch guidelines.  While The Dalles Pool sturgeon fishery is closing before the end of the month, this is the first time since 2017 that this fishery has lasted into March.  Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Ocean Salmon and Columbia River Program Manager Tucker Jones said the “days per week” management approach used for the first time this year allowed angling opportunities to be spread out over time and provided a more orderly season structure.  He says it’s something they will likely consider in other reservoirs in the future.  Sturgeon retention is now closed throughout the Columbia River.  Catch-and-release sturgeon angling remains open all year, except angling for sturgeon is prohibited May 1 through August 31 within the designated sanctuary areas in each of the dam tailraces.

AARP says more than 65,000 people from around the state have signed a petition calling on lawmakers to take steps to control drug costs. Last week, the petition was delivered virtually to Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley. AARP Oregon communications director Stacy Larsen says high drug prices directly impact people’s lives. AARP is supporting legislation that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, put a cap on out-of-pocket costs for older Americans and impose penalties on drug companies that raise prices faster than the rate of inflation.

Baseball

Scappoose 15, The Dalles 10

Stevenson at Napavine, ppd. to Wednesday

  Softball

Hood River Valley 16, Franklin 12:  Abby Kahler had four hits as the Eagles scored seven runs in the fifth inning to rally for their first win of the season.

Hood River Valley 12, Roosevelt 2:  Bella Moore led the HRV offense with four hits, including a two-run triple in a decisive seven-run third inning.

Gresham 10, The Dalles 9

Sandy 23, The Dalles 19

The Environmental Protection Agency has added a portion of Bradford Island in the Bonneville Lock & Dam complex to the National Priorities List.  The section on the northeastern side of Bradford Island is not in a public area and was formerly used as a landfill, pistol range and sandblast area.  A portion of this section of the island has been set aside to be managed as a wildlife habitat, while the remaining area is currently used for industrial purposes.  The NPL is a list of sites across the country which are the highest priority for Superfund cleanup.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will remain the lead federal agency as it works with other agencies including the EPA, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Washington Department of Ecology, tribal nations, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine the best course of action to restore the site to environmentally acceptable levels.  In 2007, the Corps removed 65 tons of sediment from an eight-tenth of an acre area along the shoreline of Bradford Island.