Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley announced today that the Warm Springs Housing Authority has secured a $1.03 million federal grant from the American Rescue Plan to rehabilitate 11 rental units for the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.  The $1.03 million from the Indian Community Development Block Grant program in the 2021 American Rescue Plan that Wyden and Merkley voted for is to help eligible Tribes prevent, prepare for and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Tribal Chair Raymond Tsumpti said the grant will improve the tribe’s ability to continue responding to disproportionately high COVID numbers among its members.

In response to an uptick in threats against election workers after the 2020 election, Oregon lawmakers passed a measure this session that gives them greater protections.  House Bill 4144 increases the penalties for harassing election workers and shields their personal information.  The bill comes at the request of Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.  In a survey of Oregon Elections Division workers in her office, Fagan found 10 of the 13 people who responded had experienced threats or harassment.  Secretary of State’s office communications director Ben Morris says this measure will bolster what are already well-run elections.  Under the measure, the maximum penalty for harassing an election worker is punishable by 364 days in prison and a $6,250 fine.

Average gas prices continue to trend upward locally and around the Northwest.  AAA says the price of regular gas in Oregon is at $4.722 per gallon today, up over six cents from Wednesday, and in Washington it was $4.707, up by seven-and-a-half cents, and both are at all-time highs.  Locally, according to AAA figures…the average price in Wasco County is up 13 cents from Wednesday to $4.752 while in Sherman County it increased by six cents to $4.779 and in Hood River County it went up a penny to $4.724.  In Washington…the average price for regular gas in Klickitat County is up by just over eight cents per gallon from Wednesday at $4.602, and in Skamania County it was unchanged at $4.824.

The Oregon Department of Transportation says there will be no construction closure of The Dalles Bridge this weekend, but project delays may see more closures after the original Memorial Day target for completion.  ODOT says this weekend to expect delays up to 20 minutes during nighttime hours while flaggers control traffic across the bridge.  Crews will continue bridge deck replacement and continue forming new concrete panels at their pre-cast yard location.​  But ODOT officials say due to a range of challenges, compounded by labor and supply chain shortages related to the pandemic, the project is behind schedule and won’t be finished by Memorial Day.  ODOT says it does anticipate needing additional weekend closures later this year, but did guarantee there will be no closures during the peak cherry harvest season of June and July.  ODOT is working with community partners to finalize a plan, and a new schedule is expected to be released in May.

Mid-Columbia Medical Center is conducting an online survey as it continues to explore potential strategic partnerships.  MCMC Business Development Director Travis Dray said they conducted some community and employee listening sessions to gather input, and this is another step in that effort.  The survey can be access from mcmc.net at its partnership evaluation page.  Dray says priorities in their partnership evaluation includes maintaining its local identity and an alignment with the culture of the facility.  He adds they will be receiving proposals from organizations interested in a partnership with MCMC on Friday, and then begin a due diligence process to narrow down the potential candidates, emphasizing staying independent is still an option.

The filing deadline for Oregon’s May 17 primary passed on Tuesday.  In Wasco County, incumbent Scott Hege will seek reelection to County Commission position 1 and is being challenged by Cynthia Bearss, while Phil Brady and Rod Runyon will seek position 3, which is being vacated by Kathy Schwartz.  In Hood River County, Ron Rivers and Jennifer Euwer will be the candidates for Commission Chair as Mike Oates had earlier announced he would not seek re-election.  Leti Valle Morelli and Kathleen Sanders will be the candidates in District 1 to succeed Karen Joplin, and Ed Weathers in the only person to file in District 3 for the seat currently held by Bob Benton.  In Oregon State Senate District 26, which now includes both Hood River and The Dalles, current District 59 Representative Daniel Bonham is joined by Steve Bates of Boring and Michael Nugent of Corbett in seeking the Republican nomination, while Raz Mason of The Dalles is the lone Democrat to file.  For Oregon State House District 52, which also now involves both Hood River and The Dalles, includes GOP candidates Jeff Helfrich of Hood River, James Born of Welches, and Britt Storkson of The Dalles, and Democrat Darcy Long of The Dalles.  

Gas prices continue to climb around the Northwest and the nation.  AAA says the price of regular gas in Oregon is at $4.662 per gallon today, up over seven cents from Tuesday, and in Washington it was $4.631, up by eight-and-a-half cents, and both are at all-time highs.  According to AAA figures, the average price in Wasco County is up a penny from Tuesday to $4.621, while in Sherman County it increased by a dime to $4.719 and in Hood River County it went up two-and-a-half cents, reaching $4.714.  In Washington, the average price for regular gas in Klickitat County is up by just under eight cents per gallon from Tuesday at $4.519, and in Skamania County it’s up by over 20 cents to $4.824.

An Underwood man was taken into custody by Hood River Police on charges related to the burglary of a business on 5^th and Sherman early Sunday morning.  According to a statement by Hood River Police, a Sherman Avenue resident reported someone had attempted to open the door to her business, and when officers arrived they found a broken window at a nearby business and the movement of a flashlight inside.  After officers announced their presence, the suspect began running, crashed through a large window, and jumped from a second story balcony before struggling with officers and being taken into custody.  26-year-old Levi Bell was booked and lodged at NORCOR on charges of burglary, criminal mischief, resisting arrest, and possession of burglary tools.  Hood River Police said one officer was injured while making the arrest.

Washington 14th District State Representative Gina Mosbrucker feels the legislative session that is wrapping up this week featured some good bipartisan bills that will help the state’s residents, but also there were some disappointments.  Mosbrucker thought there was progress in fixing police reform legislation from 2020.  However, Mosbrucker said she was disappointed that with a $15 billion budget surplus there was no significant tax relief moves made, and surprised no legislation to provide checks and balances for the Governor’s emergency powers was able to get to the House floor in spite of a desire to do so on both sides of the aisle.

Sturgeon retention will be closed in the John Day Pool, from John Day Dam upstream to McNary Dam, as of Thursday.  Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington made the decision because catches increased rapidly beginning late last week.  Due to the increased catch rate the 105 fish harvest guideline is projected to be met mid-week.  Therefore, the sturgeon retention will close tonight at 11:59 p.m.  Sturgeon retention currently remains open today and next Wednesday in the Bonneville Pool and Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in The Dalles Pool until March 30.