Southwest Washington Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler will host a live telephone town hall on Wednesday.  Southwest Washington residents can call in to join the town hall at any point during the event by calling 1-877-229-8493 and using the passcode 116365.  Herrera-Beutler will give an update on her work in Congress, and attendees will be invited to ask questions or share whatever is on their mind.  The town hall will begin at 5:25 on Wednesday afternoon.

The White Salmon City Council has imposed a temporary six-month moratorium on short-term rentals within the city limits of White Salmon.  The ordinance also provides a 30-day opportunity from the date of the ordinance for property owners who currently have short-term rental bookings finalized before the date of the moratorium to comply with city requirements including obtaining a business license and short-term rental permit.  Councilor Jim Ransier brought the moratorium before the council for consideration this week, after Councilors had heard concerns from residents regarding short-term rentals and decided it is time to provide guidance in the city’s land use codes on how short-term rentals are allowed.  Councilors felt the moratorium is necessary due to the impacts that short-term rentals are having on the housing market and long-term rental availability in the community.  The White Salmon Planning Commission will be forwarded the moratorium ordinance and is expected to make short-term rentals a priority.  The City Council will hold a public hearing on the moratorium on September 1 at 6:00 p.m. in the council chambers at the White Salmon Fire Hall and via teleconference.

Oregon Second District Congressman Cliff Bentz has introduced a bill to allow the U. S. Forest Service to utilize the same exemptions from the National Environment Policy Act as other federal agencies when working to implement joint projects that can range from wildfire preparedness and response to certain land management and infrastructure activities.  Bentz said in a House floor speech that the Commonsense Coordination Act would eliminate duplicative paperwork for potentially life and property saving federal projects that do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement.  Nine Republican Representatives are co-sponsoring the bill.

Columbia Gorge Community College has reached a transfer agreement between with Pacific Northwest College of Art at Willamette University in Salem, an opportunity for students interested in pursuing an art and design education.  CGCC announced that students who transfer to PNCA are now able to receive a scholarship of $22,000 per year, guaranteed for up to three-and-a-half years, for a total of $77,000.  The art scholarship is available to all CGCC graduating students who apply and are accepted into PNCA.  In addition, the agreement outlines a clear pathway for students to begin their coursework at CGCC and complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at PNCA.  CGCC officials say the agreement is part of PNCA’s sustained effort to make its nationally recognized fine art and design education available to more students.

Washington Third District Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler announced $583,390 has been included in an appropriations bill that will support an effort by Washington Gorge Action Programs to develop a child care facility in Goldendale.  The FY22 Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill included funding to renovate or construct a facility in Goldendale to serve as a child care or early learning center.  Currently there are no licensed child care providers operating in the region except for a Head Start program that is at capacity.

The Oregon Health Authority’s weekly COVID-19 report released on Wednesday shows an increase in daily cases, hospitalizations and COVID-19 related deaths.  The OHA reported 2,026 new daily cases of COVID-19 during the week ending July 18.  That represents a 54% rise over the previous week and the highest tally in seven weeks.  New COVID-19 related hospitalizations rose to 123, up from 104 the previous week.  There were 29 reported COVID-19 related deaths, up from 15 reported the previous week.  There were 62,098 tests for COVID-19 for the week of July 11 through July 17. The percentage of positive tests was 4.2%, up from 3.4% the previous week.  As of July 20, 2,452,035 Oregonians, or 57.5% of the state’s total population had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.  Case rates have generally been higher in counties with lower COVID-19 vaccination rates.  During the week of July 11 to 17, case rates in 15 counties exceeded the statewide average of 44.9 cases per 100,000 population.  All 15 counties had overall population COVID-19 vaccination rates of lower than 55%, and 13 of them had rates lower than 47%.

Klickitat PUD has received a $245,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce Community Services and Housing Division Office of Crime Victims Advocacy to provide customers COVID-19 relief programs.  The funding is federally provided through Coronavirus Emergency Supplemental Funds.  The grant will help establish three utility specific programs to assist Klickitat PUD customers, one for small businesses, one for residential customers, and the third for a summer low income eldery discount program.  PUD officials say the goal is to reach and assist as many customers as possible to prevent, prepare for, and recover from the coronavirus prior to resuming disconnects for non-payment.  To apply, go to klickitatpud.com.

Starting Thursday, no campfires will be allowed in Oregon state parks and in state-managed forests east of Interstate 5, even in designated campfire areas.  The Oregon Department of Forestry and the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department say this includes charcoal fires, cooking fires, warming fires, charcoal briquettes, pellet grills, candles, tiki torches and other devices that emit flames or embers.  Portable cooking stoves or propane lanterns using liquefied or bottle fuels are allowed, though propane fire pits are not.   This ban covers all state-managed parks and forestlands east of Interstate 5, and includes prohibitions on fires in designated fire rings.  The agencies say the public can also anticipate restrictions in other areas based on fire danger.  Restrictions may increase as fire danger rises in other parts of Oregon and will remain in place until conditions moderate.  State agencies strongly encourage checking fire danger levels and associated restrictions in a given area before traveling and daily during a visit.

Two COVID-19 testing research studies have begun in The Dalles this week at the North Central Public Health District office.  Oregon Health Sciences University research coordinator Laura Ferrera says the goal of the research project is to create a reliable, self-serve COVID test that people could operate themselves at venues such as at sports bars or airports.  She adds researchers hope to get 100 local participants in the study.  The larger study is open to anyone 18 and older, regardless of whether they’ve had COVID or been vaccinated.  It asks people to complete a survey and provide either a saliva sample and a nasal COVID-19 test, or two nasal COVID tests. The nasal tests are not the deep probe swab, nor are they the shallow swab.  They are midway between the two.  Researchers, who speak English and Spanish, will be in The Dalles most weekdays for the next two weeks, and will take walk-in or scheduled appointments.  To participate, call 503-593-3076 or email RADxOregon@ohsu.edu.  Participants receive a $50 VISA gift card.  The study is funded by the National Institute of Health, and Oregon Health & Science is partnering with NCPHD in The Dalles and One Community Health in Hood River on the research.  The two study sites in the Gorge are the only rural study sites in the nation.  The saliva and nasal samples collected will go into a biorepository bank at the University of Massachusetts.

Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden introduced three bills to help combat the effects of wildfire smoke, and recover from the damage it causes.  The Wildfire Smoke Emergency Declaration Act would allow the president to declare a “smoke emergency” when wildfire smoke creates hazardous air quality conditions, authorizing federal agencies to provide emergency assistance to communities.  The Smoke Planning and Research Act would provide federal funding to help communities research, develop, and implement plans to help mitigate smoke by establishing four Centers of Excellence at colleges, authorizes $20 million in funding through the Environmental Protection Agency to study the public health impacts of smoke, and create an EPA grant program to help local communities plan and respond to wildfire smoke.  The Wildfire Smoke Relief Act would provide federal emergency assistance to at-risk individuals in areas with unhealthy air quality caused by wildfires by authorizing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide low-cost home improvements and smoke inhalation prevention equipment when wildfire smoke causes unhealthy air quality levels for three consecutive days, plus transitional sheltering assistance in extreme circumstances.