The City of Hood River is forming a committee to address downtown parking issues.  City Councilors Mark Zanmiller and Kate McBride will be on the panel, and City Manager Steve Wheeler says five others will be selected will be involved as well.  There will be two downtown business operators, two building owners, and an at-large representative.  Wheeler says they have been receiving interest in the positions.  The applications are at the City of Hood River’s website.  

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden is pressing for more details on how the Forest Service will use a recently passed law to end the practice of “fire borrowing” to pay for fighting catastrophic wildfires to reduce fire danger in the West.  Wyden questioned Forest Service interim chief Vicki Christiansen during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing.  Christiansen says they are doing scenario planning now.  Last month, Congress passed the bipartisan Wildfire Disaster Funding Act written by Wyden and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo in 2013.  The new law stops the practice of using fire prevention and other forest health funding accounts to pay to put out large and expensive fires.

Baseball The Dalles 5, Hermiston 2:  Jose Gonzalez pitched a complete game five-hitter and had a two-run single in the first as the Riverhawks pulled even with Hermiston for third in the Columbia River Conference. Pendleton 11, Hood River Valley 1:  Nick Bower’s three-run homer in the first inning set the tone as the Buckaroos pulled two games ahead of HRV atop the CRC. Columbia splits with LaCenter:  The Bruins lost game one 7-4, but came back for a 7-3 to win in game two as Shad Curtis and Jarrin Musgrove drove in two runs apiece.  LaCenter stays a half-game in front of Columbia in the Trico League. King’s Way Christian sweeps Stevenson 10-0 and 24-0. Sherman 20, Dufur 2 Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram sweeps Walla Walla Valley Academy 11-1 and 10-0.   Softball Pendleton 8, Hood River Valley 5:  Rylee Gartner’s three-run walk-off home run capped a four-run seventh inning as the Buckaroos scored the winning runs as they were down to their final out for a second straight time against the Eagles.  Hannah McNerney’s three-run double had given HRV the lead in the fifth inning. Hermiston 11, The Dalles 7 Columbia sweeps Stevenson 20-0 and 26-1:  Mya Aman and Liz Ochoa drove in three runs apiece in game one, while the Bruins scored 23 runs in the second inning of game two. Granger swept Goldendale 15-1 and 16-6.   Boys Soccer Columbia 1, Toledo 1:  Toledo stays one point ahead of Columbia and LaCenter for first in the Trico League.   Boys Tennis Goldendale 5, White Swan 0   Girls Tennis Goldendale 5, White Swan 0   Boys Golf Goldendale finishes third in a four-school tournament at Sage Hills, as the Timberwolves’ Luke Gerchak shoots an 86 to earn medalist honors.

The City of The Dalles budget committee will hold its first meeting this coming Monday evening.  Mayor Steve Lawrence says the City’s books heading into the 2018-19 fiscal year look good, with the unappropriated ending general fund balance and contingency funds in good shape, and the five-year capital improvement plan funded.  Lawrence expects streets to remain a key priority, adding they have some money this year for sidewalk work.  There will also be an emphasis on maintenance and capital improvements.  The first budget committee meeting is this coming Monday at 5:30 p.m. in The Dalles City Hall.  

Fundraising for the reconstruction of Hood River’s Children’s Park is in its final stages.  The City of Hood River and Hood River Valley Parks and Recreation District each provided $150,000 in funding, and $100,000 has been raised so far, but City Manager Steve Wheeler says they need another $35,000 to do the complete project.  To donate to the Children’s Park, go to the City of Hood River website.  Volunteers are also being sought to take part in the building of the play structure in early June.

Google issued a report on Monday highlighting the economic contributions of its data centers in The Dalles and five others in the U.S.  Google says it has invested $10.5 billion building data centers across the country since 2006, when it opened its location in The Dalles.  The company opened its third data center in The Dalles a couple of months ago, and now employs 200 people at its locations in the community and estimates a total of 696 jobs were created because of Google’s presence, with a total investment of $1.8 billion since 2006.  The report shows while Google is a major presence in The Dalles, their data center operations in the Gorge are the smallest of the six in the country.  The other five are in the Midwest and Southeastern part of the U.S.

Hood River County’s budget committee received two different scenarios from staff based on direction the panel has given to use approximately $750,000 in reserves to help fill a $1.4 million shortfall in the 2018-19 budget.  One used $739,000 in reserves, while a second actually used over $850,000.  County Administrator Jeff Hecksel says part of the direction was to avoid layoffs of full-time staff, and for the most part that happened in these proposals, which the budget committee is now studying.  The County budget committee meets again on Thursday at 3 p.m. at the County Administration Building.

The City of Hood River has begun its budget process for the 2018-19 fiscal year.  In his budget message, City Manager Steve Wheeler termed the outlook for the upcoming year as “strong and stable” thanks to a robust local economy, and the City will be able to meet key expectations.  Mayor Paul Blackburn says that there were still be important decisions to be made.  Budget committee meetings are being held every Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Hood River City Hall until the panel completes its work.  

Northwest Cherry Festival week has arrived in The Dalles.  The big focus is on the coming weekend, with the downtown events to begin on Friday evening and continuing through Sunday afternoon.  The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Lisa Farquharson says one change this year is the carnival, a schedule conflict necessitating a change from Davis Shows to Cascade Amusements Northwest.  Wristbands good for a full day’s worth of rides are available for $20 at The Dalles Chamber office until the festival starts, then the price goes up to $25.  Northwest Cherry Festival guides are available at Gorgeradio.com.

Baseball Hood River Valley splits with Pendleton, losing game one 8-5 in 10 innings and winning game two 3-0. The Dalles splits with Hermiston, losing game one 7-6 and winning game two 7-6. Columbia 7, Stevenson 0 Sherman sweeps Heppner 13-12 and 15-4 Culver sweeps Dufur 10-0 and 6-0 DeSales sweeps Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 4-3 and 14-4   Softball Pendleton sweeps Hood River Valley 7-3 and 6-5 Hermiston sweeps The Dalles 7-6 and 15-5 Portland Christian 31, Stevenson 9 DeSales sweeps Lyle-Klickitat-Wishram 18-9 and 22-14   Track and Field The Dalles girls were third and the boys fifth at the Hermiston Kiwanis Invitational.  Sam Alvarez won the boys’ steeplechase, Emma Mullins the girls’ 800 meters, and Paulina Finn the girls’ high jump.   Hood River Valley’s boys and girls both finished fifth in the Wilsonville Invitiational.  HRV had four event winners:  Chad Klaas in the boys’ pole vault, Jonah Tactay in the boys’ triple jump, Frances Dickinson in the girls’ 3,000 meters, and Evelyn Nunez in the girls’ 800 meters.   Columbia won the girls team title at their Bruin Invitational, while the CHS boys were second to Hockinson.  The Bruins’ Alondra Casarez-Garcia won two events in the girls’ portion of the meet.  Columbia’s Alex Medina and Stevenson’s David McAndie and Issac Hoidal were double event winners in boys competition.   Lyle-Wishram’s boys were second and the South Wasco girls third at the Condon-Wheeler Invitational.  Lyle-Wishram’s Brandon Montoya won three events in boys competition, while Ana Popchock won three for the South Wasco girls.   Dufur’s boys were fifth at the Portland Christian Invitational, as Asa Farrell won the 100 meters and Owen Christiansen the long jump.   Boys Soccer Hoquiam 2, Columbia 0   Boys Lacrosse Hood River Valley 18, Summit 11 Hood River Valley 9, Bend 8   Girls Lacrosse Jesuit 16, Hood River Valley 7