Oregon Seventh District Circuit Court Judge Janet Stauffer is one of four nominees to fill a vacancy on the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.  Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley submitted the nominees to the White House on Monday.  Stauffer was elected to her current position in May 2010.  Other nominees for the federal District judgeship include Oregon Assistant U.S. Attorney Renata Gowie, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Karin Immergut, and Portland defense attorney Karen O’Kasey.  The finalists were chosen after review by a selection committee comprised of attorneys appointed by Wyden, Merkley and Congressman Greg Walden.

When the Hood River County Commission holds a second public hearing on a proposed two percent County sales tax, Commission Chair Ron Rivers is hoping to hear for ideas on how the County can deal with a one-point-six million dollar budget shortfall.  The sales tax was almost universally criticized at the first hearing one week ago.  Rivers says he’s hoping at the second hearing on February 20, people will bring visions for the future.  The County Commission has eyed putting the two percent sales tax on the ballot, but has not made a final decision on that.  The next hearing is scheduled for 6 p.m. on February 20 at the Hood River Valley Adult Center.

GorgeWorks is looking for local business and professional experts to participate in a series of weekly professional development workshops this summer.  Andrea Klaas of the Port of The Dalles says part of the program will involve participants meeting every Wednesday mornings throughout the summer to hear from experts in their field on topics ranging from public speaking, personal finance, work/life balance, marketing yourself, workplace expectations, and more.  Those who would like to share their knowledge can call the Port of The Dalles at 541-298-4148.

The Washington State House unanimously approved a bill to help lower inspection costs for some manufacturers.  The bill sponsored by 14th District Representative Gina McCabe would allow the Department of Labor and Industries to delegate its inspection duties related to factory built housing and commercial structures to other qualified inspection agencies.  Currently, L&I conducts inspections at factories where the manufactured entities are produced to ensure standards are met.  Manufacturers bear 100 percent of the costs for the inspection.  L&I inspects roughly 1,600 units a year.  McCabe says the bill aims to make the inspection process more efficient and cost effective.  The bill now advances to the Senate for further consideration.

Swimming Alison Burke won two events while Hood River Valley won a pair of relays on the way to winning the Columbia River Conference girls’ swimming championship at the Hood River Aquatic Center on Saturday.  Burke won the 200 and 500 yard freestyle, while the Eagles were first in the 200 medley and 400 freestyle relays.  Celilo Brun and Yasmeen Ziada also won events for HRV.  The Dalles finished fourth, with Natalie Varland finishing second in the 100 backstroke and the Riverhawks taking second in the 200 medley relay.  In the boys’ portion of the meet, HRV took second behind Hermiston with The Dalles in fourth.  HRV’s Chad Klaas won both the 50 freestyle and 100 butterfly, and David Hecksel won the 100 backstroke.   Wrestling Hood River Valley finished fifth and The Dalles ninth at the Oregon Class 5A Special District 4 wrestling tournament in Redmond.  Hood River Valley will send six wrestlers to this weekend’s state 5A tournament in Portland, as Ryan Zeller won the district title at 120 pounds and Jason Shaner did the same at 132.  Chad Muenzer at 126 and Adrian Ramirez advanced at 285 with third place finishes.  Justin Lane and Cade Parker also advanced.   J.R. Scott moves on to state for The Dalles after taking third at 182.  Mountain View won the team title.   Columbia finished fifth and Stevenson seventh at the Washington Class 1A Region 3 Tournament at Castle Rock.  Four Bruins advanced to this weekend’s state Mat Classic in Tacoma, with James Bell winning the regional title at 145 pounds, Elijah Bell and Alex Medina grabbing second place finishes, and Payden Webster earning a third.  Abiy LaCombe, Braeden Waymire, and Brandon Connell move on to state for Stevenson.   Goldendale’s Dustin Dodge and Blane Waddell earned state tournament invitations as the Timberwolves finished tenth at the Washington Class 1A Region 2 Tournament at Sultan   Alpine Skiing Hood River Valley’s Erin Sutherland, Erika Anderson, and Josie Peterson finished 1-2-3 in a Mt. Hood League giant slalom at Timberline on Sunday.  Maddie Gragg was the top finisher for The Dalles in sixth.  In the boys’ race, HRV’s Chris McElwee took the top spot with Colson Zack in third.  Louis Redcloud of The Dalles took eighth.   Boys Basketball Hood River Valley 81, The Dalles 67 Sherman 74, Ione 32 Sherman 69, Horizon Christian 50 Condon-Wheeler 60, Horizon Christian 58 Dufur 63, Mitchell-Spray 8 Dufur 58, South Wasco 30 Arlington 74, South Wasco 36   Girls Basketball The Dalles 45, Hood River Valley 42 Sherman 51, Ione 32 Sherman 39, Horizon Christian 30 Horizon Christian 42, Condon-Wheeler 26 Dufur 61, Mitchell-Spray 9 South Wasco 57, Arlington 17 South Wasco 60, Dufur 49   Washington District 5 Class 1B Basketball Tournament at Goldendale First Round Boys Yakama Tribal 84, Trout Lake 56 Sunnyside Christian 91 Klickitat-Glenwood 35   First Round Girls Sunnyside Christian 70, Klickitat-Glenwood 23 Yakama Tribal 73, Trout Lake 45   Second Round Boys Sunnyside Christian 73, Yakama Tribal 44 Trout Lake 64, Klickitat-Glenwood 57:  Trout Lake plays Yakama Tribal for a regional tournament berth on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in Goldendale.   Second round Girls Sunnyside Christian 56, Yakama Tribal 16 Trout Lake 59, Klickitat-Glenwood 28: Trout Lake plays Yakama Tribal for a regional tournament berth on Tuesday at 5 p.m. in Goldendale.

26th District Oregon State Senator Chuck Thomsen says the resignation of Roseburg Republican Senator Jeff Kruse won’t change the voting dynamics within the chamber.  Kruse resigned Thursday in the wake of an investigative report released this week documented allegations that he harassed female colleagues while talking to them in public areas of the Senate.  Kruse has denied those allegations.  The departure of Kruse leaves the Senate with Democrats holding a 17-12 majority, but Thomsen does not believe that will have much of an impact on votes, even though it does create more committee assignments for some GOP senators.  Thomsen has taken a spot on the Senate Education Committee with the departure of Kruse, who had his committee assignments stripped last year.

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden voted no on the federal budget deal, saying while he was happy with some parts of the bill, he was bitterly disappointed that the House did not include funding for a wildfire prevention package.  Wyden directed most of his anger toward House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying he “obstructed bipartisan work to protect the West.”  Second District Congressman Greg Walden was the only member of the state’s House delegation to vote for the spending bill.  The Hood River Republican said while no bill is perfect, he believes the agreement advances important initiatives for Oregonians, including a full two-year extension for Community Health Centers.

Southwest Washington Class 1A Boys Basketball Tournament First Round Montesano 82, Stevenson 46:  The Bulldogs will play Hoquiam in a loser-out game on Tuesday.   Southwest Washington Class 1A Girls Basketball Tournament First Round Montesano 66, Stevenson 19:  The Bulldogs end the season with a 12-8 record.

Wasco County Commissioners approved a three-year lease of the Home At Last Animal Shelter with new operator Central Oregon Animal Friends.  Commissioner Scott Hege said to do that the County invoked the reversionary clause that was a part of the transfer of the property to the original Home At Last operation.  Hege adds they will be looking at a similar transfer to Central Oregon Animal Friends, but with the short amount of time in which the merger of the two organizations took place, it was decided the lease would be the best option in the short-term.  Both Wasco County and the City of The Dalles have provided Central Oregon Animal Friends one-time grants of 25-thousand dollars to help with the financial structure of the shelter.

Washington Gorge Action Programs is taking donations on behalf families impacted by Tuesday’s fire at an apartment building in White Salmon.  Lesile Naramore at WGAP says donations can be brought into the agency’s main office at 115 West Steuben Street in Bingen, or made online through PayPal at wgap.ws.  All donations are tax deductible.  The fire occurred early Tuesday morning in the 200 block of Northeast Rhine Village Drive.  In a press release the American Red Cross Cascades Region said that 14 children were among those displaced by the fire.  The Red Cross put the total number of victims at 30.