The Hood River County Commission has set a public hearing for April 18 to consider an emergency ordinance to prohibit the production and processing of marijuana on properties zoned rural residential.  Administrator David Meriwether says the County has received inquiries about those kind of operations, and while a permanent ordinance would go through the usual planning process, this would be a placeholder to allow that process to move forward.  The hearing will take place April 18 in the County Administration Building.  In other business, Commissioners declared this coming Monday will be Minoru Yasui Day in Hood River County.  Yasui received the Presidential Medal Of Freedom in November for his work protesting the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

The Dalles Main Street is developing a new program to help support downtown vitality.  The non-profit program’s Business Retention and Expansion program will involve staff, volunteers, and many partner organizations sitting down one-on-one with businesses and property owners to better understand their challenges and opportunities, and work to connect businesses to support services. Visitation teams will contact 40 randomly selected downtown The Dalles business and property owners to setup meetings to gather information needed to identify top areas of concern and help prioritize efforts of Main Street and other agencies.  The program has been developed by a team made up of the Small Business Development Center, Port of The Dalles, Mid-Columbia Economic Development District, Main Street Business committee, and others.  Detailed information on the program can be found on-line at thedallesmainstreet.org.

Washington Democrats hold their presidential nomination caucus on Saturday.  In Klickitat County, caucus locations are Henkle Middle School in White Salmon for west end precincts and Goldendale Grange Hall for east end precincts.  Sign in begins at 9:30 in the morning, with caucusing starting at 10 a.m.  Pre-registration is available on-line at klickitatdemocrats.org.  Voting is limited to registered votes, but registration will be available at the caucus location.

The Oregon and Washington transportation departments say they won’t extend the 2015-16 studded tire season past March 31.  Studded tires are allowed in Oregon and Washington from November 1 through March 31 each year.  Laws in both states allow studded tire season to be extended when necessary, but current weather forecasts do not support an extension this year.  The Oregon Department of Transportation encourages drivers to consider other types of traction tires or chains to help minimize roadway damage caused by studded tires.  Drivers with studded tires on their vehicles after the deadline in Oregon can be charged with a Class C traffic violation, and in Washington can receive an infraction with a $124 fine.

Baseball Hood River Valley 2, Lancaster (California) 1:  Patrick Harvey drove in Connor Coerper with the winning run in the top of the seventh inning to give the Eagles their second win in three games at the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix, Arizona.  Kellen Duffy went the distance on the mound, giving up six hits while striking out four.  Duffy got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh inning, inducing a ground out to win the game.

The popular spring chinook fisheries on the Deschutes and Hood rivers will open this spring.  Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife managers are predicting over 4,000 adult hatchery fish will return to the Deschutes, which is well above management goals to obtain hatchery broodstock and other needs.  The Deschutes will open for adipose fin-clipped chinook from May 1 through July 31 from the mouth of the Deschutes at the I-84 bridge upstream to Sherars Falls.  Managers are predicting far fewer adult fish returning to the Hood River, about 970 hatchery fish.  The Hood will be open for adipose fin-clipped chinook from April 15 through June 30 from the mouth to mainstem confluence with the East Fork, and the West Fork from the confluence with the mainstem upstream to the angling deadline 200 feet downstream of Punchbowl Falls.

Hood River County Commissioners approved the purchase and sale agreement with Western Rivers Conservancy to acquire the property that will make a Punchbowl Falls Park a reality.  County Administrator David Meriwether says a grant agreement with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has been executed, and he expects the sale to close within three to four weeks.  Meriwether adds soon after that, work will begin on limited improvements to the area.  County Commissioners have elected to permanently close Routson Park south of Mount Hood.  Meriwether says that park has been closed for several years, is difficult to operate due to water system issues, and gets very little use.  Commissioners found the cost of rehabilitating the park wasn’t worth it, so it will become part of county forestlands.

Google will break ground Thursday on its new data center in The Dalles.  The facility will be built in the Port of The Dalles Columbia Gorge Industrial Center, adjacent to Google’s current facilities.  The company says the new data center represents $600 million worth of new investment in The Dalles.  Dignitaries taking part in the groundbreaking ceremony includes The Dalles Mayor Steve Lawrence, State Representative John Huffman, and members of The Dalles City Council and the Wasco County Commission.  The event will not be open to the public.

The Swindells Resource Center will hold a community resource fair at Pine Grove School in early April for families of children with special needs.  Swindells in a part of the Providence Child Center.  Director Jody Wright says there will be information from Mid-Columbia area agencies and service providers, including county mental health and developmental disabilities, education support programs, and early intervention.  The resource fair will take place on April 5 at 5 p.m. at Pine Grove School.  There will also be a class right after the resource fair with an expert on Positive Discipline, a parenting philosophy that empowers both children and parents, beginning at 6:30.  For information call 800-833-8899, extension 52429.

Baseball Hood River Valley 11, Liberty (Arizona) 7:  Dallas Buckley’s bases loaded triple triggered a six-run third inning as the Eagles moved their record at the Coach Bob Invitational in Phoenix to 1-1.  Buckley drove in four runs in the game, while Skyler Hunter and Kellen Duffy had three hits apiece. Goldendale sweeps White Swan 10-0 and 16-0   Softball The Dalles 14, Sherwood 5 The Dalles 18, North Salem 3:  The Riverhawks completed a four-game sweep at the Central Oregon Spring Break Invitational in Bend. Hood River Valley 15, Pleasant Hill 13 Hood River Valley 6, Newport 1:  The Eagles won two games at the Battle of the Beach in Newport on Tuesday to finish that series with a 3-1 record. White Swan sweeps Goldendale 17-12 and 14-6   Track and Field Columbia had three athletes win two events each at a five-school meet at King’s Way Christian to begin the season.  James Bell won both boys’ hurdles races, while Stacia Bell won the girls’ shot put and discus and Lauren Thiesies won the long jump and high jump.