Oregon 59th District State Representative John Huffman said he is disappointed the Ways and Means Education Subcommittee he is a part of moved forward a $7.255 billion  K-12 education budget.  Huffman voted no on the budget.  In a speech on the floor of the House, The Dalles Republican said the budget approval gave school districts certainty that they would have to cut teachers, programs, and school days.  He added constituents told him to prioritize school funding. The full Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote on the K-12 budget on Thursday.

Washington House Democrats will unveil their state budget proposal on Friday, but when the majority caucus in the Senate will do the same is unknown.  Republican 14th District State Senator Curtis King says speculation in Olympia indicates the House will release spending plans but not reveal revenue plans.  King says if that is the case, the Senate budget may not come out for a while.  King added Senate Republicans believe a number of tax measures Democrat budget writers want may not actually have the votes to get out of the House.

Baseball Sherwood 12, Hood River Valley 0 Central Catholic sweeps The Dalles 11-0 and 15-3 Goldendale sweeps White Swan 9-5 and 11-2:  The Timberwolves used big innings to grab the sweep, scoring six runs in the fourth inning of game one, and ten runs in the third inning of the nightcap.   Softball West Anchorage 11, The Dalles 10 Gresham 4, The Dalles 1 North Eugene 7,  Hood River Valley 4 Marist 9, Hood River Valley 8 (11 innings) Goldendale sweeps White Swan 9-3 and 18-6 Columbia at Washougal, postponed   Boys Tennis LaSalle 3, Goldendale 1   Girls Tennis LaSalle 5, Goldendale 0

The Dalles City Council approved an ordinance governing where medical marijuana dispensaries can be located.  Councilors had put a moratorium in place to allow time to develop the zoning rules, but that was due to expire May 1, and Mayor Steve Lawrence said they needed to get the ordinance passed even though the landscape may change with the legalization of recreational marijuana.  Councilors approved municipal planning commission recommendations to allow the dispensaries as an outright permitted use restricted to three commercial zones:  the Central Business District, the General Commercial District, and the Commercial Light Industrial District.  The ordinance puts siting distance restrictions used for adult businesses into effect for medical marijuana outlets.  However, the Council elected to allow the dispensaries to operate on weekends, while the planning commission had sought to restrict the businesses to weekday hours.  The vote to approve was three-to-one with Dan Spatz opposed, noting marijuana remains illegal under federal law, and he was uncomfortable with state and local governments moving in opposition to that.

A two-year extension of the Secure Rural Schools Act for local school, road, and law enforcement funding in counties with national forestlands has been included in a bipartisan agreement to reform how doctors are paid under Medicare.  Oregon Second District Congressman Greg Walden says the extension provides more time to work on long-term federal forest policy reforms.  Walden credited fellow Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio for working with his leadership to support including the provision in the Medicare deal.  House consideration of this bipartisan agreement is expected this week.   If passed by the House this week, the bill would then go to the Senate for a vote.

Oregon legislative leaders say they will move forward this week with a K-12 school budget education interests call inadequate.  House Speaker Tina Kotek and Senate President Peter Courtney, both Democrats, say school districts need certainty as they develop their budgets, and they say if the May revenue forecast shows the state can expect more money, 40 percent would go to K-12 schools.  But Republican Senate Minority Leader Ted Ferrioli says it is unlikely the revenue forecast would jump by the over 600 million dollars needed to move the K-12 budget to the seven-point-five billion dollars education advocates say is the minimum needed.  The Ways and Means Subcommittee passed the education budget today on a partisan vote.

Baseball Pinnacle, AZ 8,  Hood River Valley 0:  The Arizona school brought HRV’s season-opening three-game winning streak to a screeching halt as the Eagles opened their trip to Arizona.  Pinnacle scored four runs in the opening inning, and limited HRV to two hits in the game.   Softball Hood River Valley 10, Dallas 6 Hillsboro 15, Hood River Valley 3 The Dalles 8, Wilsonville 0 The Dalles 9, Century 9

The fields are set for the May 19 special district elections in Oregon.  There will be three contested seats on the ballot for the Columbia Gorge Community College Board of Education, with Christina Suarez and Lee Fairchild filing for position three, Charlotte Arnold and Guy Fenner for position four, and Stu Watson and Becky Kopecky for position six.  Incumbents holding two Port of Hood River Commission seats will face challenges, with Dennis Cullington opposing Brian Shortt for position four, and Hoby Streich opposed by Brian Hardy and Jason Carpenter for position five.  No one filed to oppose Port of The Dalles incumbents Greg Weast, Bob McFadden, and David Griffith for their positions.  There is one contested North Wasco County School District 21 board position, with current member Dean McAllister challenged by John Frederick in zone two.  Three people filed for position one on the Hood River County School District board:  Kris Wilhelm, Chris Reitz, and Rob Brostoff.

The City of Hood River is getting ready to establish new safe routes to school on May Street between 30th and 17th Streets.  City Manager Steve Wheeler says work is expected to begin this summer on bike lanes and sidewalks.  The key intersection is at 17th and May, which Wheeler says will be redesigned to be more intuitive and safer.  City Councilors will get a complete look at the plans at their meeting Monday evening at 6 p.m. in Hood River City Hall.

Klickitat County is getting ready to finalize contracts to construct the new flex space building and a hangar at the Columbia Gorge Regional Airport in Dallesport.  County Commissioner David Sauter says ground breaking on the flex building should take place very soon, and he notes it’s important to get that started and get a structure located in the industrial park surrounding the airport, especially with the Port of The Dalles wrapping up work on its North Chenoweth property.  Sauter added getting a building constructed will provide some tangible evidence to prospective tenants that the Dallesport site is ready for businesses to locate there.