House Bill 2020, dubbed the Clean Energy Jobs bill, cleared the Oregon Legislature’s Natural Resources subcommittee of the Joint Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday night and is headed to the full Ways and Means panel on Friday.  The bill would cap and put a price on carbon emissions.  Backers say the plan would allow Oregon to do its part to reduce climate pollution, while opponents argue it won’t make a significant difference in that regard, and would harm the state’s economy, particularly in rural areas.  The bill passed the subcommittee with an amendment from Portland Democrat Senator Michael Dembrow.  It says if the Oregon Supreme Court rules the proceeds are not bound by constitutional restrictions, the state can use some of the money generated by the program toward buying low to zero-emission fleets, upgrades to other diesel fleets, and creation of a program to trade in old agricultural equipment with a focus on improving engines most harmful to farmworker health.

The new Wasco County Building Codes Services will open its doors on Monday.  The County is taking over building codes operations from the state, which has been handing the duty since February 2018, when Mid-Columbia Council of Governments was being dissolved.  Permit services will begin on Monday with inspections still being handled by the state thorough the end of the month, with Wasco County taking over the inspections on July 1.  Wasco County Building Codes Services will continue to be located at 2705 East Second Street in The Dalles and can be reached by calling (541) 506-2650.  The office will be open to the public from 8:00 am – Noon and 1:00 – 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday, and 7:30 – 11:30 am on Fridays.  All building codes services for Sherman, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties will be moved to the state’s Pendleton office at 800 SE Emigrant Avenue, Suite 360.  That phone number is 541-276-7814.

There will be intermittent, single-lane closures of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge next Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m.  They will take place to allow for semi-annual bridge deck welding.  Port crews and crews from Bulldog Welding will be on the bridge performing weld repairs to the bridge deck, as well as replacing and repairing sections of guardrail.  Flaggers will be on the bridge directing traffic.  Motorists should expect delays of approximately 15 minutes during these hours.  As the bridge’s narrow lanes create a very compact work zone, motorists are urged to drive slowly and with caution for worker safety.

The White Salmon City Council has approved spending up to $20,000 on passes for White Salmon residents to use the Hood River Aquatic Center.  The town will not have its own swimming pool this summer, or in the near future, after the decision was made that it was no longer feasible to keep the aging pool in Rheingarten Park open while continued consideration of building a new pool took place.  Mayor David Poucher says White Salmon residents can come in to City Hall to receive passes.  The money comes from the budget the City had in place to operate the old pool in 2019.  Poucher noted the City is still retaining $37,000 of that budget in case there are additional expenses as a result of the pool closure.

Oregon House District 52 Representative Anna Williams says she thinks some exemption for agricultural business from the 0.57 percent business tax passed two weeks ago will be adopted before the Legislature adjourns.  The Hood River Democrat says it may not be the specific amendment currently sitting on House Speaker Tina Kotek’s desk, but she expects some kind of protection for agriculture to be adopted.  Williams added she believes the language in the business tax bill that has passed would exempt ag, but the amendment would clarify all forms of agriculture are specifically exempted and clarify any ambiguities in the original language, which she supports to keep food costs down.

Insitu announced today it is cutting its workforce due to competitive pressures and a falloff in business.  The Seattle Times is reporting that Chief Executive Officer Esina Alic told employees of the Boeing subsidiary today without providing a number on how many would be laid off, but the newspaper also indicated that a person familiar with the details said the workforce would be cut by about 15 percent.  Insitu employs around 1,000 people in the Gorge and 500 elsewhere.  The Times reported Insitu lost out this spring for a contract with the U.S. Army to provide a new drone scout dubbed the Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial System.  Employees to be laid off will receive 60 days notice.  The cutbacks at Insitu also have the potential to impact a number of small suppliers to the company located in the region.

The Hood River Urban Renewal Agency will host an informational meeting Tuesday on upcoming activities in the Heights area.  The Oregon Department of Transportation will discuss scheduled crosswalk modifications, Greenworks PC, the firm recently selected to create an implementation plan for Heights redevelopment projects, will make a presentation, and the group Streets Alive! will outline their second  year of Heights demonstration projects.  City Manager Rachel Fuller says the public will have a chance to ask questions at the meeting.  The meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday evening in the Hood River Armory.

North Wasco County School District 21 is in the planning process to establish a dual language immersion program at the elementary school level is underway, with the goal of starting with one or two kindergarten classes in the 2020-21 academic year.  Superintendent Candy Armstrong says they are taking steps to make that happen, adding they already have the bilingual teaching personnel they need to do it on staff.  Armstrong added the district is unsure of which school would host the program, but they would open up applications to the entire district.

The deadline to apply for a U.S. Small Business Administration loan in Wasco and neighboring counties to offset economic losses caused by excessive heat, high winds, and fire last summer is July 1.   Small non-farm businesses in Wasco, Hood River, Sherman, Klickitat, Gilliam, and Wheeler counties are eligible.  Small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information and download applications at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela or call (800) 659-2955.

Two Mid-Columbia schools are being recognized by the Washington State Board of Education for demonstrating exemplary performance, or for making significant progress closing opportunity and achievement gaps during the 2017-18 school year.  Carson Elementary School was recognized for closing gaps and demonstrating improvement among student groups identified for support.  Roosevelt Elementary School was acknowledged for growth in the Washington School Improvement Framework metrics while narrowing the gap between the highest and lowest performing student groups and demonstrating improvement among student groups identified for support.  A recognition event celebrating 216 schools statewide will take place June 6, concurrently in Olympia and Spokane.