The Hood River City Council has chosen to use Oregon Health Authority administrative rules for psilocybin manufacturing and service centers that were approved under Measure 109 in Oregon two years ago.  Councilors could have chosen to have the City develop its own time, manner, and place restrictions, or referred to the voters in November a measure to either prohibit the psilocybin centers in Hood River or place a two-year moratorium on them.  Councilor Megan Saunders felt the OHA rules under development will be sufficient.  The vote to adopt the OHA rules was 6-1, with Erick Haynie opposing.  He wanted to refer the issue to voters for a prohibition or moratorium.  OHA will start processing psilocybin applications at the start of 2023.

The Hood River County Fair begins its four-day run Wednesday in Odell.  This year’s theme is “Up In The Garden, Down On The Farm.”  Exhibits open at noon on Wednesday, with the carnival getting started at 1 p.m.  Among the opening day attractions:  the 4-H Fashion Revue will be at 6:30 in the evening at the small animal barn, with Joe Stoddard performing on the park stage at 7 p.m.  Also at 7 p.m.:  the Dancing Horses in the Frank Herman Arena.  Godfrey the Magician, Pirate’s Parrot Show, and Mutton Bustin’ will have performances taking place throughout the day and evening.  A complete schedule and advance tickets are available at hoodriverfairgrounds.com.

The Dalles City Council has approved expanding the scope of The Dalles Vision Plan update to accommodate a worksession with the City’s governmental partners.  City Manager Matthew Klebes says the plan is to hold a worksession with staff and board representatives from a number of local governmental agencies.  The results of a community survey and town hall meeting put enhancing education and creating economic vitality as top priorities, followed by maintaining and adding recreation and open space, strengthening and sustaining community life, and improving governance and infrastructure.  The intent is to have a final Vision Plan adopted in early fall.

Hood River’s Urban Renewal Agency Board, made up primarily of the City Council, gave the go-ahead to the Port of Hood River to conduct a financial analysis of expanding the length of the Waterfront Urban Renewal District but shrinking its size, but gave no guarantees it would approve an extension after the study.  Many on the panel are focused on a Westside Urban Renewal District in an effort to create affordable housing opportunities, and don’t want an extension of the Waterfront district to take away from that.  But Councilor Mark Zanmiller pointed out that doing the analysis will provide a better idea of what it would take to create an additional $1.8 million in tax increment financing to make improvements to the entry to the Waterfront.  The analysis will look at five different options that would shrink the current Waterfront Urban Renewal District down to 12 to 25 acres in size.

Hood River’s Urban Renewal Agency Board will be discussing the Heights Streetscape project in August.  City Manager Abigail Elder says the topic is planned for the panel’s August 8 meeting.  Mayor Kate McBride says they will be reviewing recommendations from their consultants and staff selecting a direction to pursue, noting while a hybrid concept which would make 13th Street two-way but 12th remain one-way had some favor among the board, nothing has been decided.  Elder noted municipal staff have continued discussions with the Oregon Department of Transportation on the subject.  Both 12th and 13th are state highways.

A local contingent has returned from a visit to Washington, D.C. to seek support for its application for $195 million in federal grant funds for replacement of the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate Bridge.  Klickitat County Commissioner Jacob Anderson says he felt positive about the reception they received, especially from federal transportation officials.  The federal transportation department should announce its grant recipients sometime later this year.

A 57-year-old Longview woman died in a motorcycle accident on Washington Highway 14 Sunday evening.  According to the Washington State Patrol, the motorcycle was traveling westbound on Highway 14 near milepost 24 when it went off the roadway to the right and struck an embankment. The motorcycle came to rest in the westbound lane.  The driver was taken to Peacehealth Southwest Washington Hospital in Vancouver, where she was pronounced deceased.  Her name has not been released pending notification of next of kin.  The accident occurred just after 7:30 Sunday night.

The Port of Hood River says bridge engineers and inspection crews will be on the Hood River-White Salmon Interstate bridge Tuesday through Thursday to conduct the Oregon Department of Transportation required biennial bridge inspections.   Flaggers will be on the bridge directing traffic around the moving work zone starting at 6:30 a.m. through 2:00 p.m. all three days.   Motorists should expect delays of approximately 20 minutes during these hours, depending on traffic volume.  For more information, contact the Port via email to porthr@gorge.net.

Mid-Columbia Community Action and Washington Gorge Action Programs will be have cooling shelters open this coming week from Monday through Friday due to the expected high temperatures.  In Hood River County the shelter will be at the Hood River Alliance Church on 2650 Montello…while in Wasco County it will be located at St. Vincent dePaul at 315 West 3rd in The Dalles.  Shelters in Klickitat County will be at Father’s House Fellowship on 207 South Klickitat Avenue in Goldendale and the White Salmon Fire Hall on 119 NE Church Avenue.  WAGAP will also have a Skamania County shelter adjacent to the Hegewald Center on 710 SW Rock Creek Drive in Stevenson.  In all cases, shelters will be open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.  In Sherman County, Mid-Columbia Community Action advises people to call 541-565-3100 for information on cooling resources near you.

North Wasco County School District 21 has hired Dr. Lauren Merklin as the new Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment.  Merklin, who holds both a masters and doctorate degree in Educational Leadership and Administration brings an extensive background in leadership, professional development, and school strategy to the role.  Since 2015, Merklin has been a consultant, contracting with schools across the nation, focusing on strategic development, vision planning, and the development of education models to facilitate student success.  Merklin says she considers herself a “data-informed strategist.”  As Director of Teaching, Learning and Assessment, Merklin will be tasked with the development, implementation, and evaluation of D21’s K-12 curriculum, staff development and assessment, school improvement initiatives, and federal grants oversight.