Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 351 - 371 of 371
RITZVILLE - The Columbia Basin Investigative Team has identified the man shot and killed by police Saturday night as Shawn Lee. Lee, 49, hometown not released, was shot in the parking lot of Love's Travel Stop and Country Stores, 1370 N. state Highway 261, by officer Jeff Lane, said a report on the shooting released this morning. Lane is on paid administrative leave, standard operating procedure for an officer involved in a shooting. According to the report, Lee was passing through Ritzville...
RITZVILLE - Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler doesn't agree with extending the statewide quarantine until May 4 due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Responding to Bainbridge Island Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee's order last night to extend his "stay home" order until May 4, Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said there has to be some flexibility for the state's rural and other areas. "We're not out of the woods, yet," Gov. Inslee said. "This order is not only necessary, it's morally necessary." "The...
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” —Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote often arises in the context of government overreach. In this age of Wuhan Flu —or COVID-19, as those pushing political correctness would say —it still applies today. On Monday evening, Gov. Jay Inslee followed the lead of California Gov. Gavin Newsome and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown in ordering residents to remain in their homes...
RITZVILLE -- Adams County health officials Saturday evening reported that a total of 23 coronavirus cases have been confirmed. Of those cases, 19 are in Othello, with 10 connected to a single family, officials said. There are two cases each in Lind and Ritzville. Of the Lind-Ritzville cases, three are connected to a single family, officials said. Overall, 159 county residents have been tested, officials said, noting results from 31 tests are still pending and 101 have returned negative....
RITZVILLE -- Senate Minority Leader Mark Schoesler doesn't agree with extending the statewide quarantine until May 4 due to the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak. Responding to Bainbridge Island Democrat Gov. Jay Inslee's order last night to extend his "stay home" order until May 4, Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said there has to be some flexibility for the state's rural and other areas. "We're not out of the woods, yet," Gov. Inslee said. "This order is not only necessary, it's morally necessary." "The...
OTHELLO -- The number of Wuhan coronavirus cases is rising, with almost half of the cases connected to a single family. As of Sunday afternoon, Adams County health officials were reporting 23 cases in the city, 11 of which were in one family. There are only four other cases in Adams County, three of which are within a family that has members in Ritzville and Lind. Total, there are 27 cases county wide, with two cases in each Ritzville and Lind, officials said, noting a total of 161 people have been tested. One infected resident is...
OLYMPIA - With no fanfare or disclosure, Gov. Jay Inslee quietly amended a month-old coronavirus-related proclamation, so that it now strips residents and news organizations of the right to attend public meetings and review public records in person. The move came just a day after Tim Eyman, a gubernatorial candidate challenging Inslee for his seat, attended the Bellingham City Council meeting to object to an effort to restrict the right of residents to keep and bear arms in connection with...
MAZAMA — Eastern Washington residents wanting to use highways through scenic mountain passes to get to the Puget Sound area or Pacific Ocean are going to have to wait. On Thursday, state Transportation Secretary Roger Millar ordered plowing halted in Washington passes. Effected passes include: Washington Pass accessed via North Cascades Highway (state Highway 20). The pass connects the Methow Valley to the Sedro-Woolley area Cayuse Pass on state Highway 410. Cayuse Pass connects Naches to the E...
SEATTLE - The city of Seattle and King County continued their lawsuit against the electorate earlier this week by requesting an emergency extension of an injunction blocking implementation. The measure, approved by voters statewide on Nov. 5, would have generally capped vehicle licensing tabs and taxes at $30 for more non-commercial vehicles. I-976 was supposed to go into effect Dec. 5, but has been held up by the city of Seattle and King County officials who have filed suit to prevent its...
OTHELLO — Adams County health officials reported 13 confirmed coronavirus cases late tonight, Monday night, March 30. That's up from five cases Friday, March 27, the last time Adams County Health Department officials released a confirmed tally. Community Health Director Karen Potts, RN said the cases were no longer confined to Othello, but she did not say in which communities the cases were located. At least two cases were involved Othello residents who remain hospitalized. “We are starting to get cases from outside facilities who are doi...
SPANGLE — A local man was killed early Saturday morning when his pickup crossed the centerline and hit a tractor-trailer head-on. Shane M. Remp, 32, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:31 a.m. near Milepost 75 of U.S. Highway 195, the Washington State Patrol Reported. The crash occurred when Remp's northbound 2006 Chevrolet Silverado crossed the centerline and struck a southbound 2016 Kenworth driven by Joseph E. Reid, 48 of Spokane Valley, the patrol reported. Reid's truck was towing a 1...
BOISE — Female athletes may not have to compete against so-called “transgender” women — in other words, biological males — in Idaho . That’s because Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 500, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act, into law Monday, March 30. The measure amends state law to prevent those athletes born as males from competing in female-designated sports. The bill follows the Idaho Legislature’s finding of fact that, biologically, there are “inherent differences between men and women.” The finding points out the science outlining t...
BOISE — The U.S. Geological Survey is reporting a magnitude 6.5 earthquake and five aftershocks shaking Central Idaho starting about 5:53 p.m. today, Tuesday, March 31. The main quake struck about 43 miles west of Challis, in the Shake Creek area, the USGS reported. The agency received calls that the earthquake was felt as far away as Spokane, Wash. It’s epicenter was at a depth of 6 miles, the USGS reported. Aftershocks followed of magnitudes: 3.6 in the Bench Creek area, 42 miles east-southeast of Cascade 4.6 in the Swamp Creek area, 49 mil...
OLYMPIA — Gov. Jay Inslee has ordered resident to stay home for the next two weeks as a way to prevent the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, also known as Wuhan Flu. The order takes effect March 25. “Tonight, I am issuing a stay home order to fight this virus,” Inslee said in a televised and Internet broadcast Monday evening from Olympia. “This is Washington’s stay home, stay health order.” Inslee said the order includes a ban on all gatherings, including going to the beach, weddings, f...
OLYMPIA — Residents who become unemployed due to government actions to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 coronovirus won’t have to worry about being evicted, at least for the next month. During a press conference this afternoon, March 18, Gov. Jay Inslee said he signed an order preventing landlords from evicting people who fall behind on rent after being sent home from work due the “WuFlu” pandemic. “I’m issue a statewide moratorium on evictions for failure to pay rent for the next 30 days,” the governor said. Inslee also penned a letter to t...
As a member of the “Fourth Estate,” our newspaper staff regularly comes in close contact with people from all walks of life. Knowing that, we are doing our part to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, COVID-19, colloquially dubbed “Wuhan flu” and “WuFlu.” Like you, we are washing our hands, covering coughs and sanitizing everything in sight. We’re also taking the unusual step of closing our offices to public access, in an effort to protect the staff that is keeping you informed as w...
SEATTLE -- The King County judge who initially blocked the $30 car-tab cap denied most of the challenges to the taxpayer-approved measure. Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson ruled this morning, Tuesday, March 24, that the measure meets constitutional muster and can go into effect. But he severed parts of the measure that related to how vehicle valuations are calculated in the Puget Sound region. Those valuations provide the basis for Sound Transit to collect taxes to expand its operations. "...
Unintended consequence or bureaucratic power grab? Given the things being ordered behind locked doors of government offices, I’ll take the latter. Tonight, March 25, when the clock strikes midnight, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife is banning all fishing and boating statewide. This closure comes on the heels of a previous order to ban all camping on publicly owned, state-managed lands. The closures, Department of Fish and Wildlife officials say, is in keeping with Gov. Jay Inslee’s Mon...
OLYMPIA -- The state earlier today announced all publicly owned lands managed by Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and Department of Fish and Wildlife are closed to the public. The closure will last at least two weeks, officials said, noting it includes wildlife areas as well as public access areas such as trailheads and boat launch facilities. Gates and facilities will be locked and all public services suspended, officials said. Rangers will be "present to preserve and protect"...
Engrossed Senate Bill 5395, the sex education bill mandating “inclusive” curriculum beginning in kindergarten has been hotly contested this legislative session in Olympia. But with the House and Senate both backing the bill, it’s likely to become an issue locally. Under the bill sponsored by Sen. Claire Wilson, an openly lesbian Democrat from Federal Way, all public schools statewide would be required to start teaching a curriculum that includes gay, lesbian, transgender and other “protected cla...
You’ve read that your hometown newspaper has been sold. You’ve been told that newspapers are failing. You may have even heard “print is dead.” Now, you are concerned local news and sports coverage will be disappear. You’re worried that that you’ll have to look to the Internet to see what’s happening in your neighborhood. B way of an introduction, let us assuage your concerns. We are Free Press Publishing, Eastern Washington’s largest community newspaper group. Our publications are found in mostl...
