Recent Stories
Crescent Bar RVs have to go, feds say
EPHRATA — Federal dam regulators want the approximately 400 condo and homeowners of Crescent Bar Island to leave when their leases expire in 2012, period. How long they have to clear out is something Grant County PUD staff is studying now. Commissioners will hear staff’s recommendation March 29.
PUD thinks forward sales offer stability
WENATCHEE — Chelan County PUD analysts want to sell power forward for as long as five years to create a more stable, predictable revenue stream and help steer the utility back into the black. “It will be a continuous process to provide downside protection and capture as much of the upside as we can,” John Janney, chief financial and risk manager for the utility, told commissioners Monday.
Lake Wenatchee residents clamor for fiber
WENATCHEE — Residents of the remote Whispering Pines subdivision at Lake Wenatchee hope the Chelan County PUD’s ongoing budget crisis doesn’t mean they’ll have to wait another year for the utility to give them fiber. This neighborhood of retirees and telecommuters is desperate for the fast Internet speeds that many other Lake Wenatchee residents already have via the PUD fiber-optics network.
Rocky Reach Visitor Center opens Saturday
WENATCHEE — The visitor center and picnic grounds at Rocky Reach Dam open for the season at 9 a.m. Saturday. More than 53,000 people visited the center last year for free powerhouse tours, the Museum of the Columbia, art displays, fish viewing and short films on hydropower and river history.
Firefighter who rushed to child’s aid wins Good Citizen Award
WENATCHEE — It was the mother’s scream. And the uncertainty. Being part of it without the accustomed knowledge of what had happened and how to help.
Red-light cams could be online by early May
WENATCHEE — The city’s first red-light camera “bust” may be none other than Mayor Dennis Johnson in his T-bird convertible. After all, joked city staffers at Thursday’s City Council meeting, someone has to test the system.
Recycling plan for fluorescent lights awaits governor’s signature
OLYMPIA — Manufacturers who want to sell those twisty, energy-efficient fluorescent light bulbs in Washington could soon have to help fund a plan to recycle them. Conservation and energy groups Monday announced that the state Legislature has passed a bill that would create a statewide program to recycle compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Crescent Bar next focus for Grant PUD board
EPHRATA — Grant County PUD commissioners have approved the land-use plan for its Columbia River shoreline and will likely decide in early April the fate of Crescent Bar’s longtime leaseholders. PUD spokeswoman Dorothy Harris said commissioners approved March 1 the “Shoreline Management Plan,” which directs land use and development along the reservoirs above the utility’s Columbia River dams: Priest Rapids and Wanapum.
Flaky NCW forecast turns to rain in Wenatchee
NCW — Daffodils may be up in many parts of North Central Washington, but snow’ll be coming down. That’s the forecast for Thursday, with accumulations of as much as 4 inches expected in the Winthrop area.
Proposed trail would follow Pioneer Canal
Plans add room for hiking and save water, backers say
WENATCHEE — The money is coming together — and the persuasion is gearing up — for proposals that advocates say would conserve irrigation water and create a five-mile pedestrian/bicycle trail between Wenatchee and Monitor. The Pioneer Water Users Association, a group of 107 property owners who draw water from the Pioneer Canal, will learn more about the proposals at an upcoming shareholders meeting March 17.
