SEATTLE — Tens of millions of Americans are expected to vote by mail for the first time this fall, as pandemic-stricken states look to safeguard what John Lewis, the late congressman and civil rights leader, called in a final essay “the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a dem…
OLYMPIA — The Supreme Court of Washington has ruled against state schools chief Chris Reykdal, who sued his reelection opponent, Maia Espinoza, for defamation.
This page will be regularly updated as new COVID-19 cases in North Central Washington are reported by health officials.
Reilly Kneedler
World staff writer
CHELAN — Tiffany Gering edged out Brandt Cappell Friday for a spot on the Nov. 3 general election ballot for Chelan County commissioner District 3.
Tony Buhr
Environment, county and health reporter
BREWSTER — Earl Edwards was a Jamaican farmer who in the winter grew ginger, garlic and other crops on his tropical island nation homeland in the Caribbean. For the past decade, he would head north each year for seasonal work at Gebbers Farms. This year, he did so amid a global coronavirus p…
WENATCHEE — The city of Wenatchee is projecting a $1.5 million shortfall in sales tax revenue for this year, according to Mayor Frank Kuntz.
Housing in a certain type of town couldn’t be hotter. And some of them have been getting attention way out of proportion to their importance to the economy for an obvious reason: They’re the places where corporate executives, Wall Street barons, Hollywood stars and more than a few journalist…
PHOENIX — By now, you’ve probably heard it more times than you can count: One of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection is to wash your hands.
In so many ways, this has been a year of overwhelming challenge and change for our country. Much of our collective focus has rightfully been on the public health response to COVID-19. Now, with fall just around the corner, the national conversation is dominated by the school year ahead — how…
Chelan County PUD employee Gabino Sanchez uses an aquatic weed harvester to remove Eurasian milfoil from the swimming area at Kirby Billingsley Hydro Park south of East Wenatchee on Wednesday. The plant is noxious weed that grows near docks and beaches and is cut each year because it’s a hazard for boaters and swimmers, according to PUD spokeswoman Rachel Hansen.
Sierra Corso, 7, is chased by her brother, Xander, 5, on the pump track at Eastmont Community Park on Friday morning.
WENATCHEE — After an unsuccessful attempt at a federal grant, the city of Wenatchee is $700,000 short of what’s needed to get the Confluence Parkway project going.
Bridget Mire
World staff writer
LEAVENWORTH — Eighteen firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service were tested Thursday for COVID-19 after a positive case was reported in the response to the Chikamin Fire north of Plain.
Bridget Mire
World staff writer
Some events may not take place because of COVID-19 concerns.
Cala Flamond
Editorial assistant
LOS ANGELES — U.S. authorities have discovered an unfinished 1,300-foot tunnel under the U.S.-Mexico border, calling it an unusually sophisticated smuggling route complete with ventilation and a rail system.
NEW YORK — The number of Americans that have been infected with coronavirus inched closer to 5 million on Friday, even as new cases in the nation continued to drop.
EAST WENATCHEE — The Eastmont Metropolitan Parks District started a survey Thursday to see if people want the Eastmont Aquatic Center to reopen during the pandemic.
Tony Buhr
Environment, county and health reporter
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Congressional Democrats offered to reduce a proposed coronavirus aid package by $1 trillion if Republicans would add a trillion to their counter-offer, but President Donald Trump’s negotiators turned them down on Friday as more talks ended without a deal.
LAKE WENATCHEE — A boat carrying four people capsized and sank in Fish Lake Thursday evening.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam, the territory’s current and former police chiefs and eight other top officials for what Washington says is their role in curtailing political freedoms in the territory.
GENEVA — The deadly warehouse blast in Beirut this week devastated Lebanon’s already faltering healthcare system and U.N. agencies are scrambling to support hundreds of thousands of people, officials said on Friday.
SEATTLE — Seattle School Board members got a preview of the district’s remote learning plan this week. They didn’t like much of what they saw, and proposed adding optional outdoor classes to improve the plan.
SEATTLE — Squeezed up by a combination of low supply and high demand, home prices broke records in nearly every major Washington county last month, even as the pandemic's onslaught continued to wreak havoc with other parts of the economy.
OLYMPIA — Workers in Washington state last week filed the smallest number of new unemployment claims since mid-March, when the pandemic was just hitting the state economy.
MOSES LAKE — There were 58 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus reported in Grant County on Thursday, including 18 new cases in Moses Lake, 11 in Warden, nine each in the Quincy and Mattawa areas, five in Ephrata, two in Royal City, and one each in Soap Lake, Wilson Creek and the rural Oth…
EPHRATA — For its next jail, Grant County is looking at two sites in Ephrata.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump signed a pair of executive orders prohibiting U.S. residents from doing any business with TikTok, WeChat or the apps’ Chinese owners beginning 45 days from now, citing the national security risk of leaving American’s personal data exposed.
CASHMERE — A former employee of Martin’s Market in Cashmere is accused of stealing about $9,200 from the grocery store over several years.
Pete O'Cain
Reporter
WENATCHEE — The Chelan County PUD this week broke ground on its new service center in Olds Station, a $140 million project that will consolidate many of its services onto one campus.
Reilly Kneedler
World staff writer
WENATCHEE — H-2A workers employed by Stemilt Ag Services in 2017 have filed a class-action lawsuit that alleges the company threatened to fire employees if they didn’t meet production demands and send them to their home country without paying travel expenses.
Pete O'Cain
Reporter
OLYMPIA — A four-phase plan to allow visitation at long-term care facilities will go into effect next week.
Bridget Mire
World staff writer
WENATCHEE — It may soon cost more to house inmates in Chelan County’s jail.
Tony Buhr
Environment, county and health reporter
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Thursday said the U.S. economy needs an “additional boost” to cope with the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, as his Democratic counterparts and White House officials try to hash out a next wave of relief.
Pacific salmon faithfully return to the waters of their birth to spawn, even when those waters are in hatcheries. But before they even leave the ocean, they stop eating. Salmon from our hatcheries at Leavenworth, Entiat and Winthrop travel up to 575 miles to spawn.
OLYMPIA — Eight Eastern Washington fitness centers have been fined a total of more than $77,000 for violating the state's coronavirus closure order and potentially exposing employees to the virus, according to a Wednesday statement from the state Department of Labor & Industries (L&I).
SEATTLE — Proposals to reduce the Seattle Police Department by up to 100 officers through layoffs and attrition won unanimous City Council support Wednesday, while proposals to reduce police-command pay and stop removing homeless encampments also cleared hurdles.
TOKYO — Bells tolled in Hiroshima on Thursday for the 75th anniversary of the world’s first atomic bombing, with ceremonies downsized due to the coronavirus and the city’s mayor urging nations to reject selfish nationalism and unite to fight all threats.
EAST WENATCHEE — Unless Eastmont Lanes, a staple in the Wenatchee Valley since the mid-1970s, can raise some money over the next few months they are facing the possibility of closing for good.
Zach Johnson
Sports Reporter
MALAGA — Detectives believe a Malaga man started the 2,967-acre Colockum Fire to evade law enforcement officers that were headed to his home.
Pete O'Cain
Reporter
PLAIN — A dozen trails are closed in the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest north of Plain as crews continue to fight the Chikamin Fire.
Pete O'Cain
Reporter
Some events may not take place because of COVID-19 concerns.
Cala Flamond
Editorial assistant
MANSON — Motorists must remove all vehicles from downtown roads in Manson so crews can paint parking stalls and road lines.
Tony Buhr
Environment, county and health reporter
OLYMPIA — Schools throughout the state are encouraged, though not required, to implement remote learning at the start of the school year.
Bridget Mire
World staff writer
NEW YORK — Joe Biden will not accept his party’s presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee later this month because of concerns over the still-raging coronavirus pandemic, Democratic officials announced Wednesday.
CASHMERE — The Northwest Justice Project and Chelan-Douglas County Volunteer Attorney Services have received checks for $208,825 from a class-action lawsuit over homeowners who were wrongly locked out of their homes during foreclosure.
Nevonne McDaniels
Reporter
WENATCHEE HEIGHTS — A contractor hired by Chelan County will start a two-month roadwork project next week on Wenatchee Heights Road.
Tony Buhr
Environment, county and health reporter
NEW YORK — Pete Hamill, the Brooklyn-born bard of New York’s five boroughs and eloquent voice of his beloved hometown as both newspaper columnist and best-selling author, died Wednesday morning.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign and the national Republican Party have sued Nevada to block a new law that will send a mail-in ballot to every registered voter ahead of November’s election.
Some events may not take place because of COVID-19 concerns.
Cala Flamond
Editorial assistant
SEATTLE — Incumbent Hilary Franz and Sue Kuehl Pederson were leading in Tuesday night’s primary election returns to become Washington state’s next public lands commissioner. Franz, a Democrat, had nearly 52% of the initial vote count and Kuehl Pederson, a Republican, had garnered almost 22%.