Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 35
OLYMPIA (Jan. 22) -- Democrats in the state Senate are pushing back against the Federal Communications Commission through a number of bills designed to protect net neutrality in Washington. In April 2015, the FCC established new rules that reclassified broadband services as telecommunications, which made the internet something of a “common” good, similar to telephone services. This barred internet service providers from discriminating against certain forms of content, such as those that might compete with a company’s own. In December the FCC v...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill giving people at risk of suicide the option to voluntarily give up their right to keep a firearm passed the Senate Law and Justice Committee unanimously. The next step for the bill is the Rules Committee before it gets a hearing in the House of Representatives. Senate Bill 5553, sponsored by Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, was introduced and heard last year. Pedersen is now chair of the Law and Justice Committee starting this session. “While we know not any one policy will solve all gun violence or prevent all g...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 18) -- A bill passed in the State House of Representatives last year offers some hope for people who were sexually assaulted years ago and want to see the one who harmed them prosecuted. But that hope faces some difficult challenges in the Senate. House Bill 1155 would eliminate the statute of limitations for the most serious rape and sexual assault offenses. The Law and Justice committee in the Senate is the next step for the bill. Committee chair Senator Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, who has discretion on legislation the committee...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 19) -- A bill to expand birth control choices for women is before the Legislature for the fifth year in a row. Senate Bill 6219, also called the Reproductive Parity Act, would require health plans that offer maternity coverage to also offer abortion coverage as well as coverage for contraceptive drugs and devices such as IUDs. “I’m feeling hopeful this year,” Senator Steve Hobbs, D-Snohomish, the bill’s prime sponsor said at a hearing on Tuesday, Jan. 16. The bill would provide state funding for birth control and abortion service...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 19) -- The state Senate passed several bills aimed at expanding access to voting and promoting minority representation in local governments through redistricting. On the evening of Jan. 17, in a reconvened Senate floor vote session, the body passed SB 6021, which would allow voters to register for elections in-person up until 8 p.m. on the day of an election and eight days before if registering online or by mail. The bill passed 29-20 and now goes to the House. The Senate also passed the 2018 Voting Rights Act: a bill which allows...
OLYMPIA (Jan. 19) --With environmental activists threatening a carbon tax ballot initiative, some manufacturing and energy companies are opting to work with lawmakers on Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s recently proposed tax rather than flat out oppose it. On Jan. 9, Gov. Inslee rolled out a sweeping proposal to tax carbon emissions from power plants and transportation fuels at a rate of $20 per ton starting in July, 2019. The tax is estimated to raise $3.3 billion over three years, which would be reinvested in sustainable energy infrastructure, f...
Washington state lawmakers are considering a bill that could raise the legal age to purchase any nicotine product from 18 to 21 years old. SB 6048, sponsored by Senator Patty Kuderer, D-Redmond, was heard Jan. 22 by request of Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “No bill in Olympia this session will save more lives than increasing the legal smoking age to 21,” Ferguson said. He was careful to mention that this bill would not criminalize youth who already possess tobacco or vape products, it would only disallow them from buying mor...
The marble walls of the Washington state Capitol reverberated with the roar of drums and voices Tuesday afternoon as Native American activists poured into Olympia to sound the bell on a number of political topics. The eighth annual Native American Indian Lobby Day brought more than 100 activists to the Legislative Building, where talks and music dominated the proceedings. "We started the lobby day because there was no representation at the Capitol for us," said Elizabeth Satiacum, co-creator of...
Tens of thousands of people around the world marched over the weekend in the one-year anniversary of events supporting women's rights and other causes ranging from dissatisfaction with President Trump to support for the Black Lives Matter movement. Above, a speaker at Saturday's march in Longview, attended by a dozen Wahkiakum County residents, calls for people to register to vote. See story and photo on page 3. Photo courtesy of Desiree Craven. Above: Tens of thousands of people marched...
Wahkiakum County commissioners voted Tuesday to support creation of the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Economic Development District. Five years in the making, the district would develop a regional economic development strategy and find funding to help implement the strategies. Although he voted to support formation of the district, board Chair Mike Backman said he wanted to extend an invitation to Pacific County to join the district. "We have a lot in common with their workforce," he said, especially the fishing industry, he said. Bill Flashing, executive...
With a maintenance and operations levy on the ballot coming out this week, Wahkiakum School District is hoping to rely on the community for continued support for its educational programs. "We are asking for the same amount of money that we asked for four years ago, $997,000 a year," Wahkiakum School District Superintendent Bob Garrett said. "Four years ago when we made that request, the estimated tax rate was $2.73, I believe. That same dollar amount based on the new assessed valuation is now...
Naselle Grays River Valley School Superintendent Lisa Nelson recently took some time to talk about the maintenance and operations levy that will be on the ballot coming out this week. "We rely on the levies because we are not adequately funded," Nelson said. "We've had some form of levy in place since 1965. Possibly earlier. Suffice it to say, we have a long history of having a levy in place and this is the lowest projected collection for the district since 2000." The last time a levy came...
The Wahkiakum School District Board of Directors gathered for their January meeting on Monday to continue discussion about the superintendent search and other regular business. The board decided to make a few more changes to the superintendent job description they had received from Melissa Kreuder, the human resources manager from Educational Service District 112. Kreuder was expected to be in attendance, but was ill. The board is still hoping for a break down of charges for the services that Kr...
To the Eagle: Last Thursday, a week ago, was a landmark day for us. We spent a lot of it driving up and down SR4 and I-5 listening to a cascade of breaking news on radio stations from Longview to Portland. Domestic news: Unemployment at historic lows; minority unemployment at lowest ever since record keeping began; female unemployment at a 17-year low. Stocks market at record breaking highs; 81 Fortune 500 companies giving large bonuses to all employees; Amazon to build new $30 billion campus; Apple repatriating $250 billion from overseas – wil...
An article in last week's edition reporting questions and answers for candidates to fill a vacancy on the Cathlamet Town Council mistakenly attributed two comments by Jean Burnham to "Waller." The article should have said: First question: "What do you hope to accomplish? "--Burnham. I'd like to see a better relationship with Wahkiakum County and Port District 1, a symbiotic relationship and not adversarial so we could add ratepayers and fill empty buildings. In the long term, I'd like to see us be more of a tourist destination. Cathlamet is...
The initial period after ocean entry for Columbia River basin juvenile salmon and steelhead is when most of the mortality occurs during their lives at sea, so ocean conditions – temperatures and nutrient supplies – during that period are critical to how many of the fish will return to the river as adults one to three years later. The path the fish take after they enter the ocean makes a difference, according Laurie Weitkamp of NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Newport, Ore., Field Station, especially lately with the “stra...
WEATHER--It was quite a weekend as it was wet and pretty doggone windy too. Thankfully the last half of Sunday wasn't too bad and we got to dry out a little and see calmer weather just prior to the big football games! But the end of last week, it was really wild, as the coastal areas just got hammered with massive waves, which came crashing through bottom floors of several Lincoln City hotels and did a considerable amount of damage. This was no time to have a bottom floor condo, that's for sure! Sadly, there was also a person swept to sea after...
THURSDAY Community Center, Cathlamet, 9 a.m.-Noon. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) Community Center, Cathlamet, 6-9 p.m. Girl Scouts, Community Center, Cathlamet, 3:30-5:30 p.m. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Congregational Church, Noon. Senior Citizen Luncheon, Rosburg Hall, Noon. Cathlamet Fire Department, 7 p.m. District No. 4 Fire Department, drill night, 7 p.m. Grays River Fire Department, Fire/Ambulance, 7 p.m. Skamokawa Fire Department, 7 p.m. Eastside Play & Learn Group, St. James Family Center, 1:30-3 p.m. Westside Play & Learn Group, Valley...
News from Naselle: Sports calendar for the Naselle Comet teams this week: Today (Thursday), high school boys basketball in Naselle with Firm Foundation at 5:30 p.m.; Friday, high school girls basketball at Astoria at 6 p.m.; Saturday, high school girls basketball in Naselle with Lake Quinault at 3 p.m.; Monday, middle school boys basketball in Naselle with South Bend at 5:45 p.m., JV girls basketball at Ilwaco at 4 p.m.; Tuesday, high school boys and girls basketball in Naselle with WSD at 5:45 p.m.; Wednesday, high school boys and girls...
Wahkiakum County law enforcement officers and emergency response personnel handled a variety of reports during the past week, including: January 15 — 2:04 a.m. The sheriff’s office was asked to be on the lookout for a stolen vehicle heading west on SR 4 from Cowlitz County. 10:07 a.m. An Elochoman Valley resident reported a power outage. The PUD was informed. 10:33 a.m. The Washington State Department of Transportation was informed when a tree came down and was blocking both lanes of SR 4 just east of County Line Park. 2:57 p.m. A driver was...
Patty Britcher, board president for the Lower Columbia Association of Realtors presented Kay Cochran and the Pioneer Community Association a check for $1,000 recently. According to PCA member Suzanne Holmes, the money will either fund a project or be used as a match for grant applications. The PCA is planning several improvements around the center including painting, upgrading the bathrooms, replacing carpet and first floor windows, and the installation of some tapestries. From left to right:...
About two dozen people gathered Tuesday morning in the Wahkiakum Community Center for a pie social, with local musicians adding to the atmosphere. Photo courtesy of Mary Ann Nelson....
The Liberty Theatre will present a song and string trio concert on February 4 at 3 p.m. The theater is located at 1203 Commercial Street in Astoria. Soprano Laura Wayte will perform with Portland composer Nicole Portley, Eugene artist Helen Liu and the string trio of Della Davies, Annissa Olsen and Kathryn Brunhaver. They will also perform the poetry of Denise Levertov, presented along with an art installation by Liu on the Liberty stage....
The Liberty Theatre recently announced that it has been awarded the third and final grant needed to purchase and install a permanent sound system in the theater. Pacific Power Foundation has awarded the Liberty Theatre the remaining $4,000 for the project. This will be combined with the previous awards of $22,000 by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and $15,000 from the Oregon Community Foundation. The Liberty Theatre currently pays between $1,000 and $1,500 per event to rent an adequate sound system for Liberty presented...
The Astor Street Opry Company has announced open auditions for “See how They Run” by Philip King and Directed by Edward James. Auditions are set for February 4 at 6 p.m., and 5 at 7 p.m., at the ASOC Playhouse, 129 Bond St., Astoria. The play calls for nine players; six men (appearing 20’s and up), and three women (appearing 18 and up). Ages are flexible. Ideally all players will have either a British, Cockney or Irish Accent, but not mandatory. No previous experience is necessary. The show runs March 30, 31, April 6, 7, 8,13, 14, 20, 21, 2...
