WENATCHEE — Questions about assessor qualifications, data center development and political advocacy in a nonpartisan race brought sharper exchanges to an Oct. 8 candidate forum after the scheduled presentations ended early.

NCW – Police officers and sheriff's deputies in Chelan and Douglas counties handled 1,017 calls for service Oct. 2–8, down 2% from the previous week, according to RiverCom 911 dispatch logs. Fire crews answered 67 fire, alarm, smoke and crash calls, and ambulance crews handled about 289 medical calls.

SEDRO-WOOLLEY — The National Park Service and U.S. Wildland Fire Service plan to conduct prescribed pile burns in Ross Lake and Lake Chelan national recreation areas throughout October and November, weather conditions and staffing permitting.

CHELAN — The Lake Chelan Community Center’s Golden Hour Gala raised nearly $250,000 Sept. 12, supporting the facility’s work to provide spaces for recreation, learning and community connection throughout the valley.

MALAGA — Staggered construction shifts at Microsoft’s data center campus are intended to ease traffic congestion in Malaga, while county officials continue examining longer-term options for road capacity and another Columbia River crossing.

WENATCHEE — Construction began this week on RiverCom’s future 911 dispatch center, a $7 million renovation that will expand capacity and strengthen the facility’s ability to operate during disasters.

CHELAN COUNTY — With the 2027 budget process underway, the Board of Chelan County Commissioners disagree over how to address a $6.5 million preliminary gap between budget requests and projected revenues.

WENATCHEE — Second Chance Thrift Shop, run by Foothills Community Center, is looking for more volunteers as it gets its Christmas Cottage ready for the holidays.

CASHMERE — Musicians Caleb Klauder and Reeb Willms will perform a concert of country roots and traditional music at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at Cashmere Community Church.

Joelene Keen was overjoyed when she checked her phone on May 11 and saw an email from her husband’s lawyer asking them to call him. She knew her husband, Tomas Keen, wouldn’t see the …

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday set the stage for another redrawing of Washington state’s political maps. On the first day of its new session, the court accepted a legal challenge to the …

OLYMPIA – Roughly 10,000 immigrants in Washington are losing their Medicaid health coverage due to federal cuts Republicans in Congress approved last year.

OLYMPIA – A judge on Friday threw out tough new job standards for county sheriffs approved by Washington lawmakers this year that critics argued would force some out of office.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson hopes the state’s space entrepreneurs can pilot their industry to infinity and beyond. To that end, Ferguson signed an executive order Monday night launching the …

Washington Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove is dialing back his goal to protect 77,000 acres of older state forests from timber harvest even as he asks lawmakers to give him more tools to do …

WENATCHEE — Wenatchee School District enrolled 193 more full-time equivalent students than it budgeted for the 2026-27 school year, though enrollment remains 51 FTE below last year’s level, the …

CHELAN — Chelan Middle School students and staff gathered in the gym Friday, September 25, to celebrate a state award recognizing the school’s progress in closing achievement gaps and helping …

WENATCHEE — The Wenatchee School District will hold a Special Education Para Educator Hiring Fair from 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 30 as it seeks to fill immediate openings. The hiring fair will be held …

CHELAN — For Chelan freshmen, the first day of high school came with at least one final instruction before walking through the doors on the morning of September 1: Kiss your mom goodbye. A …

CHELAN — Backpacks, hugs and a little first-day uncertainty returned to the sidewalks outside Morgen Owings Elementary School Tuesday morning as students arrived for the beginning of the 2026-27 …

Each October, people from across Washington make their way to Wenatchee with infrastructure projects to advance, funding questions to answer, and lessons to share. This year, they will return October …

There was a time when most of us were perfectly comfortable being bad at things.

Before voters commit $48 million for hospital construction in Hospital District #1, they deserve solid county-wide information to confirm how best to meet the medical needs of the residents of …

Executive order 26-03 was the right call. Building a verification hub that will help 400,000 more Washingtonians keep their Apple Health coverage, and standing up a committee to track the impacts of H.R. 1 is the leadership our state needs right now.

Labor Day has passed, school buses are back on the roads and another North Central Washington summer is beginning to give way to fall. But this year, it doesn't feel quite as simple as turning …

One of the responsibilities of publishing a newspaper is understanding that not everyone will agree with everything in it. That has always been true. Readers will disagree with news …