The town of Sunnyside, Washington, in the Yakima Valley, looking south toward the Horse Heaven Hills. (Credit: Annie Warren / NWPB) watch Listen (Runtime 1:25) Read The Sunnyside City Council […]Read More
Community members dressed in colorful and traditional clothes gathered at the Filipino Community Hall of the Yakima Valley in Wapato to celebrate its designation as a national historic landmark.Read More
A health residency program in central Washington aims to make primary care more accessible for rural Hispanic and Latino/x/e communities.Read More
Yakima Valley Libraries is celebrating 80 years as a library district. According to its website, the county library district was created around 1945.Read More
The Sunnyside School District will change how it elects school board members. The move came after an agreement between the school district, the nonprofit Empowering Latina Leaders and Action (ELLA) and the ACLU of Washington to avoid diluting the Hispanic or Latino/e/x vote.Read More
Fire crews continue firing wildfires to keep on high alert in the Northwest.Read More
Community members gathered at the Yakima City Council on Tuesday to express support and disappointment with the Council's decision to reject a Pride month proclamation.Read More
La Junta del Distrito Escolar de Sunnyside podría ser la próxima jurisdicción en enfrentarse a una demanda por violar la Ley del Derecho al Voto del Estado de Washington. Un grupo notificó al Distrito que el sistema electoral diluye el voto latino y, si esto no se corrige, el Distrito podría terminar en los tribunales.Read More
Las Bibliotecas del Valle de Yakima celebrarán el Día de los niños y los libros el sábado 27 de abril. El evento fomenta el multiculturalismo, los idiomas y la lectura, al tiempo que promueve la importancia y el bienestar de la infancia.Read More
The Sunnyside School District Board could be the next jurisdiction to face a lawsuit for violating the Washington State Voting Rights Act. A group has notified the District that the election system dilutes the Latino vote, and if it’s not fixed, the District could end up in court.Read More
A hearing before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington should help define the future of a Legislative District map in the Yakima Valley. Supporters say the redrawn map proposals could preserve the Latino vote but opponents say it could dilute the native vote.Read More
Applications for federal student financial aid are open from now, through June. FAFSA recently launched its form 2024-25, which expands the eligibility criteria for federal student aid. Students and families can get some help understanding the process at several different places in Central Washington.Read More
The Yakima Valley was one of the hardest hit regions in the country during the COVID pandemic. Now, Hispanic and Latinos in the area are still dealing with symptoms. N-W-P-B’s Johanna Bejarano worked with Lygia Navarro, a journalist with palabra, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists’ media outlet. This is a collaborative piece about long COVID in Central Read More
We are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month and NWPB take you on a journey through the diversity of Hispanic and Latino/e/x communities in the region. Read More
Becoming a U.S. citizen is the goal of some immigrants. Sometimes, doing it without help can be difficult; but, in Central Washington, there are citizenship legal clinics to help applicants with their naturalization processes.Read More
Some students in rural central Washington are facing housing instability. School districts have programs to help students Still, resources can be far away and hard to get to. N-W-P-B’s Johanna Bejarano reports.Read More
Last November's elections showed a significant increase in Yakima County Hispanic voters' turnout. But in past legislative districts' elections, data show that participation for voters with Spanish surnames was, in fact, low.Read More
La senadora de Washington Rebecca Saldaña, demócrata de Seattle, en una rueda de prensa en Yakima tras la jornada electoral. Crédito: Audel Ramirez. Lea Una población mayoritariamente hispana, la redistribución […]Read More
Gabriel Gómez recibe su boleta de votación. Crédito: La Casa Hogar. ESCUCHE (Runtime 1:34) LEA Convertirse en ciudadano y votar por primera vez el mismo día no es habitual. Pero […]Read More
I voted tags by Element5Digital on Unsplash. Read Yakima voters will hear from Yakima County Commissioner candidates during a forum Thursday at the Yakima City Hall Chambers. Six candidates are […]Read More
Judge Richard C. Tallman, United States Court of Appeals Judge for the Ninth Circuit swearing in Judge Sal Mendoza. Listen (Runtime 3:27) Read Latino judges in the legal system are […]Read More
Yakima women of color received 19 scholarships to support them in continuing their legal education. Photo: Pataathla Sutterlict Listen (Runtime 1:39) Read More women of color want to become lawyers […]Read More
Lindsey Keesling y Angie Girard, de Yakima, obtuvieron 1% de los votos que necesitaban para entrar en la tarjeta de votación de las elecciones generales de noviembre. Foto tomadas de […]Read More
Lindsey Keesling and Angie Girard, from Yakima, got the vote they needed to get on the November ballot. Photos: From the candidates Facebook official pages. Listen (Runtime 2:32) Read Write-in […]Read More
Audel Ramírez, organizador de OneAmerica, en un evento para promover la importancia del voto. Crédito: Foto suministrada. LEA La participación de los votantes Hispanos en estas elecciones primarias es un […]Read More
El sheriff del condado de Yakima, Robert Udell, ofreció una rueda de prensa para hablar de la propuesta del Centro Regional de Inteligencia Criminal. Captura de pantalla de la transmisión […]Read More
What started as a slow trickle of people became a flood of cars over Easter weekend at the FEMA vaccination center in Yakima. And as April 15 approaches (when all adults are eligible for vaccination in Washington), some Seattleites are heading East for a coveted Covid-19 shot.Read More
Yakima County will soon get a boost to its existing vaccine distribution at an existing site set up at county fairgrounds. But unlike other sites around the state managed directly through the state, including in the Tri-Cities, Wenatchee and Spokane, the Yakima site will have the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Read More
The south-central region of Washington's 8-region area for coronavirus restrictions can immediately reopen. That news came Sunday from the state Department of Health. It means the counties encompassing Walla Walla, the Tri-Cities, Yakima and Ellensburg can advance to Phase 2.Read More
Earlier this year, Yakima County was among the worst-hit places for COVID-19 in Washington and the West Coast. It and the Tri-Cities region were among the last counties to open for indoor bar and restaurant service. Now, with another statewide closure, some restaurant operators are pushing back and refusing to close. Read More
Environmental groups and the Washington dairy industry are unhappy with a state permit that regulates pollutants. The groups made their cases before a state appeals court this week. In 2017, the Washington Department of Ecology issued what’s known as a discharge permit for large dairies or other concentrated animal feeding operations. Read More
No more Washington counties will be in Phase 1 of the state’s four-phase reopening plan. Gov. Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that Chelan, Douglas, Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties could advance to Phase 2.Read More
Some Washington counties hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic are now looking toward the possibility of reopening schools for in-person classes. It’s thanks to metrics like hospital bed capacity and the virus incidence rate that continue to improve in Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties.Read More
The Yakama Nation seeks to stop gravel mining near a historic village and burial ground near Selah, Washington. The litigation could change the way tribal sites can be developed.Read More
Firefighters are stretched thin across the Northwest, and officials are trying to keep crews healthy with bagged lunches and smaller camps. So with near-record temps this weekend, they’re asking Labor Day revelers to please watch those campfires (though campfires are banned in much of Washington due to fire danger). And make sure chains on trailers and boats don’t drag and Read More
Effective Thursday, churches and restaurants in Yakima, Benton, Franklin, Chelan and Douglas counties can open their doors to let guests inside — though just to 25% capacity. Outdoors, groups of up to five people from different households can meet up or attend fitness classes. Read More
In June, the Yakima Health District was reporting as many as 200 new COVID-19 cases per day. Now, daily cases are in the 20s since Sunday, Aug. 16. Gov. Jay Inslee says the county’s early masking directive is the likely cause.Read More
Benton, Franklin and Yakima counties have been approved for more business and recreational activities beginning this Saturday. The approval means additional operations within the counties’ current modified Phase 1 – not moving to a full Phase 2. Read More
Wineries and breweries in Yakima, Benton and Franklin counties must keep their doors closed for now, unless they serve food out of their own kitchens. That’s the updated guidance for the three counties, which are seeing some of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases in Washington. Read More
The first person in the Yakima County jail tested positive for coronavirus in May — an inmate who transferred to the Yakima County jail from the city jail in Sunnyside, 35 miles southeast of Yakima. On July 6, the jail reported that 83 inmates had caught the virus, and this number continues to grow.Read More
Yakima County is being sued over how it runs elections. In a lawsuit filed Monday, plaintiffs argue the current at-large voting system dilutes Latinx votes. That would violate the Washington State Voting Rights Act. A 2012 lawsuit against the city of Yakima claimed a similar disenfranchising voting system. Federal courts agreed in that case.Read More
The county’s emergency management office has handed out more than 3 million pieces of protective equipment since March. That includes 770,000 masks to businesses, municipalities, and food banks and an additional 220,000 masks distributed to low-income residents. Read More
County officials in eastern Washington rushed applications to the state Thursday evening to reopen their economies. It came the same day Gov. Jay Inslee announced the state would approve their plans to reopen and put others on pause for two weeks. Read More
One Anytime Fitness franchisee location in Yakima County has been fined nearly $10,000 for staying open despite not being allowed to operate given the county’s current operating phase. It’s the first business fined for ignoring Gov. Jay Inslee’s “Safe Start” measures. Read More
Over the past two weeks, Inslee said infection rates have increased six-fold in Franklin County and nearly five-fold in Benton County. The main thing that could help, he said: masks. “Yes, there’s controversy, as there is in any great, noble endeavor, but the vast majority of people in (the Tri-Cities region) want to beat this pandemic,” Inslee said.Read More
After weeks of relying on voluntary compliance, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee on Tuesday afternoon announced an enforceable, statewide requirement that people wear face coverings when in public, including outdoors when six feet of separation can't be maintained. The new public health order, to be issued by the Secretary of Health, takes effect on Friday.Read More
Cases of COVID-19 are rising dramatically in Washington’s Yakima County and the Tri-Cities region of Benton and Franklin counties. That’s driving local health officials to urge residents to wear masks in public. Read More
As of Friday afternoon, 61 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Yakima County. Even though at least another 17 patients were transported out of the county, the region’s major hospital, Virginia Mason Memorial, had completely run out of hospital beds as of Thursday night. Read More
Even as Washington counties work to reopen in various phases of the state’s four-phase reopening plan, county jails and state prisons and corrections institutions continue to deal with coronavirus outbreaks and COVID-19 infections. Read More
A survey by the Yakima Health District found that just 35 percent of residents wear masks in public. That spurred the health district to issue a masking directive, hoping to get 80% of residents to use face coverings.Read More
