Yakima Valley Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Yakama Nation’s KYNR Back On Air After Nearly A Year Without Its Voice

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa September 12, 2019

The KYNR building in Toppenish, Wash. The station was knocked off the air after a burglary in Oct. 2018. CREDIT: ENRIQUE PÉREZ DE LA ROSA/NWPB

Almost a year later, KYNR, "the voice of the Yakama Nation," is broadcasting again after a burglary knocked them off the air. Staff were heartbroken for themselves and their listeners. Tribal members and others in the community depend on the station for news and information.Read More

Meet NWPB’s New Yakima Valley Reporter

By NWPB News September 1, 2019

NWPB listeners and viewers have a new voice and face helping to bring them the news of the Northwest – particularly central Washington’s Yakima Valley.Read More

Get A Taste Of Granger This Labor Day Weekend With The Menudo Festival

By Sueann Ramella August 30, 2019

Bowl of menudo with onion and cilantro on the side.

Looking for a road trip and food trip this Labor Day weekend? The Yakima Valley town of Granger hosts its annual Menudo Festival, complete with a contest for those who want to show off their tripe-cooking skills.Read More

Informe critica a Yakima por vuelos ICE de deportación, mientras la ciudad explica dilema financiero

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa August 22, 2019

A man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement waves back to activists from the Yakima Immigrant Response Network Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019 as they wave signs and call out "no estas solo, you are not alone." CREDIT: ENRIQUE PÉREZ DE LA ROSA/NWPB

Un portavoz de Yakima dice que la ciudad vigila de cerca las operaciones de ICE que ocurren localmente. Sin embargo, el Centro de Derechos Humanos de la UW allega que “Yakima permanece responsable por su rol en envío de detenidos para ser abusados en otros sitios.”Read More

Former Wapato Mayor Arrested, But Judge Throws Out Case

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa August 14, 2019

Former Wapato mayor and city administrator Juan Orozco in Yakima County Superior Court Aug. 14, 2019.

After his arrest Tuesday on suspicion of official misconduct, the case against former Wapato mayor and city administrator Juan Orozco was thrown out of the Yakima County Superior Court in a preliminary hearing.Read More

Wapato Mayor Fires Police Chief, But Likely Won’t Be Mayor Much Longer

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa August 9, 2019

Former Wapato mayor and city administrator Juan Orozco, left, was appointed to the newly created position of city administrator by new mayor Dora Alvarez-Voa, drawing scrutiny and a state investigation. Courtesy KAPP-KVEW

The city administrator in the Yakima Valley town of Wapato stepped down last month after a lawsuit from the state Attorney General’s office alleged he used his influence to enrich himself. And now other city leaders are being pushed out.Read More

Wapato City Official And Former Mayor Resigns Amid Washington State AG Scrutiny

By NWPB News July 22, 2019

A city official in Wapato has resigned following allegations that he used his former position as mayor to enrich himself. Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson sued the official, Juan Orozco, in June for violating ethics and open meeting laws. Read More

Free Play Space In Yakima Helps Families In Crisis Relax, Settle, Smile

By Max Wasserman May 1, 2019

Maria Vasquez stands in the free child care space she oversees in a Department of Social and Health Services office in Yakima. The room has transformed over the past two years into a place where families waiting for state services can take a breather. CREDIT: MAX WASSERMAN/N3

The only thing unique about this twice-weekly child play space, buried deep in a state Department of Social and Health Services office in Yakima, are its customers: families in crisis. "When they come into this room and are here for a while you see the shoulders drop," Maria Vasquez said. "They relax. They settle. They smile."Read More

‘No Family Deserves To Have To Go Through This’: Missing And Murdered On The Yakama Nation

By Esmy Jimenez March 22, 2019

File photo. The reservation of the Yakama Nation in south-central Washington covers over 2,000 square miles, with areas patrolled by tribal, city and county law enforcement.

On Dec. 26, 2017, Myrna Cloud’s 23-year-old cousin went missing on the Yakama Nation reservation in Central Washington. D. Lloyd’s body was found in a rural part of the reservation four days later. The murder is still under investigation. Read More

Congress Passes Big Public Lands Protection Bill. Washington’s Methow And Yakima Valleys Benefit

By Jes Burns February 28, 2019

File photo. Glacier Peak volcano Washington's central Cascades. CREDIT: Walter Siegmund/Wikimedia/Creative Commons BY-SA 3.

The Natural Resource Management Act includes a little of everything — meant to satisfy public land interests all over the country. The land-conservation measures have received a lot of attention. But there are other provisions in the bill concerning the Northwest, among them wildfire risk, research and air quality resources, hunting on public lands, water management for Read More

Seis Años de Trabajo Y Aún El Agua del Valle de Yakima Necesita Cambios

By Esmy Jimenez February 5, 2019

Martin Yanez and his sister Rosalinda Elsa Pina live in the Yakima Valley, near a large dairy. Their well water has high levels of nitrates, which can cause health problems. In the winter Elsa Pina uses extra gallons of water to make caldos, or stews. Boiling water with high levels of nitrates actually concentrates the contamination. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

For six years, Yakima County has been dealing with a complicated problem – nitrates in the groundwater. This month, after missing two other deadlines, a group of citizens tasked with finding a solution finally came up with a plan. For about 2,000 people, that’s good news because they’re closer to clean water. But some critics aren’t so sure. Read More

Study: Millions Of Americans Could Be Drinking Water High In Nitrates

By Courtney Flatt January 23, 2019

More people than expected are drinking water that could be harmful to their health. That’s according to a new study that looked at a water contaminate that’s been an issue in one of the Northwest’s most productive farming regions.Read More

Six Years, Two Missed Deadlines, And Still Yakima Valley’s Water Needs Cleanup

By NWPB News December 21, 2018

Washington HIV Infection Rates Stay Steady, Except for Yakima County Anomaly

By Esmy Jimenez December 6, 2018

Inside New Hope Clinic, quilts like this one adorn the hallways. Often they’re made by the families of HIV and AIDS patients. This one was used as coffin cover for Bobby Joe, a patient who died in 1997. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

The Washington State Department of Health released its annual report on HIV and AIDS this week, pegged to the Dec. 1 World AIDS Day. According to the report, 14,000 people are HIV positive in Washington, on par with past years.Read More

A Yakama Woman’s Promise To Her Elders Sheds Light On A Forgotten Northwest War

By Tom Banse November 29, 2018

Emily Washines and Glen Hamilton met in person for the first time earlier this fall at Fort Simcoe on the Yakama Nation reservation. CREDIT: LAY CONN / KCTS-9

Emily Washines was 18 years old when she was crowned Miss National Congress of American Indians. Yakama tribal councilmembers and elders sung a warrior song for her and then extracted a promise. Tribal leaders had something in mind. They wanted Washines to remember a message about a little-known war that wracked the Northwest in the 1850s. Read More

Yakima Valley Filipino WWII Vets Honored Decades After Losing Compensation For Service

By Esmy Jimenez November 11, 2018

Gregorio Ochoa Azurin was one of 17 Filipino WWII veterans honored in the Yakima Valley for their service. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

Recently, 18 Filipino veterans received Congressional Gold Medal replicas at the Filipino Community Hall in Wapato, Wash. All but two were awarded posthumously. Read More

Helicoptering Logs In Yakima Valley For The Northwest’s Largest River Restoration

By Courtney Flatt November 8, 2018

A helicopter is used to fly logs from a staging area to streams that need restoration but are no longer reached by roads. This is the largest stream restoration effort ever in the Northwest. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT

Almost 40 years ago, Scott Nicolai started his stream restoration career taking logs out of the water. A project that’s putting more than 6,000 logs back into remote streams across Central Washington.Read More

Latino Businesses Caught In Between ‘No’ And ‘Yes’ Campaigns Of Washington Carbon Tax Measure

By Esmy Jimenez October 31, 2018

Mary’s Boutique, owned by Mario Fuentes, in Yakima. According to a public list available on “No on 1631” Mary’s Boutique is listed as a business opposed to the carbon tax initiative. Fuentes says he never gave permission for his business to be published on that list and that he is in favor I-1631. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENZ/NWPB

Some Washington Latino-owned businesses say they were wrongly put on a list that claimed they were against I-1631, a state ballot initiative seeking to tax carbon emissions.Read More

Yakima Valley Farmers Fight For The Future Of A Cascades Lake

By Eilís O'Neill September 21, 2018

The Carpenter family relies on irrigation canals to bring water from the mountains to their hops farm in the otherwise arid Yakima Valley. CREDIT: ELLIS O'NEIL, KUOW/EARTHFIX

It’s September, so the hops harvest is in full swing in Washington’s Yakima Valley. At the Carpenter family’s farm in Granger, workers are making their way between rows of trellises, pulling down vines and feeding them into a sorting machine.Read More

As Wildfires Burn, Smoke Chokes Out Northwest Farmworkers And Delays Some Crops

By Anna King August 29, 2018

Workers in dust masks wash fresh red bell peppers in smoky conditions outside of Eltopia, Wash. Even with the masks, the smoke is still causing tight chests, itchy eyes and dry throats. CREDIT: ANNA KING/N3

Smoke from wildfires is blanketing much of the West. That's ruining some crops and may be stunting others. And it's making it difficult or unsafe for laborers to pick the harvest.Read More

In MeToo Era, A Yakima Valley Dairy Worker Finds Her Voice

By Esmy Jimenez August 23, 2018

The old DeRuyter Brothers Dairy sits in Outlook, Wash. According to state records, before it sold, the operation had around 5,000 head of cattle on 500 hundred acres, making it one of the largest dairies in the Yakima Valley. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ

Maria Gonzalez started at DeRuyter Brothers dairy in February 2015. At the time, she was the first and only woman working as a milker. For Maria, working there was a step up in career and pay. But it also meant facing sexual harassment from a male coworker. It ended with losing her job. Read More

Smoke Makes Washington Farmworkers Cover Up, But No Regulations Require Provided Masks

By Esmy Jimenez August 17, 2018

Smoky skies in Central Washington this week have made it hard to see distant mountains, and harder for some farmworkers to breathe clean air. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

You’ve probably seen and felt it this week: a blanket of grey haze over large parts of the region. Smoke from wildfires in Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and California has led to poor air quality, causing health experts to caution: minimize your exposure. So how do people who work outdoors fare? Read More

Largest Farmworker Complex In State Opens In Yakima As Concerns Of Housing Shortages Echo

By Esmy Jimenez June 1, 2018

The FairBridge Hotel in Yakima, Wash., is the site of the largest farmworker housing complex in the state.

Yakima will soon be home to the largest farmworker housing complex in Washington. The revamped FairBridge hotel officially opened Friday, June 1, and the first guest workers will be housed there beginning June 11th. Read More

Years After I-502, Legal Marijuana In Central Washington Is Far From Settled Law

By Esmy Jimenez May 14, 2018

Thirty states have legalized some form of medical marijuana. Nine of those states and Washington, D.C., allow recreational sale of the drug.CREDIT: TED S. WARREN

In the Columbia Basin, communities are pushing back on recreational marijuana by leveraging county regulations – regulations like Benton County’s new “Sight and Smell Ordinance.”Read More

‘People Are Giving Up’: Low Attendance, But Hope For Future, At Yakima May Day March

By Esmy Jimenez May 1, 2018

Maria Cuevas, a farmworker and community activist in Yakima, has marched in every Yakima May Day gathering since 1986, including with Cesar Chavez. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

May Day demonstrations happened around the Northwest May 1, including in Latino-concentrated Yakima. The peaceful gathering focused on immigration reform. But the turnout was low compared to previous years with only a couple hundred people there. Read More

Yakima May Day March Organizers Wonder How Immigration Climate Will Affect Turnout

By Esmy Jimenez April 30, 2018

Yakima Valley Spanish-language radio news director Francisco Rios remembers the 2006 march, headlined by the Yakima Herald-Republic. CREDIT: ESMY JIMENEZ/NWPB

May 1st marks International Workers’ Day. In Yakima, May Day organizers are pushing last-minute flyers before their march on Tuesday. They hope for strong turnout from farmworkers, the immigrant community, and Latinos. But some are worried the political climate will affect attendance.Read More

For Farmworkers’ Kids, Country Air Means Dust, Pesticides And Asthma

By Eilís O'Neill April 26, 2018

Patricia Marin says her daughter Azul has been suffering from asthma since she was just a baby. CREDIT: COURTNEY FLATT

Most people think of asthma as a city kid problem — but it turns out rural kids are just as likely to have asthma. And the children of the people who grow our food are especially vulnerable. Researchers at the University of Washington and the Yakima Valley Farm Workers’ Clinic are working on a new approach to solving the problem.Read More

News Roundup – What’s Happening In Central Washington?

By NWPB News March 8, 2018

Central Washington is an agricultural powerhouse. In the summer, it’s often dominated by headlines of fires (and smoke) affecting the region. But from the Columbia River to Cascade Crest, from Canada to Oregon, there’s a lot going on. NWPB Yakima Valley correspondent Esmy Jimenez talks with news manager Scott Leadingham about deeper stories she's covering.Read More

Yakima County Closes Road Near Rattlesnake Ridge Indefinitely

By Esmy Jimenez March 7, 2018

Rattlesnake Ridge Risk Map - Google Maps

Yakima County Commissioners voted this week to officially close a road at the base of the slow-moving Rattlesnake Ridge landslide in Union Gap.Read More

Dating Is Hard Enough, Harder As A Yakama Nation Member Mindful Of Tribal Identity

By Esmy Jimenez February 14, 2018

Going on a date on Valentine’s Day can be fun and full of decisions – where to eat, what to wear. But for members of the Yakama Nation in Central Washington, it can be complicated when trying to date within the relatively small tribal community. Read More

For Displaced Rattlesnake Ridge Residents, Emergency Goes On As They’re Told To Return Home

By Esmy Jimenez February 8, 2018

Antonio Martinez and his son, Ramon Mendoza

The emergency is over for now at Rattlesnake Ridge near Yakima. The state says a major, sudden landslide is no longer imminent, and Yakima County has lifted its evacuation order and told residents they can move back home. But that’s easier said than done. Read More

Nervous Drivers Still ‘Shooting The Gap’ At Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide

By Anna King February 6, 2018

The emergency seems to be over for now at the slow-moving landslide at Rattlesnake Ridge near Yakima. The state has taken down warning signs on the highway below. But for some, the drive is still nerve wracking. They’ve coined a phrase for driving quickly past the slide: “Shooting the Gap.”Read More

UPDATE: Residents Near Rattlesnake Ridge Can Return Home; Threat Level Downgraded

By Anna King January 31, 2018

The landslide on Rattlesnake Ridge near Yakima is likely going to be a slow one—it could take years or decades to fully come down. Now, residents can return. That’s the upshot of a new independent geology report commissioned by the state.Read More

Residents Displaced By Rattlesnake Ridge Slide Confront Yakima’s Tight Housing Market

By Esmy Jimenez January 26, 2018

Solorio family displaced by Rattlesnake Ridge - Anna King Photo

The slow-moving landslide on Rattlesnake Ridge in Washington's Yakima Valley points to a larger problem plaguing the region: affordable housing. When residents were told to move away from their homes in the slide area, there were few places to go.Read More

Small Town, Big Flavor: Union Gap Tamaleria Wins James Beard Award

By Esmy Jimenez January 22, 2018

The James Beard Foundation recently announced five nationwide winners of its prestigious awards in the America’s Classics category. One is right here in the Northwest, tucked away in the hills of Central Washington. The tamales are, well, award-winning (and delicious).Read More

When Will Rattlesnake Ridge Slide Near Yakima ‘Go’? Geologists Say It’s Hard To Predict

By Anna King January 19, 2018

After huge cracks appeared on Rattlesnake Ridge last year, geologists expect a landslide is coming at the mountain near Yakima. But they're having a hard time nailing down just when it will go.Read More

Residents Near Rattlesnake Ridge Still On High Alert Of Possible Landslide

By NWPB News January 9, 2018

Crews arrange large containers along Thorpe Road near Rattlesnake Ridge south of Union Gap, Wash., Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. The containers will be filled with concrete barriers in an effort to keep rocks and other debris from falling onto Interstate 82. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic/via AP)Crews arrange large containers along Thorpe Road near Rattlesnake Ridge south of Union Gap, Wash., Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. The containers will be filled with concrete barriers in an effort to keep rocks and other debris from falling onto Interstate 82. (Shawn Gust/Yakima Herald-Republic/via AP)

Residents below Rattlesnake Ridge outside Union Gap are considering their next move if a slow-moving hillside in Yakima County collapses during the next several weeks.Read More

Feds Prep For Yakima River ‘Worst Case Scenario’ At Rattlesnake Ridge

By Anna King January 5, 2018

Rattlesnake Ridge in Union Gap south of Yakima, Washington

Emergency meetings are underway to discuss the threat of a possible landslide near Yakima. Dozens of federal, state, county and tribal officials are trying to work out a plan as this threat looms.Read More

Fighting For Compensation: How Well Is L&I Hearing Latino Farmworkers?

By Esmy Jimenez January 5, 2018

Six years ago, Jose Luis Mendoza lost part of his left leg, and with it, the ability to work as a farm laborer. He now has a lawyer trying to help him get full compensation from the Washington state Department of Labor and Industries.Read More

Residents Weigh Options, Officials Scramble To Prep For Rattlesnake Ridge Landslide

By Anna King January 4, 2018

There are about 50 residents in 15 houses and trailer homes on a crescent of land wedged in a depression between Interstate 82 and the hillside that’s cracking near them. According to measurements taken since October by the state and its consultant, the land above this community and Interstate 82 is starting to move more rapidly.Read More