Christy Grimm, left, and Jake Allen, right, watch the Burdoin Fire as it threatens the town of Lyle as seen from the Rowena Crest Overlook near the Tom McCall Preserve across the Columbia River from Lyle on July 19.
At right, Maribel Martinez and Jenny Gonzalez, certifiers for the food assistance program Women, Children, and Infants, sit outside the Mercado del Valle, a farmer’s market in Odell. The market was cancelled that day because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were sighted at the Hood River County Courthouse.
At left, Stevenson City Council member Lucy Lauser, getting arrested July 4. Lauser was cited for indecent exposure during what she says was a political protest.
Christy Grimm, left, and Jake Allen, right, watch the Burdoin Fire as it threatens the town of Lyle as seen from the Rowena Crest Overlook near the Tom McCall Preserve across the Columbia River from Lyle on July 19.
Community members packed the White Salmon Fire Hall on July 2, largely demonstrating solidarity with one item on city council’s agenda: A resolution backing local immigrants amidst intense federal scrutiny, which council unanimously adopted. Hood River City Council passed a similar resolution June 25.
At left, Stevenson City Council member Lucy Lauser, getting arrested July 4. Lauser was cited for indecent exposure during what she says was a political protest.
Philip L. Watness/Whatnews. Ink photo
While personal fireworks were banned in much of the Gorge, residents enjoyed professional shows in Hood River, The Dalles, and Cascade Locks on July 4. Downriver that same day, Stevenson City Council member Lucy Lauser, a transgender woman, was arrested as she stood wearing no top, but with her nipples covered by black tape, on the Skamania Courthouse lawn. She held a sign that said “The President says I’m a man” on one side, and “My body is not obscene, stop sexualizing trans people” on the other. Lauser has always maintained that her actions were a political protest, and her court case remains ongoing.
At right, Maribel Martinez and Jenny Gonzalez, certifiers for the food assistance program Women, Children, and Infants, sit outside the Mercado del Valle, a farmer’s market in Odell. The market was cancelled that day because U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were sighted at the Hood River County Courthouse.
Stella Xu photo
Also on July 4, Trump officially signed his “Big, Beautiful Bill” into law, cementing budget cuts and new requirements for federal programs like Medicaid, Medicare and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, that will take effect over the coming years. About 108,000 Oregonians and 170,000 people in Washington will forfeit food stamps as a result, state officials initially estimated.
Two weeks later, another large and devastating fire began July 18 along State Route 14 in Klickitat County. Fueled by high winds, the Burdoin Fire prompted immediate emergency evacuations, and approximately 250 firefighters were engaged with the blaze by July 19. The fire destroyed 17 primary structures alongside dozens of other secondary structures, prompting a visit from Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson.
In response to both fires, the Columbia River Gorge Commission (CRGC) announced a streamlined permitting process to expedite recovery and rebuilding for those impacted. Amending its management plan for the National Scenic Area, though, has proved to be slow-moving, as the new rules aren’t yet in place.
Likewise, the first round of cleanup for the Rowena Fire, which addressed hazardous materials and was backed by the state, was completed in July, but it took until December for phase two to begin.
Finally, Oregon’s Health Authority blocked plans to establish the Columbia Gorge Crisis Resolution Center, a mental health and substance abuse treatment facility in The Dalles, from moving forward because of an administrative rule in early July, but state and county officials later agreed on a scaled-back version.
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