Flanked by officials from Google, the city, county and state, The Dalles Mayor Richard Mays cuts the ribbon on Oct. 22, officially transferring ownership of the tech company’s aquifer storage and recovery system to the city.
Throughout the Gorge and nationwide, people mobilized for the second “No Kings” protest last year in rebuke of President Donald Trump, particularly his use of the National Guard in American cities and his indiscriminate deportation of immigrants, on Oct. 18. An estimated 2,000 people gathered in downtown Hood River last Saturday; The Dalles had an estimated 650, Bingen 500 and Stevenson more than 300.
Flanked by officials from Google, the city, county and state, The Dalles Mayor Richard Mays cuts the ribbon on Oct. 22, officially transferring ownership of the tech company’s aquifer storage and recovery system to the city.
Sense of Place (SOP) Season 16 kicked off at the Columbia Center for the Arts on Oct. 8 with Jeanne Carver, ranch wife turned sustainable, all-American retail titan. Her story was an unexpected journey, steering her across the globe, from the Olympics to the company of King Charles III, thanks to her ranch, Imperial Stock Ranch (ISR) in South Wasco County.
As conditioned in a 2021 agreement to build two new data centers, Google completed $28 million worth of water infrastructure upgrades, including an aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) system, and officially transferred ownership of the facility to the City of The Dalles. The company consumed 434 million gallons of water in 2024, nearly one-third of the city’s total usage.
Bread and Blessings, and representatives from other nonprofits, also reappeared at The Dalles City Council, this time to oppose an updated public nuisance ordinance that broadened the scope of actionable criminal disturbances, which council adopted.
Commissioners across four counties then selected former gubernatorial candidate and House Minority Leader Christine Drazan to fill Oregon’s Senate District 26 seat, which has been vacant since former Minority Leader Daniel Bonham resigned in September, during an Oct. 23 vote. Four days later, Drazan announced that, once again, she’ll be running to be Oregon’s governor in 2026.
Throughout the Gorge and nationwide, people mobilized for the second “No Kings” protest last year in rebuke of President Donald Trump, particularly his use of the National Guard in American cities and his indiscriminate deportation of immigrants, on Oct. 18. An estimated 2,000 people gathered in downtown Hood River last Saturday; The Dalles had an estimated 650, Bingen 500 and Stevenson more than 300.
Nathan Wilson photo
Additionally, Columbia Gorge News detailed funding challenges that local emergency managers and two programs supporting migrant education face due to federal cuts; the national suicide hotline’s loss of an option for LGBTQ+ youth, alongside services still available; and how fuels reduction treatments curtailed the Burdoin Fire in October.
To close, Soroptimist International of Hood River announced its 2025 Women of Distinction Award recipients, which were Leslie Tamura, chair of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers Association; Ann Harris, founder of Black in the Gorge, a leader of the OSU Strong People fitness for aging program, and a retired OSU Extension faculty; and Tonya DeHart, director of The Sunshine Club.
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