The Skamania Dispatch

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Latest — 28 Oct 2026

💸 A Million-Dollar Gap and a Hiring Freeze - Skamania BOCC 9/29-10/20

Skamania County opened its 2027 budget about a million dollars short, asked every department for 8%, and stopped filling open jobs. Plus: the board's roadless rule letter, a longer data center pause, and a snowplow contract that won't stretch to Road 90.

More issues

⚖️ Data Center Rules Move to Legal Review - Klickitat BOCC 10/13-10/20

Klickitat commissioners took no vote on data centers in October. The interim rules and the moratorium question went to lawyers, and the next draft swapped its distances for X's. Plus a pulled ADU ordinance, a budget workshop and a wind farm's longer life.

🗳 Your Klickitat Nov Ballot, Decoded: Candidate Nights in Goldendale 10/14 & Lyle 10/15

Two candidate nights in two days, Goldendale and Lyle, and data centers ran through the commissioner and PUD races at both. Plus the open congressional seat, what the record shows, who is paying, and how to vote.

🗳 Your Skamania Nov Ballot, Decoded: Underwood's Candidates Night 10/9 + WA-03 Debate

Underwood's candidates night, the KOIN congressional debate, and a PUD race where one candidate died in July but is still on your ballot. Plus who is paying for the mailers in the 17th District.

🐟 The Fight Over How to Save a Salmon - Special Report

Everyone in the Columbia's hatchery fight says they want to save salmon. They disagree on how, and that disagreement is playing out in federal court, in Congress's budget, and at a hatchery on the Washougal. Here is what each side argues and what it means for our river.

🌳 The Tree I Didn't Cut Down - Letter From the Editor

A black locust tree in my yard became a Washington noxious weed this January, but the healthiest native ground on our place is underneath it. Why a series about the local policy debates over owls and salmon begins in my own backyard.

🌡 How Warm is an Underwater Cable? What the Science Says - EFSEC Sept '26

EFSEC's first look at 772 comments on the Columbia River power line: a Scenic Area fight, a missed Skamania notice, and a hearing decision set for October. Plus what the science actually says about cable heat and fish.

🧮 Budget Season Meets Data-Center Season - Klickitat BOCC 9/16 - 10/6

Klickitat commissioners backed interim zoning that would keep data centers a mile from residential zoning and five miles from cities, while the permanent draft cut its home buffer to a bracketed 500 feet. Plus ADUs, a bridge closure and budget season.

⚽️ $2.8M Parks Wish List, Splash Pad Dreams - Goldendale Sept '26 Round-up

Goldendale heard its first parks plan in 26 years, then tabled it until the mayor is back. The mayor asked the county for data center impact fees, the Kiwanis Club is folding, and the police chief wants the county prosecutor to take city cases.

🧾 The Emergency Is Over. The Invoices Aren't. North Bonneville, Sept '26

North Bonneville's council formally ended its water emergency in September, then paid a second contractor bill it said it couldn't reconcile. It voted down an independent review, adopted a master fee schedule, and started handing its planning office to the county.