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. Continue 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… Continue Reading Latinos 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… Continue Reading Nuevo ciudadano y votante por primera vez el mismo 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… Continue Reading County commissioner candidates forum in 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… Continue Reading Latinos Justices work to expand 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… Continue Reading Yakima Groups Help More Women Of 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… Continue Reading Dos candidatas por escrito 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… Continue Reading Two 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… Continue Reading El reto de conseguir 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… Continue Reading Yakima quiere crear Centro Regional 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. Continue Reading 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. Continue Reading Yakama Nation Case Could 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. Continue Read More
Yakima County has the most COVID-19 cases per capita among West Coast states. The largely Latinx agricultural workforce helped secure the backbone of the local economy. Continue Reading During Pandemic, Yakima Farmworkers Kept Their Read More
So far this month, more than 400 Yakima Valley fruit packing workers have gone on strike, according to Familias Unidas Por La Justicia. The farmworker advocacy group, based in Skagit County, is helping these workers organize committees, negotiate with employers and seek legal advice. Read More
Yakima County has the highest rate of COVID-19 infections among counties on the West Coast. That means a larger portion of the county's population has tested positive for the coronavirus compared to other counties. Continue Reading What’s Driving Read More
News and information on the COVID-19 pandemic released by state and local governments is primarily in English. And though health districts and emergency management offices translate some of that information into Spanish, immigrant communities in places like the Yakima Valley still struggle to access that information. Read More
Even with increasing numbers in Yakima County, there’s some good news. Health officials say they’re seeing fewer new hospitalizations — meaning the much-watched curve could be flattening. Continue Reading With Coronavirus Read More
Construction industry advocates are asking Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to allow more home building to continue under his “stay home, stay healthy” order meant to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue Reading Elected Read More
According to the county Department of Corrections, the captured inmates told officials they were upset after Gov. Jay Inslee announced a statewide order to stay at home to fight the coronavirus pandemic and “the virus outbreak has them all scared.” Read More
Coronavirus continues to spread in Washington and Idaho. As of Sunday, March 22, Washington had nearly 2,000 confirmed cases, with at least 95 deaths since the outbreak began. Idaho’s official number stood at 47 cases, with most in Blaine County. Read More
The United States Department of Justice is suing King County over its ban on deportation flights from Boeing Field. A King County executive order banned deportation flights from Boeing Field in April 2019. Since then, ICE has diverted detainees to and from Yakima airport by bus. Read More
Civil rights groups are poised to sue Yakima County over their election system, alleging it dilutes Latinx votes in violation of the state Voting Rights Act. Continue Reading Civil Rights Groups Claim Latinx Disenfranchisement Read More
An outbreak of Hepatitis A that’s been spreading throughout Washington state has reached Yakima County. It’s expected to grow over the winter, according to the county health district. The district has confirmed 18 cases of Hepatitis A since declaring an outbreak Nov. 7. The state Department of Health has confirmed 124 cases this year, mostly in King and Spokane counties. Read More
Environmental and Latino groups are hosting a clean drinking water forum Saturday, Oct. 26. The goal is to help people learn how they can get their water tested – and why it’s important. Continue Reading Latino Read More
Después del incendio del Complejo Carlton en agosto del 2014 en el condado de Okanogan, funcionarios estatales de emergencia recibieron comentarios preocupantes de la comunidad hispana afectada. Continue Reading Read More
Communication is key in emergencies. That’s especially true when the people you’re working to protect don’t speak English. That’s why Washington emergency management offices are working on their language skills — whether for a fire, earthquake or any emergency. Read More
Informe critica a Yakima por vuelos ICE de deportación, mientras la ciudad explica dilema financiero
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
A new report from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights estimates that on average 160 people in ICE custody now flow through the Yakima airport each week. The city receives money for each of those flights, and is at risk of losing millions in federal grants if they don't allow them. Read More
