700 people attend health sciences university dedication - 
Undeterred by hot summer temperatures, an estimated 700 people turned out this afternoon for the dedication of Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Terrace Heights. It is the first new medical school to open in 60 years in the Pacific North...

NEW: West Valley grad still alive on 'Project Runway' - 
Blayne-licious is still in. Yakima native Blayne Walsh avoided the dreaded "auf Wiedersehen" for a second week on the reality show "Project Runway," which launched its fifth season July 16. In the drama-fueled competition, aspiring fashion designers take...

07/24/08 Summer in the Valley - 
Friday * Toddler and Preschool Art Studio, 10 a.m.-noon. Open studio exploration for children ages 5 and younger. Cost: $5. Red Art Gallery, 30 N. Third St., Yakima. 469-2766. * Allied Arts Summer ArtsVan, 10 a.m.- noon, Community Center at Nueva Buena H...

Judge OKs Zirkle settlement with foreign guest workers - 
Judge Fred Van Sickle on Tuesday approved a settlement to award $102,000 to 600 foreign guest workers employed by Zirkle Fruit in 2007. Each worker is entitled to $170 but must file a claim within 105 days -- roughly three months and two weeks -- from the...

Cold Springs blaze 90 percent contained - 
Outside of some wind gusts, crews battling the Cold Springs Fire southeast of Mount Adams made steady progress Wednesday as they now have it 90 percent contained. Today, firefighters will continue strengthening fire breaks, which have been carved from 300...

07/24/08 Correction - 
* A Yakima Fire Department command rig on Tuesday hit a Toyota RAV-4 at a downtown intersection. Police said the Toyota's driver had a green light, but didn't notice the lights and siren of the fire rig, which was responding to an emergency. A Wednesday...

Police seek help in search for CWU assault suspect - 
ELLENSBURG -- Police are still hoping for tips that will identify a man suspected of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl at Central Washington University in Ellensburg on Saturday. Officers have checked a few leads since the case was first publicized Mo...

07/24/08 Around the Valley - 
Health fair set for Zillah on Saturday zillah -- The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center is sponsoring a health fair Saturday that's open to the entire Yakima Valley community. The fair will be from 1-5 p.m. at Stewart Park in Zillah. Diabetes screeni...

Wapato can't find anyone to fill vacant council positions - 
WAPATO -- More than two months have passed since two City Council members stepped down, and the city has yet to receive any interest in either post. Having the vacancies are hampering long-term plans the city embarked on several years ago to revitalize th...

Birth of a university - 
A few blocks from the footprint of the newly erected Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Terrace Heights, signs lined the sides of the road indicating a special event was just ahead. Those signs led to a crowd estimated at more than 700 peo...

Motorcycle driver injured in accident - 
SELAH -- A collision between a motorcycle and car Tuesday night near the Mattson Memorial Bridge outside of Selah sent the 30-year-old motorcycle driver to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and released. According to Washington State P...

Body in canal identified as missing teen - 
Detectives are still seeking a suspect in the shooting death of a 17-year-old Grandview girl, whose body was found floating July 4 in an Emerald Road canal. The victim was publicly identified Wednesday as Jacqueline Abundez. She had been reported as a run...

Community asked to help find 'Princess' - 
A Yakima woman said Wednesday that she has suffered three seizures since her specially trained toy poodle went missing on Saturday. Debbie Trudeau has begun distributing fliers in hopes that the dog will be returned or that the publicity will generate tip...

Historic panel wants city to intervene in Wilson Building demolition - 
Memo to the Yakima City Council: End the cover-up! That's the message the city's Historical Preservation Commission wants to convey to the City Council about the fate of the doomed Wilson Building, which is slated for demolition as part of the Capitol The...

Hearing on B&B proposal today - 
A proposed bed-and-breakfast is the subject of a hearing todayTh at City Hall that could determine the fate of one of Yakima's stateliest homes. Paul and Holli Radke want permission from the city to turn the historic Rosedell Manor, located at 1811 W. Yak...

A pod for the graffiti 'plague' - 
No kid looks forward to the concrete beds and tiny rooms of the Yakima County juvenile detention center. But is it enough to make them drop their spray paint cans? For restaurant owner Patricio Rodriguez and other victims of graffiti, the jury is still ou...

Guilty pleas due next week in 2006 vandalism case - 
Two men accused of causing thousands of dollars of graffiti damage in downtown Yakima and throughout the city are scheduled to plead guilty next week. The hearing had been set for Wednesday, but prosecutors held off until a Superior Court judge was avai...

NEW: Patrol to be in full force at Water Follies - 
The Washington State Patrol will conduct traffic safety emphasis patrols throughout the annual Water Follies in the Tri-Cities this weekend, bringing in troopers from Sunnyside, Yakima and Walla Walla. ...

UPDATE: Rossi to make Valley visit - 
Dino Rossi, a Republican candidate for Washington governor, will visit Prosser, Sunnyside and Yakima on Friday. Rossi will hold a meet-and-greet-style open house reception at 2:15 p.m. at Prosser's Pizzeria Venti, 1226 Meade Ave., following a walking tour...

NEW: More progress reported on Cold Springs Fire - 
Containment of the Cold Springs Fire has increased to 98 percent this morning, fire officials announced. Despite the gain, up from 90 percent yesterday, fire officials still estimate full containment of the blaze that has blackened more than 7,980 acres...

Local report -- West Valley nabs district berth - 
Casey Croshaw pitched a three-hitter and drove in two runs as the West Valley Baseball Club beat the Kennewick Phantoms 13-5 in a playoff for the final Junior Legion district berth Wednesday at West Valley High School. WVBC, 28-18, will open district play...

Beetles' season ends with slugfest loss to Wenatchee - 
Those were foul winds that blew through Parker Field on Wednesday night, at least for the shell-shocked Yakima Pepsi Beetles. Hard-hitting Wenatchee, on the other hand, took flight and rode the summer breeze to an offensive onslaught and a rare berth to t...

Local Golf Notes -- Cook, Wanderscheid earn trips to state - 
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC Eight locals, including Goldendale's Zach Wanderscheid in the boys' 16-17 age division and Eisenhower's Christine Cook in girls 16-17, earned trips to next week's Washington Junior Golf Association state tournament in Spokane with s...

Trip north continues south for Yakima - 
VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Runs have been hard to come by for most of this season for the Bears, but of late they've become even more scarce. Yakima was shut out for the second time in three games Wednesday night, 4-0 by Vancouver before an announced...

Yakima's basketball future may be in D-League - 
It has been three months since the Yakama Nation pulled the plug on its ownership of the Yakama Sun Kings and handed the franchise back to the Continental Basketball Association. Unfortunately, there may be no league to receive it, since the CBA continues...

07/24/08 Death Notices - 
Jacqueline Abundez Jacqueline Abundez, 17, of Grandview died July 4 in Sunnyside. Miss Abundez was born in Mexico. She received her education in both Sunnyside and Grandview schools. Survivors include her mother and stepfather, Angela Mendoza and Francisc...

Cool treats for those hot summer days - 
* Sure, you can get ice cream just about anywhere, but when you want it served up with an extra scoop of nostalgia, head to the Yakima Valley Museum's authentic late-1930s art deco soda fountain at 2105 Tieton Drive....

Jazzed in the Valley-- Jazzed about the blues - 
ELLENSBURG -- The members of Rhythm Junction don't want to be rock stars. "We're older guys -- we don't have egos," said Dale Sweet, the guitar player. "None of us is going to be a guitar god. I'm a teacher and he's...

Guilty Pleasures Party-- A Prophet for a party - 
When it came to planning tonight's second annual Guilty Pleasures Party, the musical entertainment was left up to the good taste of Yakima Sports Center booking agent Dan Craig. And when he asked if it was OK to book Chuck Prophet, I said, "Sure." Not be...

Guilty Pleasures -- Come share your pleasure with us - 
If you're anything like Guilty Pleasures, you secretly love the Steve Miller Band. Sure, in public, you turn up your snobbish nose at the idiotic lyrics of "The Joker," but if there's a jukebox within a 20-foot radius of your barstool, you just can't resi...

CCR still rolls along - 
John Fogerty was at his prime when he wrote Creedence Clearwater Revival's biggest hits, says CCR drummer Doug "Cosmo" Clifford. With a late '60s classic rock catalog that includes "Proud Mary," "Born On the Bayou," "Bad Mood Rising," "Green River," "Down...

07/25/08 Night life/Dance/Concerts - 
NIGHT LIFE Blues/Jazz/Swing JACK-SONS SPORTS BAR. 6-11 p.m. Thursdays. Open blues/jazz jam. 432 S. 48th Ave. 966-4340. JOHNNY'S ON THE AVE. 8 p.m. Fridays. Wayman Chapman. Red Lion Yakima Center Hotel, 607 E. Yakima Ave. 248-5900. (R&B.) WHISTLIN' ...

07/25/08 On the Record - 
* Yakima native Rachel Kunze is the latest to play Maria, the singing, skirt-twirling nun in the Leavenworth Summer Theater's production of "The Sound of Music." This is the Leavenworth Summer Theatre's 14th consecutive season of performing "The Sound of...

Chinook anglers to have more chances - 
YAKIMA -- Anglers will have the 31 days of August plus Labor Day -- compared to just 12 days last year -- in the popular "Buoy 10" fall chinook fishery near the mouth of the Columbia River, but won't be as fortunate upriver. They'll have to release any ...

Head to Cle Elum for lake trout - 
Not many anglers in Central Washington have ever fished for lake trout. A member of the char family also known as mackinaw, lake trout thrive in lakes throughout Canada. There is also a fantastic lake trout fishery in Lake Chelan. But there just aren't ma...

Even without views of Rainier, Owyhigh Lakes offers scenic stroll - 
YAKIMA -- Majestic, shadowed forest dominates the trail leading to Owyhigh Lakes in Mount Rainier National Park. The 3.5-mile hike climaxes with the appearance of jagged Governor's Ridge, overlooking a meadow basin with a pair of small alpine lakes. Don'...

Leaders of the pack - 
YAKIMA -- Not in the 70 years since they were trapped and hunted to virtual extinction in Washington have gray wolves experienced such a momentous couple of days. Even as state wildlife experts continue to fine-tune a management plan for the gray wolves t...

What's Happening - 
Fire danger level will stop firewood cutting With forests at tinder-dry levels after this recent long, hot, dry spell, firewood cutting within the National Forest throughout most of the Naches and Cle Elum ranger districts will be prohibited as of Saturda...