The state Redistricting Commission has released a map to help residents see where they fall within new congressional and legislative districts that were approved this year.

Plug in your address in here and see what happens.

 — Mark Morey

The Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency doesn’t appear to be on solid legal ground in a dispute over the format in which public records should be released.

An environmental group, Citizens for Sustainable Development, hired a Seattle lawyer to sue the agency for failure to provide electronic copies of all original email communications dealing with a policy on reducing emissions from dairies.

The agency has offered to allow viewing and copying of the documents, but not e... Read this post

Sometimes City Council members make million-dollar decisions. And sometimes they juggle words.

The council spent part of its retreat this afternoon editing the city's vision statement.

In case you don't have the current version stuck on your refrigerator, here it is:

"To create a culturally diverse, economically vibrant, safe and strong Yakima community."

(12 words)

The revised version:

"To cultivate and support a diverse, economically vibran... Read this post

We reported today in the newspaper that a group of state legislators had announced support for Gov. Chris Gregoire’s request for the federal government to reclassify medical marijuana as a prescription drug.

But we ran out of room to say who signed that letter of support.

On the Internet, we run out of time — and coffee — before we run out of room.

The signers are S... Read this post

All this recent talk of congressional and legislative districts might leave the average voter’s head spinning.

The Seattle Times, in an effort to clarify the process, created a map that allows people to punch in their address and see which side of a district line they fall on. Also included is an ethnic breakdown for the selected district.

This... Read this post

The staff here at Checks and Balances spends considerable time tracking down mayors, all while tracking past and prospective mayors.

We’ve got some updates to report, since reporting is what we do.

Mayor Micah Cawley this week started his second two-year term as the ceremonial head of the Yakima City Council.

Maureen Adkison takes over from Kathy Coffey as deputy mayor. Coffey told the council that other commitments would keep her from seeking a second mayoral... Read this post

Reagan Dunn, Republican candidate for state attorney general, may face a few questions if he decides to break bread with the Yakima County GOP at the party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner next month.

The dinners are usually an opportunity for party officials or leading candidates to rehearse their stump speeches and preach to the choir. (That goes for both the Republicans and the Democrats, who name their annual dinner event in honor of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.)

B... Read this post

The Oregon-based owners and operators of the old Boise Cascade mill site are in the middle of a controversial mining project that has encountered pushback from politicians in the Eugene, Ore., area.

Two Lane County commissioners and a state lawmaker say they are withdrawing support for a state grant that would help build a railroad system to carry gravel from a mining site to the Oregon coast.

As reported by the Eugene Register-Guard, the politicians say that Oregon develop... Read this post

State Attorney General Rob McKenna — who said he was not campaigning on his visit here this week — believes the state can and should find money for prevention and intervention programs to go along with proposed anti-gang laws.

McKenna, a Republican running for governor against Democrat Congressman Jay Inslee in 2012, swung through the Yakima Valley on Tuesday, speaking to nonprofit groups and the Yakima County Gang Commission. He also stopped by Yakima’s Children&... Read this post

Alex Newhouse, an attorney from the Sunnyside area, says backers of a Initiative 502 to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana are set to submit signatures next week to the Secretary of State.

"We made it and expect to turn in around 350,000 signatures next week!" Newhouse said in an email to the Yakima Herald-Republic. "That’s about 100,000 more than necessary."

New Approach Washington, the campaign collecting signatures, reported $1.1 million in contributions, accordi... Read this post