Good morning, Yakima.

The Central Regional Contracting Forum will be held on September 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Yakima Convention Center.

The free event—organized by the Central Regional Contracting Forum Committee—will connect contractors, consultants, and vendors with networking and contracting opportunities while supporting minority-owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses with Spanish interpretation available.

A Sunnyside man, Jesus Eleazar Birrueta-Mendoza (27), was sentenced to ten years in federal prison by Senior Judge Stanley Bastian in Yakima for selling methamphetamine after pleading guilty in February and receiving credit for time served, and he must complete five years of supervised release after his sentence.

Gas prices in Yakima fell 0.3 cents per gallon last week, with the average at $4.04 on August 4 based on a survey of 91 stations—prices remain 13.2 cents higher than a year ago.

The Washington Bee Atlas project found 26 new or rare bee species and collected over 17,000 specimens from more than 600 host plants in its first year.

The state agency is training more volunteers for the project’s second year—volunteers will help track native bees in counties such as Yakima.

Lisa Freund retired after 30 years of service at Yakima County—she served as director of the Public Services department and her last day was Thursday.

Today, she received a certificate of recognition from the Yakima County Board of Commissioners—David Haws will take over her role.

Yakima started a project in June to connect over 100 households in the northeast and south-central areas to city water and sewer utilities using a grant (worth $4.9 million) from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Drought Resiliency Program.

The first phase will be finished by February and the city is seeking federal funds for a second phase to boost community health.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture declared several counties in Washington under extreme drought conditions—local farmers can now apply for Farm Service Agency loans while state agencies continue their drought relief efforts.

Unusually low rainfall this summer has intensified concerns for those east of the Cascades.

KIMA launched a new series on the fentanyl crisis in Yakima County to show efforts in prevention and harm reduction.

Alicia Stromme Tobin from Safe Yakima Valley said the powerful drug is very dangerous—using tools like Narcan and early education is needed to save lives.

Speakers at a Medicaid forum last week said that federal changes will cut coverage and add work and service rules for Yakima Valley patients and providers.

They warned that the One Big, Beautiful Bill may force hospitals and low-income patients to face new costs — rules set to start in January — and urged locals to stay informed and vote.

Paint and Sip Night

6-8 p.m. — Hoops — Ticket required — Enjoy food and drinks while painting to your favorite 80’s & 90’s music.