More than 30 downtown businesses in The Dalles are pairing up with food and beverage businesses tonight, May 6, to bring locals a Taste of the Gorge. Beer, wine, meats, cheese, guitars and even hat contests are on tap as TD comes alive for First Friday in its second rendition. Grab your appetite and a lust for fun. And see you there!

KIWANIS PROGRAMS: Kiwanis meetings are held every Thursday at noon at Spooky’s and visitors are welcome. This week’s events include:

PowderPures’ Will Parkki told Councilors that COVID and labor shortages had led the plant to operate at 28 percent capacity. The Company has turned over 34 employees in the last year. He also pointed out that the company currently offers $26.44 an hour and offers 401k matching, dental and health benefits.

TD Councilors will look at community fee disbursements, tax abatements for PowderPure, Code Enforcement, green-lighting a contract for Dog River Pipe Replacements and will also hold an executive session to consider information or records that are exempt by law from public inspection.

Julien Whitney, 23, of Yakama was up and at ‘em this morning, April 21, setting the stage for Rainier Amusements carnival on First Street downtown The Dalles. The carnival will be running Friday through Sunday for Cherry Fest.

Vegetable and nut oils brought fierce flames at the Azure Standard warehouse and main office in Dufur on Monday, April 18th, when the building caught on fire for reasons that are yet unknown.

Katie McCloud of The Dalles is shining on the Oregon North Coast. She was recently awarded for her outstanding social media campaign. McCloud spent a decade working in The Dalles and parlayed her experience and skill set from The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce to come up with a Rise To The Challenge campaign in Seaside that was recognized statewide.

Everything in life is vibration…Everything is energy and that's all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality.” - Albert Einstein

TD City Council approved $500,000 in funding for houseless navigation center, $400,000 for Sorosis Park, purchased property to provide infrastructure and additional land for housing, heard the first presentation on an Expanded Chamber Marketing contract and landed a deal with it’s new City Manager.

The grant will enable faculty support for the Medical Assisting program. It supports the college’s plans to offer nursing students a part-time option, creating a three-year program in addition to the current two-year program. And it will jumpstart the college’s development of paramedic and EMT training.

Bees have returned to the orchards around The Dalles after a historic snowfall on Monday, April 11. Orchard View Farm’s Mike Omeg was right. They’re showing up for work.

Sal Reyes, 35, of The Dalles cuts through an 8” x 6” beam this morning in the Port of The Dalles. The Framer was working on the RBR Construction’s fourplex. Rain, Schmain. Reyes kept on working. Weather prognosticators are calling for more rain through the weekend with temps never jumping out of the 50s.

Conservation District is ready to unveil Farm Tool Library in White Salmon on April 20, just in time for Earth Day. The collection of tools will be loaned out to spur small-scale agriculture in the local area.

The Baldwin Saloon reopens today with a lunch service that goes from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The crew at the Baldwin along with Executive Chef Joe Kosarek have been working their tastebuds off for the past several weeks in preparation. And it has paid off in their fresh lunch menu.

Tough Enough? Mike Omeg said neither he nor any of his workmates can remember a snow when cherry trees were in blossom in the past 50 years. Local cherry trees hit with snow during the blooming season avoided freezing temperatures. Omeg said that bodes well for this summer’s crop. But it’s a long road to June.

A freak snowstorm hitting Oregon brought inches of fluff to higher elevations in the Columbia River Gorge while prompting school closures, downing some power and capping cherry blossoms with ice, this morning, April 11th.

Columnist Jim Drake takes you through music, culture and entertainment options at Zims, Route 30, The Pines, TD Civic, 64 Taphouse, Granada, HR Library, Bargeway Pub, Thunder Island, Everybody’s Brewing, MoCo, Double Mountain, Grateful Vineyard, Easter Bunny, River City Saloon, Wine Tasting, TD Eagles, Cider Fest.

Cary Lowe’s love of flight now has his family also elevating the vehicle that was at the center of so many great family memories. His 1963 Piper Cherokee 235 is being passed on to local college students for the expansion of their mechanical minds in the wake of Cary’s passing.

Many stopped by the “Love Where You Live” First Friday event to meet local artists, bakers, musicians, jewelry makers, artisan foods and photographers who “popped up” inside downtown shops, restaurants, and bars for the evening to sell their goods and chat with customers.

Imma Royal and Theo Ward cut the ribbon at Nana I Ke Kumu today, Friday, April 1st. It was long-awaited. But given the flow of things, they waited on their ribbon cutting until the downtown was bubbling with energy once again. And boy is it bubbling. It’s easy to name a half dozen new businesses in town.