Federal funding to stabilize people during the COVID-19 public health emergency is set to run out. This reduction will affect some 300,000 people utilizing the Oregon Health Plan who will no longer qualify. In addition, extended long-term support, providing extra food benefits are also coming to an end. Find out what to do here.

Poker Tournament and Silent Auction on tap at Bargeway Pub as locals pull together to fundraise for Luis Flores who has been stricken with debilitating medical issues. The event is set for Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Bargeway event site on the west side of the restaurant and pub. Read here for more details.

Games abound in this week’s round-up of local social events, music offerings and local shows. Scrabble, pool and poker options sit along side productions such as Dancing with the Gorge Stars at The Dalles High School Auditorium or “Ripchord” at the Bingen Theater.

“Far too many of our neighbors continue to struggle to afford the cost of housing in Hood River and surrounding areas. We’re anxious to advance our efforts at Rand Rd. and bring this important affordable housing development to a  reality for our community,” said Joel Madsen, Executive Director of Columbia Cascade Housing Corporation.

Comedy, music, a fundraiser for a friend. It’s all happening in the Gorge. Check out our latest listings here.

Another move downtown has the commercial district shaking. The Salvation Army is headed east to a leased building on Second Street and their old digs are up for sale for $1.65 million. The 0.29-acre lot with 24,000 square feet of building space and 10,000 square feet of parking provides a lot of potential to a would-be investor. Housing, restaurants, food carts? Who knows. Time will tell.

Welcome the new year by checking out the newly soft-opened Hot Wok Roadhouse Restaurant and Lounge located at 600 State Street in Lyle, WA. 

Justin Moore is stoked with his new role as Executive Chef at the Last Stop Saloon. He said he gained his passion for cooking from his father, Jeffrey Clyde Moore as their large family played host to large family gatherings over the years. Moore was most recently working at the Baldwin Saloon before its closure last fall.

All that shopping and sweating the little stuff needs to take a break. Find a live show or a movie in this week’s roundup of Gorge Entertainment. Jim Drake also offers a little New Year’s Eve Planner to get you thinking.

A recent order by Oregon Administrative Law Judge Jennifer Rackstraw concludes that minimal impacts at most would come to endangered species such as steelhead and Chinook if wetlands are removed in the construction of a Walmart supercenter in The Dalles. She found the public benefits outweighed some degree of wetland destruction and degradation, stream and river pollution, fish mortality, and wildlife mortality and displacement.

Downtown TD will be bustling tonight, Friday, Dec. 16 as some 25 businesses stay open until 8 p.m. for the Sip & Shop event. Pubs will follow this event with Santa Con on Saturday, Dec. 17 with special drink prices and contests for those holly and jolly enough to don a red and white suit.

Entertainment in the Gorge is hitting a fevered pitch in the next couple of days as opportunities for live music, entertainment, comedy and local concerts are coming down the chimney like a bag of toys. Check out the offerings and opportunities for holiday fun here.

The pandemic has taken a toll on Second Hand Rose thrift store in Bingen, Washington.

Meet Wyld Lee, known as the Feral Oracle of Parkdale, Oregon. As a seer, reiki (energy healing) practitioner, map maker, priestess and Tarot reader she offers a unique blend individually tailored services to help individuals heal, grow, reinvent themselves, and find their path in life.

The Hares have been spearheading a collaborative effort between local restaurants and musicians to bring live music every night to The Dalles. It’s getting noticed. And now it’s getting statewide coverage.

The announcement of Bamba’s Indian Food Bar has been posted on the former site of Pho Sai Gon restaurant at 312 Court St. in The Dalles.

The Steltzer family recently purchased the former Chronicle building at 315 Federal Street with the intent of renovating the building for a natural food grocery and deli as well as creating space for six other like-minded businesses. The project will transform the building which has been shuttered since the summer of 2018. They hope to be open in late spring or early summer of 2023.

As we write to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season, we find ourselves pondering the current and future existence of Local News here, and across the region

Hood River, OR - In November, Lake Taco, an authentic family Mexican restaurant run by Maria and Enrique Ortega, was in danger of closing down forever. Now, thanks to donations from the community, Lake Taco now is in the process of moving into a new location in downtown Hood River.