Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper

Articles written by Courtney Flatt


Sorted by date  Results 1 - 5 of 5

  • Deadly heat waves to be more frequent, intense

    Courtney Flatt|Dec 27, 2023

    By Courtney Flatt NWNews, NWPB It’s cold right now, but even fans of warm summers don’t want to endure the extreme temperatures of 2021. That’s when a deadly heat dome plagued the Northwest and overstayed its welcome. New climate research shows stronger heat domes could happen more often as the climate changes. “What surprised me is that the strongest response is occurring in the Pacific Northwest,” said Ziming Chen, a post-doctoral researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the lead author of the research study. With this rese...

  • Courtney Flatt, Northwest News Network|Sep 27, 2023

    A measure to dissolve a small library in southeastern Washington will not be on the November ballot. The decision comes after a hearing Sept. 20 in Columbia County’s Superior Court. After more than a year fraught with book challenges and the specter of the loss of Columbia County’s only library, Superior Court Commissioner Julie Karl ruled in favor of not allowing a measure to dissolve the library to make it onto the ballot. “This court is cognizant of the impact of this decision on all concerned and its reach beyond the borders of this city, c...  Website

  • Courtney Flatt, NWNews, NWPB|Sep 13, 2023

    A measure to dissolve the Columbia County Rural Library District in southeastern Washington has been temporarily blocked from the Nov. 7 ballot. Superior Court Judge Julie Karl ruled Sept. 6 that the proposition that would shut down the county’s only library is invalid. The temporary restraining order she issued will block the measure from the ballot and prevent officials from printing ballots for 14 days. The clock is ticking. According to the county auditor, the first ballots are supposed to be mailed to military and overseas voters Sept. 2...  Website

  • Courtney Flatt, Northwest News Network|Sep 6, 2023

    On Nov. 7, some voters will decide whether to dissolve the Columbia County Library in Dayton, Washington. If they choose to do so, librarians said it would be the first time in the country that a public library is dissolved following a book challenge. Everything in the building would go to the State Library, and the building would return to the City of Dayton. A lawsuit is calling a ballot measure to dissolve a southeastern Washington library unconstitutional. The complaint aims to keep the measure off the November ballot. It all started a litt...  Website

  • Navy will train in Washington state parks

    Courtney Flatt|Feb 10, 2021

    Originally published Jan. 28, 2021 by Northwest Public Broadcasting Washington state has approved a request to use multiple Washington state parks to train Navy SEALs. But the move Thursday came with significant amendments to what the Navy requested. The permits would expand the five parks previously used for Navy SEAL training to 16 or 17. The Navy had requested access to 28 state parks as a way to diversify its training sites. Officials had said a small number of sites can become too familiar to trainees over time. The commissioners called...