Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler

Kate

Welcome to Open Gorge, your audio bridge to local government, infrastructure, and community news in the Columbia River Gorge. Hosted by the founder of Open Gorge, Kate Bertash, this podcast brings the in-depth, civic-minded reporting of The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler newsletters straight to your headphones. We break down the public meetings you didn't have time to attend, track local infrastructure projects, and decode the regional policy decisions that directly impact your daily life. Whether you are a Columbia Gorge resident commuting across the river, following local elections, or tracking where your tax dollars are going, we provide clear, factual summaries of what’s changing and what’s coming next. Our unified feed covers the entire Gorge. Check the title of each episode to see if we are covering Skamania County, Klickitat County, or regional issues that impact us all. Listen to what matters most to your neighborhood, or stay tuned for the full regional picture. Subscribe to the written newsletters and join the community at SkamaniaDispatch.com.

  1. 17h ago

    [All-Gorge] ⚖️ New Rules & a Fire-Year Reckoning - Gorge Commission 6/18 - 7/14

    The Columbia River Gorge Commission just rewrote its own open-government rulebook, over a protest from Friends of the Columbia Gorge and a lone no vote. This episode covers what the new rules actually give you, the one-year Burdoin fire rebuild scorecard, a commissioner's on-the-record dissent about tribal voice and two energy projects, and a new Gorge spider with a Sahaptin name. In This Episode The Commission adopts its first full rules overhaul in decades: what changed for records requests, meeting notice, and executive sessionsFriends of the Columbia Gorge's notice objection, and why the Commission voted anywayDisaster-recovery rules become ordinance: the no-application RV process and the rebuild size ladderOne year after Burdoin: who has rebuilt, who is still waitingCommissioner Pah-tu Pitt's dissent on Pushpum and Cascade Renewable silence, and a commissioner-pay equity proposalA farewell to Barbara Bailey, and a live fact-check on the resolutionGorge 2030, the 40th anniversary, and the $80,000 farm-income testResources & Links Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.comGorge Commission agendas, Zoom links, and the new rulemaking notice list: gorgecommission.orgNext full Commission meeting: September 8, 2026Budget deadlines: Oregon July 31, Washington September 15Disclosure: during the Executive Director's report, Commissioner Fowler praised a public comment on accessory dwelling units "from Kate Bertash," saying she'd "done a spectacular job of setting the stage of where we are in the Gorge right now." That comment, a regional ADU policy brief, was submitted by the author of the Skamania Dispatch, who hosts this podcast and maintains the Open Gorge Public Meetings Archive. It is independent analysis, speaks for no government, and you can read it in the meeting record.Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  2. 2d ago

    [All-Gorge] 🍽️ Splitting the Dinner Check - a Property Tax Explainer

    Every spring, reassessment notices land in mailboxes across Skamania and Klickitat, and every spring they get misread as a bill. This episode explains what your assessment actually is: your share of a fixed check, capped by Washington's one percent levy limit, the same in both counties. We use real Home Valley numbers to show why your bill can climb while the county still runs short, and why the two facts do not cancel out. In this episode The dinner-check idea: why your assessed value is a seat at the table, not a billWhat a $100,000 reassessment really does to your bill, and to the county's budgetThe one part that surprises everyone: your bigger share is your neighbors' smaller shareThe 1% cap versus the roughly 5% real cost of running a county (Skamania and Klickitat both)The December decision each Board of Commissioners makes (Skamania skipped it once; Klickitat took it every year)The two ways a county's bill can actually grow, and why one wears everyone outWhy this is on ballots across the country this NovemberResources & Links Read the full written explainer at skamaniadispatch.comSkamania and Klickitat County Assessor certified levy sheets (public record)Washington Department of Revenue: how the 1% property tax levy limit worksWashington State Auditor filings (county operating costs)Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  3. 5d ago

    [Klickitat] 🚔 Life After Sheriff Songer - Klickitat Primary Round-Up

    Klickitat County is picking a new sheriff for the first time in a decade. Longtime Sheriff Bob Songer is retiring, and three career lawmen (John Bruce, Tony Warren, and Dwayne Matulovich) are running to replace him. We walk through two candidate forums, dig into the campaign-finance filings (including who the outgoing sheriff is funding), and cover the three-way County Commission race and the quiet PUD contest almost nobody is watching. In this episode: Why the sheriff's seat is suddenly open, and how the three candidates differ on the posse, Flock cameras, and "constitutional sheriff" politicsFollow the money: who is raising what, who is self-funding, and the out-of-state donorsHow the retiring sheriff is helping fund both a successor and a commissioner candidateThe County Commission, District 2 race and the Dallesport data-center splitThe contested PUD race with no forum, and the rest of the ballotHow and when to vote in the August 4 primaryResources & links: Read the full written round-up at skamaniadispatch.comCandidate sites: johnbruceforsheriff.com · tonywarrenforsheriff.com · dwaynematulovich4sheriff.comCampaign-finance data: Washington Public Disclosure Commission (pdc.wa.gov)Sheriff retirement and the new posse law: OPBWatch the League of Women Voters of Klickitat-Skamania sheriff forum on their Facebook and YouTube pagesRegister to vote and check your ballot: klickitatcounty.govStay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  4. 6d ago

    [Klickitat] 🚦 A Green Light for the Quiet Zone - Bingen June '26

    Bingen City Council had a packed June. The new Hood River-White Salmon Bridge reached sixty-percent design, the city hired an engineer to push its long-awaited railroad Quiet Zone forward, and Olympia's latest housing rules landed on the council's desk. Here's your plain-English guide to what it all means for you. In This Episode: The new bridge at 60%: the roundabout, the overlooks, and the toll-and-TIFIA mathQuiet Zone: Gray and Osborne hired, the BNSF agreement signedWhich of the state's new housing rules Bingen has to follow, and why it can't require affordable unitsFree e-bikes coming to Daubenspeck Park, plus new stop signs and a possible 20 mph limitTextMyGov emergency text alertsAn early wildfire season, and lead paint at the Gorge Heritage MuseumResources & Links: Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.comBingen City Council agendas and minutes: bingenwashington.org (AgendaCenter)Hood River-White Salmon Bridge Authority: hrwsba.govStay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  5. Jul 15

    [Skamania] 🗳 Meet the Candidates 7/14 - Primary Preview

    Your 2026 primary ballot is about to arrive, and the Skamania County Chamber and both county parties put the contested candidates on one stage in Stevenson to preview it. In this special edition we walk the whole ballot: the nine-way race for Congress in District 3, both 17th District statehouse seats, and the county races for Commissioner, Assessor, and Clerk. Then we follow the money, and it tells a story of two very different elections stacked on one ballot. In This Episode Congressional District 3: a top-two field of nine, and the two themes that dominated (election rules and timber)17th Legislative District: how redistricting reshaped it, plus the mail-in voting split and the state capital gains "millionaire tax"County Commissioner District 3: both candidates reject the automatic 1% levyCounty Assessor: a real fight over how your property gets valuedCounty Clerk: the friendly raceFollow the Money: $80,000 statehouse races on top of $0 county racesEvery date you need for the August 4 primaryResources & Links Read the full written edition at SkamaniaDispatch.comCheck your registration and see your ballot: voter.votewa.govOfficial state voters' guide (candidate statements): voter.votewa.govCampaign finance filings: Washington Public Disclosure Commission, pdc.wa.govSkamania County candidate Q&A: skamania.orgStay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  6. Jul 14

    [Klickitat] 🔥 Smoke, Weeds & Fireworks - Goldendale June '26

    It was a packed June for the Goldendale City Council, the county seat of Klickitat County. In two meetings, the council rescued a stalled housing rule by standing up a temporary planning commission, locked in a $221,000 grant to replace the historic library's elevator, and spent a good chunk of fire season arguing over smoke, dry weeds, and Fourth of July fireworks. Here's what it means for you. In This Episode: Why Goldendale's Planning Commission went defunct, and the six-month workaround that keeps the ADU (backyard-cottage) ordinance moving.A $221,000 federal grant to replace the Goldendale Community Library's 40-year-old elevator.The first-quarter budget: a paper deficit, a $480,000 grant-timing swing, and a softening in retail sales tax.A downtown "burnout" event that filled a neighbor's home with smoke, and the older, thornier fight over unmowed weeds during fire season.Why both the fire and police chiefs argued against a Fourth of July fireworks crackdown.A statewide visit: the Secretary of State and international consuls tour Goldendale.Resources & Links: Read the full written round-up on SkamaniaDispatch.comCity of Goldendale agendas, packets, and meeting info (Zoom: 415-762-9988, Meeting ID 373 290 5204).Next regular council meeting: Monday, July 6, 2026, 6:00 p.m., Council Chambers, 1103 S. Columbus Ave.Community Days: July 10 and 11.Stay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  7. Jul 13

    [Skamania] 🌿 Building Near a Wetland - North Bonneville June '26

    What does it really cost to build a house near a wetland in North Bonneville? This month the City Council turned a routine environmental-rules update into a debate about affordability and local control. We also cover the North Bonneville Planning Commission, a firefighter bill four years overdue, a library open just six hours a week, and why sewer pipes are quietly straining budgets all across the Gorge. In This Episode The Critical Areas Ordinance heads to the state, and one councilor's cost analysis that reframed the whole debateThe city pays off firefighter-pension dues unpaid since 2022, and a vote where the record and the recording disagreeSixty-five hundred dollars in tourism funds for a summer car show and Gorge DaysA library that gets used every day but is staffed only six hours a weekBlackberries, faded road lines, and a striping machine the city could not buyWhy North Bonneville's fifty-year-old sewer lift stations are part of a Gorge-wide storyWhat is next: a July 7 zoning hearing and a July 28 look at the Bradford Island Superfund siteResources & Links Read the full written Dispatch at skamaniadispatch.comNorth Bonneville City Council agendas, minutes, and audio (the new "Supplemental Documents" link holds sheriff reports and written public comment)North Bonneville Planning Commission meetings & minutes: the draft Title 20 zoning revisions and the July 7 public hearingFort Vancouver Regional Library: send comments on the North Bonneville branch through the FVRL websiteWashington Department of Fish and Wildlife Priority Habitats and Species and Department of Ecology Critical Areas / wetlands guidanceStay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

  8. Jul 10

    [Skamania] 📦 A County Locked In A Box - Skamania BOCC June '26

    The Skamania County Board of Commissioners rewrote the rules for rebuilding after a wildfire, giving burned-out families ten years instead of one. In this episode of Open Gorge, we walk through a busy June for the Skamania County Commissioners: a five-million-dollar storm road program, a mining company circling the Green River Valley, a sharpening fight with the Forest Service over timber money, and the first real talk of visitor fees as tourism strains the county. In This Episode Title 22 is adopted: up to ten years to rebuild after a disaster, bigger footprints for small homes, RVs allowed on-site during a rebuildA road program reshaped by December's storms, and how the Wind River Highway detour is hurting Carson businessesThe timber-revenue fight: "I want the floor to be fifty percent," a second school closure, and a state error that cost the schoolsCascade Forest Conservancy's mine warning, and a county that says it's "locked in a box"Budget season opens with a "hold the line" message and a new finance system going liveTourism pressure turns toward fees; a shake-up at the Homeless Housing Council; Title III requests from six agenciesTwo retirements, and a July 30 deadline to comment on the Storedahl quarryResources & Links Read the full written Dispatch, with links to a year of past coverage, at skamaniadispatch.comSkamania County agendas, minutes, and meeting audio: www.skamaniacounty.orgComment on the Storedahl & Sons Quarry Draft EIS by July 30 (on the county website, at the library, or printed on request)Written comment to the Board: emerson@co.skamania.wa.us, by noon the day before a meetingNext meetings: Tuesdays, July 7, 14, 21, and 28, 9:30 AM, at the courthouse in Stevenson and by ZoomStay Connected with the Gorge The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler are community-led projects of OpenGorge.org. To stay updated on local news, governance, and community events across the region, you can sign up for both newsletters at SkamaniaDispatch.com. For real-time updates and to join the conversation, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/OpenGorge.

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Ratings & Reviews

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About

Welcome to Open Gorge, your audio bridge to local government, infrastructure, and community news in the Columbia River Gorge. Hosted by the founder of Open Gorge, Kate Bertash, this podcast brings the in-depth, civic-minded reporting of The Skamania Dispatch and The Klickitattler newsletters straight to your headphones. We break down the public meetings you didn't have time to attend, track local infrastructure projects, and decode the regional policy decisions that directly impact your daily life. Whether you are a Columbia Gorge resident commuting across the river, following local elections, or tracking where your tax dollars are going, we provide clear, factual summaries of what’s changing and what’s coming next. Our unified feed covers the entire Gorge. Check the title of each episode to see if we are covering Skamania County, Klickitat County, or regional issues that impact us all. Listen to what matters most to your neighborhood, or stay tuned for the full regional picture. Subscribe to the written newsletters and join the community at SkamaniaDispatch.com.

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