Yakima-Pasco News (BETA)

A group of Pasco teens dressed in gang-like clothes who may have been looking for a fight in Kennewick were arrested after they ran from officers directly into traffic on South Washington Street.

HERMISTON -- John Sebastian hopes to display his athletic prowess tonight in an uncommon sport: Donkey ball.

When it comes to bolstering family participation in schools and community connections, the Pasco School District "is doing everything right."

PROSSER -- The Prosser School Board has opted to build a new high school to ease overcrowding instead of renovating and adding onto the existing school.

Gay and lesbian couples need to become more comfortable talking about their families, hopes and dreams if they want to be able to marry in Washington, advocates said Thursday.

Soaring fuel prices are driving school district transportation budgets into the red.

A pediatrician’s testimony about bruises and other injuries dominated discussion Thursday during the trial of a Longview man suspected of killing his infant daughter in 2006 and abusing her twin sister.

The Longview City Council has approved a $55,000 contract with a top-notch police policy and research organization to help create a plan to drastically reduce crime.

The family of a Longview man who was driven from his home in March by a landslide has filed a $160,000 claim against Cowlitz County, saying officials allowed a neighboring property to be logged and developed despite well-documented risks that the hillside could fail.

A Winlock-area couple and two relatives stand accused of burning down a home for insurance money and scamming the community for gifts and money after the fire, the Lewis County Sheriff’s office announced Thursday.

Barack Obama will be in Pendleton Sunday and tickets are being handed  out right now. The tickets are free.

Five people are arrested tonight and one of them, 38-year-old Barbara Burns, is believed to be the ringleader of a string of ID theft cases in Kennewick.

What's the best gift you've ever been given?  And what's the best gift you've ever recieved? About a month ago, KNDU's Patrick Noland gave a gift that the recipient is sure to cherish.

The Richland Police Department  dedicates a wall to memorialize every officer in the Department's 50-year history. Richland Detective John Hansens is celebrating his 30th year with the Department this year, while the City is celebrating it's 50th Anniversary, so he thought it would be a perfect gift to put together this project to give back to the City.  

Six police officers in Kennewick are heading back to the classroom the week of May 12th. They are training to become trainers themselves. The officers are in a program to become Police Training Officers or PTO's.

The bandit and the bodybuilder on Thursday got one more look at each other before the bad guy went off to the big house.

Joanne Looney may have made Relay for Life history. The Wapato woman raised $10,000 during a chili cookoff toward this weekend's American Cancer Society's 10th annual walk in Grandview.

YAKIMA -- Height has always been a fact but rarely a factor for Andrea Blodgett.

YAKIMA -- Renee Cuillier's swing and fling got East Valley off to big start in Thursday's opening round of the CWAC district fastpitch tournament.

100: Brett Blanshan (Selah) 10.36, Cade Wandling (Prosser) 10.72, Marco Martinez (Toppenish) 10.78, Dana Wells (Riverside Christian) 11.23, Jonathan Newport (Eisenhower) 11.24, Cody Bruns (Prosser) 11.43.

NILE -- Water levels aren't expected to be as high as previously thought. But they're not out of the woods yet. The Naches is expected to crest at 19 feet Monday morning.

YAKIMA -- Yakima county issued a flood warning this afternoon for the Naches. That means a flood can happen at any moment. The warming temperatures are to blame.

YAKIMA -- State Representative Mary Skinner of Yakima is retiring. In a press release sent out Wednesday afternoon, she says she will serve out her current term and retire in January. She says the 14 years she has served the 14th District has been one of the greatest honors of her life.

YAKIMA -- Police say it's likely it is gang related. 31-year old Juan Nanez died yesterday after being hospitalized for more than a month. When police responded to his home on the 400 block of East Beech Street, Nanez refused to cooperate with police.

YAKIMA -- Parents confronted the West Valley School Board last night requesting a district WASL requirement be changed. Parents say seniors who have not yet passed all parts of the WASL re-take should be allowed to walk in their graduation ceremony.

Our flood situation is already looking better. The latest figures from emergency management already have the Naches river one foot lower than earlier today. But information can change hour by hour as to how widespread the floods will be. But we do know for sure, conditions should not be as bad as the flood of '96.

The worst may be yet to come, and even though the Office of Emergency Management doesn't think it'll get as bad as the flood of 1996, we found one man who learned his lesson and is preparing just in case.

In our "Fugitive of the Week," U.S. Marshals are looking for John Ferguson. He's likely in the Tri-Cities and has been seen riding a red bike.

A local man was sentenced for murder Friday. Mariano Diaz kidnapped, killed, burned then dumped Aracely Lopez a few years ago.

The Yakima Sheriff's Office confirmed Friday that the eviction notice for Western RV was pulled.

KENNEWICK -- The gala will take place at Anthony's Event Center in Richland. Tickets are 55-dollars for a night filled with entertainment, fundraisers, and of course helping the MDA.

KENNEWICK -- Special olympics of washington state, and the kennewick school district hosted the "motor activities training program challenge day."

KENNEWICK -- Officers Jason Harrington, and Tim Harris got sworn in and badged at a ceremony this morning at the Kennewick Police headquarters. The officers will go through a 19-week police academy training in June, and then a 15-week police training back in Kennewick.

Inspection Deals With WASL Instruction Books. KENNEWICK -- The inspections will take place from 7:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. beginning on Monday, at the Kennewick High School library.

YAKIMA -- The Better Business Bureau is warning people about a tax refund scam. It starts with a randomly-sent email. The email claims that it's from the U.S. Government and is going to send you an official U.S. Treasury check if you help distribute flat screen tv's.

Our flood situation is already looking better. The latest figures from emergency management already have the Naches river one foot lower than earlier today. But information can change hour by hour as to how widespread the floods will be. But we do know for sure, conditions should not be as bad as the flood of '96.

Tri-Cities tops the ACCRA list for lowest cost of living in the state of Washington for the first quarter of 2008.

In our "Fugitive of the Week," U.S. Marshals are looking for John Ferguson. He's likely in the Tri-Cities and has been seen riding a red bike.

Martin Vaal Lopez was the prime suspect accused of killing a Pasco mom in front of her kids two summers ago. But he managed to strike a deal with prosecutors. The deal will let him go home to his wife and kids in his home town in Mexico.

Raymond Roy's confession to the murders and claims that he was a new man thanks to rehabilitation programs and self-help books helped win his release. The daughter of one of his victims doesn't buy it.