Ballots Due April 27 for Selah and Toppenish Levy Voters
The COVID-19 pandemic cancelled a lot of things in the past year but it didn t cancel your vote. The Yakima County Auditors office continues to work to keep elections safe during the pandemic. The office has made major changes to make sure people are safe when they visit the Yakima County Auditors Office. The office has been busy preparing for a special election later this month for voters in Selah and Toppenish.
If you live in the Toppenish or Selah School Districts you are being asked to vote in levy elections this month. The Yakima County Auditors Office sent out 18, 353 ballots that are arriving in mailboxes this week. Both issues are asking voters to renew district levies that support a variety of services. In Selah, where the levy failed last year school officials are asking voters to renew a 2 year levy. In Toppenish it s a 4 year levy that s up for renewel. The issues require simple majorities to pass. Ballots are due
Federal Email Scam Targeting Yakima Residents
Federal authorities are warning of an email scam that s happening in Washington State and Yakima. The emails are titled court summons notification. The email says you are suspected of violating a federal law and that you have a related hearing you ll need to attend within the next week. You re also given a case number and a chance to contact the so called court through a link in the email. If you click on the link you ll be shown a fake court document but you ll also open up your computer to the scammers.
Federal authorities say don t click on the link because it could infect your computer with malware that could shut down your system and or find important information you don t want people to know. The links install scam files into your computer.
Dr. Robert Wenger says people are welcome in the Prosser clinic where about 10-thousand folks have been vaccinated so far and they have room for more, especially this weekend.
Smoke From Wildfires Polluting Yakima Air
Are you breathing clean, healthy air in the Yakima Valley? Not according to the American Lung Associations State of the Air report. The association says Washington State has four cities on the top 25 most polluted for short-term particle pollution. Yakima is one of the four cities on the list. The new “State of the Air” report found short-term particle pollution levels landed four Washington cities in the top 25 for worst polluted in this category: (5) Yakima, (11) Spokane-Spokane Valley, (14) Seattle-Tacoma, and (23) Vancouver-Portland. Spokane and Yakima recorded the highest number of days of unhealthy particle pollution levels, mainly due to smoke from wildfires. Carrie Nyssen, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association says “Particle pollution remains the dominant air pollutant in our state. “Wildfire smoke and wood stoves are two major contributors to particle pollution (PM 2.5). These particles are so small
Everyone 16 and Over Now Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccine
Thursday, April 15 is the day the COVID-19 vaccine is available to everyone 16-years-old or older in the state of Washington. That means a lot more people will be looking for the vaccine and waiting in lines or making appointments at vaccine centers. More than a million people in the state are now eligible for the vaccine. Will young people get the vaccine? Only time will tell.
Meanwhile, Yakima Health District officials are responding to the concern about the Johnson and Johnson vaccine that s been paused because of rare adverse events related to blood clots. Washington State officials halted the use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday. Department of Health officials say any kind of reaction is rare but for those who are concerned there are signs to watch for. A press release from the Yakima Health District people who have received the J&J vaccine who develop severe headache, abdominal pain, leg pain, or shortness of b