Open Gorge: The Skamania Dispatch & Klickitattler
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.
Episodes
37 episodes
[Skamania] 🕯️ Demanding Answers to Domestic Violence - Stevenson May '26 Round-Up
This month, we are looking at the heavy and the controversial coming out of the Stevenson Planning Commission and the Stevenson City Council. In the wake of a tragic local murder, residents are stepping up to the microphone to demand better dom...
[All-Gorge] ⚡ Scoping Deadlines & Tribal Consults - EFSEC May '26
The state's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council hit a major procedural bottleneck this month regarding the proposed Cascade Renewable Transmission line. We break down the May 20, 2026, meeting where local leaders and state officials debated...
[Klickitat] 🐟 Fish Windows & Budget Trapdoors - Klickitat BOCC 5/26 & 6/2
Summer is bringing a wave of mandatory infrastructure repairs to Klickitat County, threatening to temporarily sever key recreational and emergency routes. Plus, we look at how statewide mandates and national labor trends are compounding severe ...
[Klickitat] 🏗️ The Multiplex Fight - White Salmon May '26 Round-Up
In this episode, we dive into the growing friction between statewide housing mandates and local zoning codes playing out over a four-unit multiplex on Wyers Street. Plus, we cover infrastructure headaches for Snohomish Place residents, and how ...
[Skamania] 🗣 Public Pushback Pauses $1,000 Rescue Fine - Skamania BOCC 5/27
The Skamania County Commissioners pumped the brakes on a controversial ordinance that would have fined negligent hikers a thousand dollars. We look at why local search and rescue veterans pushed back during the May 27th meeting.In Thi...
[Skamania] 🌶️A Spicy Mayorial Email - North Bonneville May ‘26 Round-Up
Welcome to the May municipal round-up for the North Bonneville City Council and Planning Commission. In this episode, we unpack a highly misspelled email reprimand from the Mayor that exposes deep friction over meeting decorum, and we look at a...
[Klickitat] 🐓 More Clucking, Less Honking - Bingen May '26 Round-up
In this episode, we break down the Bingen City Council meetings from May 5th and May 19th. We look at how the city is moving forward with a massive 2.2 million-dollar grant to silence train horns downtown, and why a recent water main strike has...
[Skamania] 📧 The "Idiots" Email & Rec Parking Chaos - Skamania BOCC 5/19
In this episode, we dive into a tense Skamania County Board of Commissioners meeting from May 19th. What was supposed to be a standard leadership handoff with the Friends of the Columbia Gorge quickly turned into a public confrontation over lea...
[Klickitat] 🛑 RV Evictions & Unfunded Parks - Klickitat BOCC 5/12 & 5/19
In this episode, we unpack the growing friction in Klickitat County over code enforcement and the reality of RV living in a housing-strained region. Plus, we look at why a federal grant for Dallesport Park was denied and what it means for futur...
[All-Gorge] 🚨 Driving on the "Wrong" Side of the Bridge? - HRWS Bridge Authority 4/13 to 5/11
The Hood River White Salmon Bridge Authority is moving forward with a counter-intuitive interchange design that would have you temporarily driving on the left side of the road when you land on the Oregon side. In our recap of the 4/13/26 to 5/1...
[All-Gorge] 🍫 A Craving for "Snickers" - Gorge Commission May ‘26
A tense day for the Columbia River Gorge Commission as legal counsel issues a stern warning over public records, while state leaders from Oregon and Washington deliver a "cold shower" on the upcoming budget cycle. This episode covers the May 12...
[Klickitat] 🧸 The Childcare Zoning Crisis - White Salmon April '26 Round-Up
In this episode, we dive into the April meetings for the White Salmon City Council and the White Salmon Tree Board. We’re looking at a growing push from residents for municipal childcare solutions, the rising costs of our water infrastructure, ...
[Skamania] 📡 911 Internet Failures - North Bonneville April '26 Round-Up
This month at the North Bonneville City Council, a long-simmering frustration with failing internet infrastructure escalated into a full-blown life-safety crisis. We break down the stark warnings from residents about disabled fire alarms, and h...
[Klickitat] 🌊The Great Downtown Flood & Red Rag Mystery - Bingen April ‘26 Round-Up
Bingen's downtown takes a hit as a contractor strikes an unmarked water main, flooding local businesses and forcing month-long closures. We dive into the major flood that swept through town, and our request to help solve the mystery of who is c...
[Skamania] 🚁 Reckless Hiker Fines & The FYS Funding Crisis - 5/5 Skamania BOCC
In this episode, we dive back into the new proposal to fine reckless hikers $1000, including the legal strategy to keep that money local. We also cover the urgent bureaucratic "pinch point" threatening the Forest Youth Success summer program an...
[Skamania] 🚰 Stevenson's Sewer Rebellion - April '26 City Round-up
In this episode of the Skamania Dispatch, we dive into the April 16th Stevenson City Council meeting, where residents staged a highly organized pushback against the city's mandatory sewer connection ordinance. We break down the difference...
[Klickitat] 🍼 Childcare as "Economic Infrastructure" - Klickitat BoCC 4/21 & 4/28
Klickitat County is shifting how it views childcare, moving from a private family issue to treating it as critical economic infrastructure. We look at a recent site visit to Boardman, Oregon, to see how public-private partnerships might cure ou...
[Skamania] 🥾 $1000 Fines for "Reckless" Hikers? - Skamania BOCC 4/21 & 4/28
Did you pack your map and compass? We are diving into the April 21st and April 28th Skamania County Commissioner meetings, where the Sheriff's Office introduced a controversial new proposal: a one-thousand-dollar fine for negligent hikers who t...
[All-Gorge] 🍎 The Town That Was: Remembering Underwood's 1946 Fire - 5/5
Today marks exactly eighty years since the devastating May 5, 1946 fire that wiped out the bustling riverside village of Old Underwood. In this special anniversary episode, we explore the sheer ambition of the early Gorge fruit growers, the “Su...
[All-Gorge] 🦌 Antelope Mitigation & Major Grid Milestones - EFSEC 4/15
At the April 2026 EFSEC meeting, the state is pushing forward on major energy infrastructure, clearing significant pre-construction hurdles for the massive Horse Heaven project, including legally binding plans to track local pronghorn antelope....
[Skamania] 🏘 Food Security Hurdles & Shelter Concerns Collide - 4/14 Skamania BOCC
During the 4/14 Skamania Board of County Commissioners meeting, we learned summer road construction is officially hitting the Wind River Highway, bringing a single-lane bottleneck and detours to Carson starting this May. Plus, we're breaking do...
[Klickitat] 🌲 Debunking Land Rumors & Tackling Childcare Costs - Klickitat BOCC 4/14
On this episode, we unpack the April 14th Klickitat County Board of Commissioners meeting, focusing on the mounting pressure facing our local emergency medical services. With 911 calls steadily rising, we look at how the county is managing the ...
[All-Gorge] 🛑 Missing Members Stall Housing Votes - Gorge Commission 4/8 & 4/9
Procedural gridlock is freezing Gorge housing policy. The Economic Vitality Committee missed its quorum for the second straight meeting, stalling crucial votes on Accessory Dwelling Units. We unpack the debate over short-term rentals, look at t...
[Klickitat] 🚑 Tax Fatigue vs. Local Care - 4/7 Trout Lake Council
In this episode, we unpack the April 7th meeting of the Trout Lake Community Council (with lots of relevant updates for all Klickitat county residents) where Skyline Hospital executives made an urgent, last-minute plea for a property tax hike. ...
[Klickitat] 🗑️Could Portland's Trash be Klickitat's Treasure? - BOCC 3/31 & 4/7
Klickitat County hit a massive infrastructure roadblock during the weeks of 3/31 and 4/7. The county was forced to legally reject every single bid across four major public works projects, hitting the reset button on thousands of dollars of defe...