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News

February 5, 2026

A Tail to Remember fundraiser to return

West Columbia Gorge Humane Society will hold its annual "A Tail to Remember" fundraising dinner and auction at 5 p.m. Feb. 28 at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver.

January 29, 2026
Yvonne Yeh Gee reaches out to touch her rescue cat, Barney, in her huge craft studio on Dec. 19. The room is the site of many workshops hosted through Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective, Embrace Qi. (Taylor Balkom/The Columbian)

Force of Nature: Couple create artistic and healing collective in Washougal

The first thing I saw as I drove into Rising Phoenix Farm is an 8-foot-tall woman gazing serenely toward the horizon. She’s seated in a meditative pose with her legs crossed and open hands resting on her knees, her bronze skin impervious to rain or sun. Her name is Shakti and she watches over the farm’s 51/2 acres in the green hills near Washougal. The farm is home to Yvonne Yeh Gee’s nonprofit wellness collective Embrace Qi and the huge studio belonging to Gee’s partner and Shakti’s sculptor, David Van Zandt.

January 29, 2026
Tamine Robinson of Battle Ground, left, holds her daughter Riley, 1, as registered nurse Julie Ward administers the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine at Legacy Medical Group in Vancouver on March 1, 2019. (The Columbian files)

Melnick fearful of vaccine rollbacks

Vaccination rates for Clark County’s K-12 students have been slipping over the past five years, and with recent federal rollbacks in childhood immunization recommendations, local health officials fear there will be serious, long-term impacts on community health.