Local News

Computer Hacker

OKANOGAN COUNTY – System administrators for the county’s Central Services were alerted to an attack or intrusion at around 2am on Saturday, January 16th. The situation was determined to be over and above the county IT employees knowledge and experience, and out of the scope that they normally work within. So all county systems were immediately shut down over that weekend to halt the progress of the attack and preserve data.

Showing cash money

OKANOGAN COUNTY – We present an analysis of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) data for the 2020 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans for Okanogan County. These PPP loans are from Donald Trump’s efforts to mitigate the impact of coronavirus restrictions on small businesses and save businesses and jobs. The data here is from larger loans of over $150,000 dollars. This over-$150k loan data from the SBA provides the loan amounts and names and addresses of the recipient companies for better transparency.

PPP Loans via Small Business Administration (SBA)

OKANOGAN COUNTY – We present an analysis of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) data for the 2020 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans for Okanogan County. These PPP loans are from Donald Trump’s efforts to mitigate the impact of coronavirus restrictions on small businesses and help save businesses and jobs. The data here is from small loans of under $150,000 dollars. 

Vaccine Injection

Governor Inslee's continued struggles with coronavirus-related logistics has caused a slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout within the state, and the delays have now extended the planned timelines for vaccinating essential workers into April, with the general population after that. Under Inslee's administration, Washington state currently ranks 47th among the states in administering the COVID-19 vaccine, with only 34.8% of doses received being used. Oregon is at 64.7%. But as the fast-tracked COVID-19 vaccines start becoming available to more people, we are providing this vaccine information to help people to do their own research and be prepared for an informed decision, before getting to the clinic.

BLM Protest March in Omak, WA. June 4th, 2020.

OKANOGAN COUNTY – A number of county residents using social media already know of a letter that was sent by Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney Arian Noma to Sheriff Tony Hawley in mid-September 2020, concerning the events of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest march in Omak and the armed business owners and supporters keeping watch nearby, that occurred last June. This protest occurred after related protests had already been sweeping the country, often devolving into fire and chaos. The local demonstration was peaceful – on all sides – and no incidents occurred.