Students and employees required to sign risk mitigation form
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
August 12, 2020
Update A statement from the university, published to the CWU website Aug. 13, announced that the form all students and employees will be required to complete has been put on hold and will not appear before logging in to MyCWU when it was expected to. “A new launch date will be announced next week wi...
Trump signs executive order to ban TikTok unless bought by U.S. company
Nicholas Tucker, Editor-in-Chief
August 7, 2020
In an executive order signed August 6 by President Donald Trump, TikTok will be effectively banned from operating in the United States in 45 days unless it is sold by its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance Ltd. The executive order cites two main reasons for the ban: political censorship and data collectio...
Board of Trustees detail fall reopening plans, address concerns
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 24, 2020
UPDATE An email addressed to the CWU community, sent out by President James L. Gaudino on July 24, announced that due to COVID-19 case numbers growing nationally and regionally, CWU must limit the number of students living in residential halls during the upcoming fall quarter to 1,800. “We know...
Kittitas County reports three additional COVID-19-associated deaths
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 21, 2020
Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD) has announced the deaths of three more long-term care facility residents. It was not specified which care facilities they were residents of. To date, long-term care facility residents make up all four deaths associated with COVID-19 in the county. KCPH...
Kittitas County sees changes in gathering restrictions
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 21, 2020
Gov. Jay Inslee’s orders, which reduce the maximum number of people who are allowed to gather, went into effect statewide on July 20. Kittitas County now has a gathering restriction of 10 people, reduced from its previous 50 people. Inslee implemented this requirement to combat the increasing spread...
First death associated with COVID-19 in Kittitas County
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 20, 2020
On July 19, a Kittitas County resident living in the long-term care facility Pacifica Senior Living died from COVID-19. According to a press release from the Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD), two additional residents of long-term care facilities have also been hospitalized at Kittitas V...
Access to People’s Pond closed due to rising COVID-19 numbers
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 18, 2020
Kittitas County Public Health Officer Dr. Mark Larson has directed the City of Ellensburg to close Irene Rineheart Riverfront Park due to increased numbers of COVID-19 cases in the county. This includes Carey Lake, often called People’s Pond. The park will remain closed until Kittitas County returns to 25 ...
In-person Kittitas County Fair canceled due to state COVID-19 restrictions
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 18, 2020
In light of new restrictions from Gov. Jay Inslee, the Kittitas County Fair's in-person events have been canceled this year according to a press release from the Kittitas County Event Center. Inslee announced new restrictions on gathering sizes on July 16. These restrictions state that in counties ...
Organizers raise over $5,000 for Ellensburg BLM mural in one day
Mitchell Roland, Senior Reporter
July 18, 2020
A GoFundMe fundraiser to paint a Black Lives Matter (BLM) street mural in Ellensburg has raised over $6,000 in donations so far, including a $500 donation from ASCWU. The mural is planned for downtown Ellensburg near city hall and Safeway. Similar murals have been painted in several cities across the country. T...
Long-term care facility cases considered outbreaks
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 17, 2020
Kittitas County Public Health Department (KCPHD) reported three COVID-19 outbreaks in association with the long-term care facilities that have seen positive cases in the past week. All patients are currently stable. An outbreak in this context is defined as two or more non-household cases occurrin...
Fall quarter update: Housing and dining
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 16, 2020
Details on how housing and dining are expected to function during the upcoming fall quarter were given at the July 15 Wildcat Wednesday meeting held online by CWU’s orientation team. Housing According to Tricia Rabel, executive director for housing and residence life, a typical year sees ...
Fall quarter update: Health and safety measures
Bailey Tomlinson, News Editor
July 16, 2020
Details on how health services are expected to function during the upcoming fall quarter were given at the July 15 Wildcat Wednesday meeting held online by CWU’s orientation team. Student Health Services will have the ability to test for influenza, COVID-19 and other conditions that may run par...