On the surface, it was a courtroom battle over money. The Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency sued Toppenish to make up payments it lost for years. The deeper issue is the agency's right to collect based on state law.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Labor Department says Washington Beef has agreed to pay $50,000 in back wages to a former employee who was fired for taking medical leave from the packing plant at Toppenish.

Automotive Technician Ty Schrag with Ruggles Auto Repair in Toppenish, Wash. tunes up a 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan Thursday, Feb. 2, 2012.

YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) — A Yakima County judge has ordered the city of Toppenish to pay annual fees to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency. The Yakima Heralds reports (http://bit.ly/wsgaRi ) that city officials stopped paying the fees five years ago because Toppenish is on the Yakama reservation, which is under the authority of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

TOPPENISH, Wash -- Mechanical devices that stitch wounds, small-scale catapults that are electronically programmed and petri dishes with glowing E. coli will be on display during the STEM Showcase today at Toppenish High School.

YAKIMA, Wash. — A controversial proposal by the Yakama Nation to unravel the state's civil and criminal jurisdiction over its people has garnered the support of two reservation towns -- Wapato and Toppenish.

Senior Monica Ochoa shows Jacqueline, 10, and Angel Pacheco, 5, "Robogame," robots they programmed to knock balls through goal posts, Tuesday night at Toppenish High School. "They go round and they kick it in," Angel said.

YAKIMA, Wash. — At least it can’t be a four-way tie for first. That’s some relief for the logjam at the top of the CWAC boys basketball standings, but it could still be a three-way tie for the title. Heading into Friday’s final games, Toppenish and Grandview share the lead at 14-3 with Ellensburg a [...]

YAKIMA, Wash. — A Yakima County Superior Court judge has ordered Toppenish to pay annual assessment fees to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency. The city faces paying up $13,000 in arrears to the agency, said agency spokesman Dave Caprile.

The Toppenish teen who faked a pregnancy for a school project said she wanted to get people — especially in the Hispanic community — talking more openly about a prevalent social problem.