# The Civic Circle

> Free civic news and events for Longview, Kelso, Kalama, Castle Rock and Woodland, Wash., and Rainier and Clatskanie, Ore. Stories report what local governments decided and what it means for residents. AI agents draft from public records; a human editor reviews and publishes every story.

The Civic Circle is a free, nonpartisan local news site. It covers city councils, school boards, port commissions and county government. It is free to read, with no paywall.

## Coverage area

- Washington: Longview, Kelso, Kalama, Castle Rock, Woodland (Cowlitz County)
- Oregon: Rainier, Clatskanie (Columbia County)

## Beats

- [City Hall](https://civiccircle.news/beat/city-hall): City councils, mayors, budgets and the decisions made at city hall.
- [County](https://civiccircle.news/beat/county): Cowlitz and Columbia county commissions, courts and county services.
- [Schools](https://civiccircle.news/beat/schools): School boards, budgets, bonds and levies.
- [Port and Development](https://civiccircle.news/beat/port-and-development): Port commissions, land use, permits and major projects.
- [Public Safety](https://civiccircle.news/beat/public-safety): Police, fire and emergency services, and the policies that govern them.
- [Roads and Utilities](https://civiccircle.news/beat/roads-and-utilities): Streets, water, sewer, power and the rates residents pay.
- [Business](https://civiccircle.news/beat/business): Local business licenses, development deals and the economy.
- [Community](https://civiccircle.news/beat/community): Libraries, parks, events and civic life.

## Editorial standards

- AI agents never publish. A human editor reviews every story against the original records before it goes live.
- Every story links its sources in a "How we reported this" section, and the same links are in the API (`sources`).
- Plain, neutral English. Stories lead with what was decided. No speculation, no opinion, no invented quotes.
- AP style. Times are Pacific (America/Los_Angeles).
- Images are the editor's own photos, openly licensed or official photos with credit, or charts and maps made from the story's data. Never AI-generated.
- Corrections are dated and shown on the story and on the corrections page.

When citing The Civic Circle, please link to the story URL.

## About and accountability

- [About, including exactly how AI is used](https://civiccircle.news/about)
- [Corrections](https://civiccircle.news/corrections)

## Feeds

- [RSS: all stories](https://civiccircle.news/feed.xml): the 50 newest stories with summaries and source links
- [RSS: City Hall](https://civiccircle.news/beat/city-hall/feed.xml)
- [RSS: County](https://civiccircle.news/beat/county/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Schools](https://civiccircle.news/beat/schools/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Port and Development](https://civiccircle.news/beat/port-and-development/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Public Safety](https://civiccircle.news/beat/public-safety/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Roads and Utilities](https://civiccircle.news/beat/roads-and-utilities/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Business](https://civiccircle.news/beat/business/feed.xml)
- [RSS: Community](https://civiccircle.news/beat/community/feed.xml)
- [Events calendar (iCalendar)](https://civiccircle.news/events.ics): subscribe in any calendar app
- [Sitemap](https://civiccircle.news/sitemap.xml)
- [Google News sitemap](https://civiccircle.news/news-sitemap.xml): stories from the last 48 hours

## Public API

Read-only JSON, no key required, CORS enabled. Published content only.

- [API documentation](https://civiccircle.news/api)
- [GET /api/v1/articles](https://civiccircle.news/api/v1/articles): filter with ?beat=, ?place=, ?limit= (max 100)
- [GET /api/v1/articles/{slug}](https://civiccircle.news/api/v1/articles/{slug}): full story as markdown, with sources and corrections
- [GET /api/v1/events](https://civiccircle.news/api/v1/events): filter with ?city=, ?from=, ?to= (YYYY-MM-DD, Pacific)

## Latest stories

- [Braun concedes to Gluesenkamp Perez but leads in Cowlitz County](https://civiccircle.news/story/braun-concedes-gluesenkamp-perez-leads-cowlitz): Unofficial results show Cowlitz County voters favoring Braun by 2,577 votes, while Gluesenkamp Perez leads the 3rd District by about 27,000.
- [Dahl leads Chandler in early returns for Cowlitz County commissioner](https://civiccircle.news/story/dahl-leads-chandler-cowlitz-commissioner-early-returns): Incumbent Rick Dahl had 53.7% of the vote in the first unofficial count in the District 3 race. Results are not final until the county certifies them.
- [Longview fire station levy trailing in early election results](https://civiccircle.news/story/longview-fire-station-levy-trailing-in-early-election-results): Proposition 1, which would raise property taxes to pay for a third Longview fire station, had about 46% of the vote in the first count on election night.
- [SAMPLE: Castle Rock council delays vote on downtown parking plan](https://civiccircle.news/story/sample-castle-rock-council-delays-vote-on-downtown-parking-plan): The council will take up the plan again Dec. 8 after residents asked for more time to review it.
- [SAMPLE: Kelso school board sets date for bond vote](https://civiccircle.news/story/sample-kelso-school-board-sets-date-for-bond-vote): Voters will decide in February whether to fund a new roof and heating system at two elementary schools.
- [SAMPLE: Longview council approves water rate increase for 2027](https://civiccircle.news/story/sample-longview-council-approves-water-rate-increase-for-2027): Residential water bills will rise about $4 a month starting in January to pay for pipe replacement.