In Our View: Cheers & Jeers

Cheers: To Clark Public Utilities commissioners, who this week adopted a 2011 budget that contains no rate hikes for its customers. The utility district had raised the possibility of rate hikes next year if the Bonneville Power Administration raises its prices. That could happen next October, and commissioners warned they may have to revisit the rate increase at that time. We hope that won’t happen, but if it does, the commissioners should be prepared to make a thorough public case that the rate increase can’t be absorbed with greater efficiency at headquarters, including a re-examination of pay and benefits for all employees.

Jeers: To Bank of America for mistakenly informing hundreds of its Clark County mortgage customers that they were behind on their property taxes. The letter even threatened that the bank could foreclose unless the taxes were paid pronto. The bank, which later apologized for the letter, was right to check on its mortgage holders, but the timing was all wrong. Instead of waiting until after the property tax deadline to see who was truly overdue, the bank grabbed an early report and assumed the worst. In fact, 97 percent of Clark County property owners paid their taxes on time this year, including many who paid near the due date.

Cheers: To Neighbors on Watch volunteers who staff the Skywatch patrol tower at Westfield Vancouver mall and drive through other local parking lots, reporting via two-way radio car prowlers and other suspicious or criminal activity. Auto prowling is a major problem in Vancouver, up 56 percent citywide compared with last year, to an average of five reported smash-and-grabs per day. The holiday season is particularly trouble-prone. The 70 trained NOW volunteers have no police powers, but they wear special uniforms so they can be identified, and provide extra eyes for busy officers. For more information contact volunteer coordinator Kelly Mott at 360-487-7467.

Jeers: To the glitches in Washington state’s new computer system that is supposed to process Medicaid payments. The Seattle Times reports the system as of mid-November had failed to pay 271,000 claims submitted by doctors and clinics that have treated some of the state’s poorest people.

Understandably, many of these medical services providers say they’ll have to stop accepting new Medicaid patients until they can receive payment. The good news, according to the Times, is that after 2,000 software bugs were fixed, the system seems to be suspending fewer claims. But the company that developed the software sold a similar system to Maine in 2005 that was also riddled with problems. So a bonus jeer to the bureaucrats who apparently overlooked that fact.

Cheers: To the record generosity from Clark County residents at this month’s Inter-Service Walk & Knock food drive. The latest tally shows the total haul approaching 166 tons, plus more than $22,000 in cash. This year’s record take is 7,680 pounds more than last year’s drive, which was also a record. The generosity comes at an opportune time; local unemployment exceeds 13 percent and local food banks say their needs are great. The food is all distributed locally. It’s not too late to take food to branches of Riverview Community Bank.

Cheers: To the USS Nimitz. The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier will call the Everett area home, bringing with it nearly 3,000 of sailors, their families, and related economic activity. The Nimitz replaces a sister ship, USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been sent to Virginia to undergo a four-year improvements process. The Evergreen State has been home to the military since 1849, when a garrison led by Maj. John S. Hatheway established what later became Vancouver Barracks.