Cheers: It might not be noticeable to the naked eye, but the metamorphosis of Vancouver is rumbling underground. Deep utility work has started at the site of a $1.3 billion commercial/residential development along the Columbia River waterfront, marking a milestone in the transformation of the city.
Work has started on the installation of deep stormwater, sewer, and water lines in the first phase of the construction. Developers and city officials gathered to mark the occasion this week, with Gramor Development President Barry Cain saying, “It’s not going to happen. It is happening.” A lot of questions remain to be answered about the enormous project, and Cain said the entire site could take 10 to 15 years to build out, but any long journey begins with a single step.
Jeers: You know it’s bad when the newspaper account says, “The water leak occurred after a backup in a sewer line caused a valve to close and resulted in water being released from a ventilation system.” That, apparently, was the cause of a leak into a server room at the Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency this week in downtown Vancouver. The incident caused computers for several city and county entities to go offline for more than two hours.
The good news is that critical systems, such as 911 dispatch, defaulted to a backup system, and county officials say emergency calls were not affected. Also good news is the fact that sensors in the server room detected the presence of water, and the servers were shut down before damage occurred. These things happen, but we’ll say that water coming out of the ventilation system is worthy of a jeer.
Cheers: Best of luck to the Vancouver Metro Senior Softball Association in its efforts to build a new field. In August, Clark County agreed to lease, free of cost, some land at Pacific Community Park to the softball league for people 60 and over, and to Miracle League, which organizes games for people with disabilities.
The organizations have until September to raise funds and start constructing fields. For the senior softball group, that will require $400,000, a price that includes increased parking at the county’s request. Whether it’s for seniors or for people with disabilities or for anybody else, the health and social benefits of outside physical activity is well-chronicled. Cheers go to any group that strives to provide more of those opportunities.
Jeers: Ugh! Jeers to the battalions of large brown bugs that have invaded Clark County, making themselves comfortable on decks and sneaking inside homes to crawl up and down the walls. Experts tell us that they are brown marmorated stink bugs, but we think they are simply pests.
And pesky pests, they are. Being native to Asia and introduced accidentally to the U.S. in the late 1990s, stink bugs feast on fruit — which tends to be a problem in a state that is the nation’s largest producer of apples. While the bugs are more common in Eastern Washington, they have made themselves at home on this side of the Cascades. They can be annoying, but they’re probably here to stay.
Cheers: Ron Wade has what we hope is a success of an idea. Wade is planning to turn his personal collection of about 25 rare cars into a car museum in Hazel Dell, combining the project with a taproom and a food-cart pod.
About a year ago, Wade bought an empty car lot and showroom along N.E. 78th Street and began working to bring his vision to reality. While the lure of rare cars will bring customers to the museum, the food-cart pod could be the most significant development. Portland has turned food-cart dining into an art form, and it’s just a matter of time before the trend finds a home north of the Columbia River.
