Morning Press: Ridgefield, Townsend, Cougar pantry, charter vote, biking Italy, Kaiser influence

Local weather coverage is online here.

Were you away for the weekend? Catch up on some big stories.

Ridgefield is rising after Great Recession

Dale and Karol Cushenbery counted themselves lucky when they recently closed the purchase of their new home in Ridgefield.

The retired couple moved in last week to their custom-built house in Pioneer Canyon, the city’s largest subdivision. Not only did they beat other buyers looking at the in-demand property nestled between a wetland and a narrow stretch of woodland, they felt it was just the right time to settle down in the small but fast-growing city.

When the housing market collapsed, homebuilding nearly came to a halt in Ridgefield. But the city was one of the first in the state to see a rebirth of construction activity, with an uptick in building permits for new homes in 2012.

Now, seven years after the start of the Great Recession, Ridgefield is showing signs of a healthier and stronger recovery than the rest of Clark County, with more developable land than the other small cities and faster population growth. With a number of major infrastructure projects underway and an aggressive marketing campaign to draw in new businesses and homeowners, community leaders and residents believe the city is poised for a boom.

After three years as Vancouver’s city prosecutor, her performance led to her resignation in lieu of termination in February 2005. She was disciplined by the Washington State Bar Association in January 2006 for misconduct during her term as city prosecutor, and then failed to disclose the discipline when she was appointed to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct in March 2006. She stepped down from the commission in July 2007 when members of the commission’s executive committee learned about the discipline from another source and asked for her resignation.

Meanwhile, when she sought judicial offices, Townsend has garnered mainly negative feedback in Clark County Bar Association peer opinion polls on categories such as integrity.

As recently as last Tuesday, Townsend continued to deny that she resigned from the Vancouver job in lieu of termination.

“I worked out a severance agreement with the city, and I was not asked to resign,” she told The Columbian’s editorial board Tuesday. Her resignation letter was dated Feb. 23, 2005, a week after Gathe wrote the termination letter.

The committee, known as Don’t Lose Your Voice, trails the pro-charter political committee in money and, seemingly, prominence — at least for now — but its supporters say it’s working on a ground-up campaign.

So far, the PAC, formed in late August, has raised $4,150, according to filings with the Washington state Public Disclosure Commission. The money will be spent primarily on signs and literature, Long said.

Most of it has come from one source, Chuck Miller, a Republican activist who’s previously fought against same-sex marriage and illegal immigration. His wife, Anna Miller, is Clark County Commissioner David Madore’s personal assistant.

With less than two months before voters will decide whether to approve the charter, the Don’t Lose Your Voice PAC is part of a coordinated effort by Clark County Republicans to fight it. Last month, local Republican precinct committee officers voted to support a resolution opposing the proposed charter, approved in spring by a 15-member board of freeholders.

Charter opponents also have created a website, www.votenocharter.com, to spread their message. It includes video statements from critics of the charter, including Mielke and Yacolt Mayor Jeff Carothers.

• Read the complete story here.

Battle Ground woman tours Italy by bike

Cindi Rauch, a retired Battle Ground teacher, knows how to pack her summer with fun and adventure.

Two years ago, she biked 5,000 miles — 100 miles in each state — to celebrate her 60th birthday.

This summer, Rauch, 62, and her friend Patty Holt, both seasoned cyclists, spent a month touring Italy on bikes.

To transport their bikes on the plane, they packed them in large plastic bags. Each woman left one pannier, or cargo carrier, on her bike and packed the other as carry-on luggage.

“Let the savoring begin,” Rauch wrote on her blog, Savoring Italy.

Although Holt had visited Italy before, it was Rauch’s first trip. Neither spoke or understood much Italian.

“This trip to Italy squelched that fear of not speaking the language,” Rauch said. “We got ourselves in situations more than I can count where we were talking to someone who spoke no English, and we spoke very little Italian. But it always worked out. We were able to do the charades, hand signals to communicate.”

Sometimes, they got lost. But getting lost led to interesting experiences.

In San Mineato, their host directed them to a restaurant at an agri turismo, a working farm that provides lodging and meals, literally combining agriculture and tourism. But they got lost and went to the wrong one, where they found one table was set for a large group.

“We shyly asked the kitchen staff if we could join them for dinner,” Rauch said.

• Read the complete story here.

Kaiser Permanente’s move from PeaceHealth to Legacy reverberates in Clark County

Both PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center and Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center say they’re seeing notably fewer people arriving without any health insurance, a shift that’s good for any hospital’s bottom line. But a decision last year by health insurance giant Kaiser Permanente to shift patients from PeaceHealth to Legacy seems to be having a much bigger financial impact on local hospitals than the expansion in coverage that came with the Affordable Care Act.

The result: PeaceHealth Southwest is feeling a financial squeeze, with fewer visits since the start of the year and less money coming in the door.

At Legacy Salmon Creek, revenue is up, visits are climbing and new jobs have been posted for medical professionals. But hospital leaders say they’re having to spend more, too, to keep up with the growing demand.