Cheers: To changes on I-205. A new Mill Plain Boulevard exit off southbound Interstate 205 is ready for its debut and is expected to be open this morning. It’s all part of new interchange connecting I-205 with 18th Street to the north of Mill Plain, a $40.6 million project that is expected to be completed this summer.
The new exit might throw off drivers relying upon GPS systems and temporarily create some confusion, but it will pay long-term dividends. The previous Mill Plain interchange is outdated and ill-equipped to handle the 15,000 motorists who use it on a daily basis, with one official saying, “A lot of congestion is caused by the queue being too short.” Overall, the project will demonstrate the local benefits of spending taxpayer money on infrastructure in Clark County.
Jeers: To wildfire season. As a 20,000-acre blaze burned this week in southeastern Oregon, a land management official summed up the situation: “Fire season starts when it decides to.” That is a reality of living in the Northwest, where vast swaths of forests contribute to the culture and the economy of the region but also make wildfires a fact of life.
Increasingly, wildfire season is deciding to begin earlier and earlier — and stay longer, as well. In Washington, the 2015 season resulted in a record burn of more than 1 million acres. Experts attribute this to a changing climate and to invasive species. Regardless of the causes, residents and budget-writers must adjust to the new reality.
Cheers: To the state Supreme Court. Protecting civil rights for the mentally ill and protecting the public from potentially dangerous people creates a difficult balancing act, but the court recently ruled on the proper side of the issue. Justices upheld a state law that simplifies the process for holding mentally ill people charged with violent felonies.
A trial court commissioner had agreed with complainants that the law was unconstitutional, but the Supreme Court disagreed. The bottom line is that the state has an interest in protecting the public from those who are prone to violence, and the law allows for a civil commitment if prosecutors can demonstrate the likelihood of further violence. In such cases, the public good must take priority.
Jeers: To Portland Public Schools. Providing a lesson for all public officials, Oregon’s largest school district has demonstrated the importance of keeping the public informed. School officials learned that water in two elementary schools contained lead levels that exceed guidelines, but those officials waited several weeks to inform parents and students.
This has resulted in multiple apologies from Superintendent Carole Smith and has generated calls for her resignation. The immediate problem is that students and teachers were allowed to drink lead-tainted water. The long-standing problem is that withholding information often is more damaging for public officials than the original issue.
Cheers: We can’t expect the 90-degree temperatures of last weekend, and might even have a little rain, but that is no reason to stay inside today. The Fort Vancouver National Historic Site is sponsoring its annual Brigade Encampment — a re-enactment of life in the 1840s — along with other events as part of Get Outdoors Day. Other parks and forests throughout the area also are holding events.
Meanwhile, the Grand Floral Parade, the centerpiece of Portland’s Rose Festival, begins at 10 a.m. The 4.2-mile parade route winds its way through streets on both sides of the Willamette River and annually draws hundreds of thousands of spectators with its colorful floats and numerous marching bands.
