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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories of the weekend:
The northbound span of the Interstate Bridge, a relic from a different America, will mark 100 years of spanning the Columbia River on Tuesday.
The bridge vastly improved the quality of life for generations of Pacific Northwesterners and helped facilitate economic growth in Southwest Washington and Northwest Oregon. Its opening marked the first time travelers on the Pacific Highway could go from Mexico to Canada without having to take a ferry.
The bridge opened with great fanfare at 12:30 p.m. on Valentine’s Day 1917. The Vancouver Daily Columbian called it “the biggest day and the greatest day in the history of Vancouver.”
Together, Clark and Multnomah counties paid $1.75 million — equivalent to around $41.6 million in 2016 dollars — for its construction.
Under the banner headline “With Iron Bands We Clasp Hands,” The Columbian called the bridge “a monument to the industry and energy of the citizens of this section of the United States. The history of the dreams of it, the history of the struggle in civic affairs for it, the history of the work that brought about its construction and completion is interesting indeed.”
Read the full story: Interstate Bridge turns 100: ‘With Iron Bands,’ a century spanned
A man suspected of stealing a vehicle from a Vancouver-area driveway Friday morning was killed in an officer-involved shooting a few blocks away.
The incident began at about 6:20 a.m. when the man, whose name has not been released, confronted the owner of a vehicle at 5804 N.E. 41st Circle, in the Roads End neighborhood north of Highway 500 and west of Northeast Andresen Road.
The man climbed into the car, a 2014 Honda Accord, and rammed it into the garage before fleeing, according to emergency radio traffic monitored by The Columbian.
The person who called 911 to report the car theft reportedly fired a gun into the air, according to emergency radio traffic.
Neighbor Norese Massenburg said he awoke upon hearing the gunshots. When he investigated, he learned that his neighbor had been trying to prevent the theft.
“The gunshots were (my neighbor) firing warning shots at the guy to get out of his car,” he said.
Based on the information from that incident, the man who took the car was believed to be armed, Vancouver Police Department Spokeswoman Kim Kapp said.
Read the full story: Vancouver police shoot, kill suspected car thief after altercation
With days to go before the February special election, about 7,000 voters still need to cast ballots to validate Vancouver Public Schools’ bond results.
Both Vancouver Public Schools and Ridgefield Public Schools are running bond measures in Tuesday’s election to repair aging buildings and build new campuses. In order to be valid, turnout must equal or exceed 40 percent of the number of voters who participated in the last general election.
As of Friday, 20,363 voters living in the Vancouver school district had cast ballots. The district needs 27,000.
“Over the past two years, we’ve engaged hundreds of stakeholders in shaping this ballot measure,” Superintendent Steve Webb said. “Early ballot-return numbers indicate just how much that matters to them. But every ballot counts.”
Ridgefield, meanwhile, needed 3,744 votes, and has already received 3,900 votes.
Read the full story: February special election ballots due Tuesday
Sales representatives at TigerStop feel like they are competing against the status quo. As makers of high-tech cutting equipment, they try to pry companies from the simple, beloved tape measure.
“The tape measure is, what, $5 minimum? And our minimum is $5-frickin’-grand?” said one orange-shirted salesman at the company’s headquarters in Orchards.
But sales are growing at the company. Manufacturers are looking more and more for ways to trim the most expensive and time-consuming parts of production: labor. That hunt has translated to double-digit growth for TigerStop for at least the last five years.
“To be competitive in the U.S., you have to be efficient, you have to be flexible,” said CEO Rakesh Sridharan. “You have to be fast (and) productive, and the people that are running these machines can be utilized in a more valuable way.”
With automation becoming increasingly more viable, companies like TigerStop are positioning themselves for the continuous growth.
Read the full story: TigerStop hopes to ride automation to new heights
