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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories of the weekend:
It’s been a year since homeless people began moving into Lincoln Place, a 30-unit apartment complex on the west edge of downtown Vancouver.
Lincoln Place is Clark County’s first Housing First or “wet housing” complex, where tenants do not have to address mental health or addiction issues before getting housing. Once they move in, services are available and encouraged but not forced.
Eleven residents have lived at the permanent supportive housing complex for a year. Meanwhile, seven people have moved out of Lincoln Place.
And, in the last year, another similarly-run facility for homeless veterans called Freedom’s Path opened on Vancouver’s Veterans Affairs campus. The VA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tout Housing First as a best practice for solving homelessness: Addressing illnesses is easier and more successful if people are first given stable housing.
“As it’s difficult and challenging for us individually to make changes, it’s even more challenging for people who haven’t had the safety of housing,” said Olivia Resnick, director of Share’s Housing First program. “So, we take baby steps. Progress will be made. People just need to be patient.”
Read the full story: One year later: Hope in housing the homeless
COWLITZ INDIAN RESERVATION — Against the monochromatic winter sky, a black screen 100 feet in the air flashes a message:
“Let’s play. Let’s ilani,” it reads, invoking the Cowlitz Indian Tribe word for “sing” and the namesake of the upcoming casino. The new sign then reads, “Ilani Casino Resort. Coming spring 2017.”
The new sign, which includes the 25-foot-by-40-foot electronic billboard, will soon promote upcoming concerts and comedy shows to Interstate 5 drivers. For now the sign teases with stock photos of people eating and laughing. Ilani could reveal its opening day “in a couple weeks,” said Kara Fox-LaRose, president and general manager.
“We’re in early March and we’re planning on mid-April” for the casino’s grand opening, said Fox-LaRose. “It’s amazing to see the progress made to date.”
The complex has been under construction since January 2016. Behind the $510 million project’s doors, many projects are congealing. The 368,000-square-foot gaming center is nearly complete, as is a new freeway interchange, new roads and infrastructure.
The casino, west of the freeway at Exit 16, is being jointly developed by the Cowlitz and the Mohegan Tribe of Indians in Connecticut.
Read the full story: Ilani Casino Resort: Work now, play later
Answer: This sovereign nation has just 33 female citizens. Question: What is the Vatican?
Answer: This Vancouver woman overcame major personal demons to succeed in life — with her recent three-day run on “Jeopardy!” the unlikeliest of all toppers to the tale.
Question: Who is Annie Marggraf?
Marggraf’s $51,000 in winnings will retire her college and personal debt as well as purchase a car that actually fits her family of four, she said. Marggraf won’t have all that hanging over her head when she attends law school this fall. She doesn’t know which school it’ll be yet — she’s still waiting on an answer or two — but the 39-year-old Marggraf said she’s eager to pursue justice for immigrants, Native Americans and people who can’t afford their medical bills.
If you’d asked the teen Marggraf about her prospects for achievements such as “Jeopardy!” and law school, she likely would have laughed at you, she said. Her rough beginnings include getting kicked out of high school after ninth grade because her father was dying and she was acting out — getting into drugs and vandalism, she said. Later on, her brother went to prison for murder.
Read the full story: Vancouver woman wins $51K on TV game show ‘Jeopardy’
In a nationwide “City Hall Madness” beauty contest that began with 64 entries five weeks ago, Vancouver’s sleek, modern government headquarters south of Esther Short Park rose above almost all the competition — except for one classic, ornate, carved-sandstone city hall, built in 1899 in Peoria, Ill.
Peoria’s final vote total, released Saturday afternoon, was 39,173 or 57 percent. Vancouver’s vote total was 29,240, or 43 percent. The contest sponsor was an organization called Engaging Local Government Leaders — and the real point was to educate citizens everywhere about their cities.
“It was a really fun contest and it brought visibility to both of our cities and both of our city halls,” said Vancouver City Councilman Jack Burkman.
City hall partisans in either place, or anywhere else, were allowed to vote online once per day. Selfie photos taken in front of your favorite city hall counted as votes. Vancouver showed 10 tons of spirit, Burkman said, with a full-court press by Mayor Tim Leavitt and a flurry of recent selfie activity outside and inside our City Hall. But maybe Peoria showed 11 tons?
“Peoria did a great job,” Burkman said. “But we did, too. It was all in good fun.”
The outcome was obvious to election watchers by Friday night, but the official results came out Saturday: The Leslie Barbara Knope Greatest City Hall Trophy goes to Peoria.
Read the full story: Vancouver places second in city hall beauty contest
