Interstate 5 Bridge trunnion old, but still carrying weight
Aging axle involved in 5,000 bridge lifts has a crack; officials say it's OK
After 54 years of service -- and at least 5,000 bridge lifts -- one of the trunnions on the northbound span of the Interstate 5 Bridge is showing some age.
Railroad berm work restores view
Waterfront development opens passageway
It's a view that hasn't been seen in 104 years, but now it's also a look at Vancouver's future.
Council approves 4th Plain bus plan
Vote clears the way for C-Tran to adopt plan, get in line for federal funding
Vancouver's city council is on board for a bus rapid transit system on Fourth Plain Boulevard to Northeast 121st Avenue.
Vancouver mulls tax to fund parks
A tax vote in November would increase the funds dedicated to parks, create a new metropolitan district
Vancouver voters will be asked in November to approve a tax levy of 53 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to create a metropolitan parks district to preserve and enhance Vancouver parks and recreation services, the city council decided Monday.
Voters might be asked to approve light rail head tax
C-Tran levy on local businesses would pay for maintenance and operation
A public vote on light rail may yet happen this November if the C-Tran Board of Directors can get behind the latest idea: A $1 per employee per month head tax on area businesses to help cover the operations and maintenance of a new line.
Vancouver’s biennial budget foresees no layoffs
After two-year respite, officials expect annual shortfalls to resume
The just under 1,000 employees remaining at the city of Vancouver, which has been hammered with successive layoffs the past several years, can breathe a sigh of relief: No layoffs are expected in the next biennial budget.
City tries to keep its friends close, its managers closer
Vancouver official still hasn’t sold house to move into town
The Vancouver City Council made it clear they loved almost everything about Eric Holmes when they agreed unanimously to hire him as the new city manager in November 2010.
Vancouver, police union will start mediation Monday
Pay raises, random drug testing policy are sticking points
Apart by about $8 million in salaries — and a new random drug testing policy — Vancouver and its police union are set to start contract mediation Monday.
CRC passed over for $1 billion federal loan
Lack of backing from Oregon and Washington legislatures makes it ineligible for money
Vancouver council supports bus rapid transit plan
It still has questions about business impacts, financing, station sites
Vancouver’s top leaders said Monday they’ll back a plan for bus rapid transit on Vancouver’s Fourth Plain corridor to Northeast 121st Avenue, but made it clear they still have questions about financing, business impacts and station locations.
Railway clearing route to water
Work begins to open downtown to river
The newly named Phil Arnold Way in downtown Vancouver had just two months to proudly host vehicle traffic before having “road closed” signs placed at both ends last week.
DIY yogurt company gets boost from NPR
E. Vancouver firm sells fermentation starter kits for several foods
For Julie and Eric Feickert, their luck has been all about culture.
Republican lawmakers question bridge height
Group that includes Herrera Beutler says it could affect river imports
Letter says bridge must be 116 feet high or Columbia River waterway could close during high water, costing millions
Vancouver Fire Department goes under microscope
Panel will look for ways to improve how it delivers services; levy or bond could result
Vancouver is convening a panel, which will spend the next few months looking at how to re-engineer the way the fire department delivers emergency services as budget restraints draw ever tighter.
They’re on a mission to save Sensory Camp
‘Blues mothers’ have chosen to accept funding challenge
The moms trying to save the city of Vancouver’s Summer Sensory Camp -- canceled last month as part of $1.2 million in budget cuts -- know that raising $30,000 in 30 days sounds a lot like the plot of “The Blues Brothers.”
Local cities urge Gregoire to veto part of liquor law
Loss of state-shared revenue would further strain budgets
Clark County leaders are calling on Gov. Chris Gregoire to veto portions of the state’s new liquor privatization bill that eliminate $10 million in state-shared liquor sales revenues.
Penalty on officer further reduced
Arbitrator says 28-day suspension too harsh in police informant case
A reinstated Vancouver police detective has had his suspension reduced by an arbitrator, city officials said Tuesday.
Vancouver asks public’s opinions in survey
Responses help city set budget priorities
Got an opinion and an Internet connection?
Vancouver considers repealing traffic fee
City officials want to retool system; councilors like idea
With the economy down, the Vancouver City Council is considering putting a major development fee on timeout.
Chief Red Heart Ceremony
Hundreds gathered Saturday for the annual Nez Perce Chief Red Heart Memorial Ceremony at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Every year, the Nez Perce perform memorial ceremonies at battle sites, including Bear Paw, Whitebird and Big Hole. In 1998, they added a nonbattle site: Fort Vancouver, where the tribe was imprisoned for eight months under the orders of Gen. O.O. Howard. The prisoners were Chief Red Heart and a band of his relatives and friends. They were released on April 22, 1878, and taken to the Nez Perce Reservation. The ceremony marks a healing, and local leaders join tribal elders and youth to note the day.
Honoring Those Who Served
A grateful nation is never done with expressing due respect
Saturday wasn’t Veteran’s Day. Nor was it Memorial Day. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t the perfect day to honor American veterans.
Four escape burning Ogden home
House destroyed in morning blaze
Teenage daughter wakes sleeping family in morning house fire.
State panel backs ruling on officer
Commission agrees his union role led to being passed for job
The Washington Public Employment Relations Commission upheld a labor examiner’s 2010 ruling that Vancouver police administrators deliberately passed over a former police guild president for a job he sought because of his union involvement.
County effort helps convenience get healthier
Program works to put fruit, veggies in small stores to encourage better habits
At first, Kuljit Singh wondered if Clark County Public Health’s idea to put fresh fruits and vegetables in his Arco Quick Stop in central Vancouver wasn’t, well, bananas.
Anti-light rail petitioners fall short on signatures
Review costs city $31,000; collection effort continues
The Clark County Auditor’s office has declared more than two-thirds of signatures turned in by light rail opponents seeking a vote on the issue to be invalid.
Former Vancouver councilor to run for county commission
Pat Campbell to challenge Boldt, Madore, newcomer
Former Vancouver City Councilor Pat Campbell announced this afternoon that he plans to run for Clark County Commissioner.
Vancouver merges offices for savings
Community, economic development work will be served by single staff
Vancouver is combining its community development and economic development departments, and is preparing to debut a paperless permit system early next year.
Metro tweaks its CRC decision
Wording change complies with Oregon Supreme Court ruling
PORTLAND -- Oregon’s Metro regional government tweaked a land use order allowing for the construction of the Columbia River Crossing Thursday, bringing it into compliance with a recent Oregon Supreme Court order.
Hough kids join in Arbor Day celebration
Vancouver named ‘Tree City’ for 23rd year
When Oliver Sasse planted a blue spruce many years ago, it stood just a few feet high.
UPDATE: Vancouver will block light rail vote, for now
Only slight chance C-Tran's light rail M & O funding will be on ballot
City council votes 4-3 against going forward with a sales tax vote C-Tran needs for extending MAX light rail service to Clark College.
Vancouver sells decommissioned fire station
A decommissioned Vancouver fire station may have a new purpose in the near future.
Possible pollution closes part of Marine Park
Soil testing near Marine Park shows lead contamination
Vancouver officials have closed a small patch of land in Marine Park to conduct further lead contamination testing.
Bus rapid transit plan spurs lively city council debate
C-Tran officials walked the Vancouver City Council on Monday, April 2, through tentative plans for bus rapid transit on Fourth Plain Boulevard -- and the debate showed some of the likely speed bumps ahead for the proposed line.
Budget cuts ax camp for special-needs kids
Every summer for the past three years, 12-year-old Anna Rolfe has spent her summer at day camp, just like many other kids her age.
CRC maps out project timeline
Stakeholders get look at how work might progress
Southwest Washington lawmakers have received a sneak peek of construction sequencing for the Columbia River Crossing -- a look that for some of them raised more questions than answers about traffic, timing and financing.
Vancouver agrees to ask voters for parks funding
Department has seen its staff cut in half since 2008
Vancouver voters will have a say in the future of city parks and recreation services this November.
S.E. Columbia Way speed limit raised from 25 to 30
It won’t be the Autobahn, but drivers on Southeast Columbia Way can now press down ever so slightly more on the gas pedal.
City seeks way to allow street activity
Proposed law would lift the block from firefighters' Fill the Boot fundraiser
Fill the Boot might be able to return to Vancouver’s streets in August, but a proposed law that would allow it might have a few kinks to work out.
Vancouver strikes deal to buy park land from schools
John Ball Park will soon roll onto the list of city-owned parks.
Law professor challenges legality of CRC
Project opponent alleges funding is too shaky
A Portland attorney and Lewis and Clark College law professor has asked the federal government to rescind its approval of the Columbia River Crossing, saying the project’s shaky finances make it invalid.
Leavitt renews call to study light-rail funding without sales tax
Councilor Stewart says mayor trying to avoid public vote
One night before Tuesday’s key C-Tran meeting on light rail funding, Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt renewed his call to study options to pay for a MAX line other than sales tax -- a move that would most likely mean no public vote in 2012, if ever.
Low-cost loans help local residents fix homes
Program turns federal grants into assistance for low-income homeowners
When Gina Brown and her husband bought their house -- their first -- on Ohio Drive in Vancouver Heights last fall, they knew it would be a fixer-upper.
Deal on gravel pit will allow company to complete work
Extension OK’d by city also addresses neighbors’ concerns
The road to an agreement about how Tapani Underground will finish its work at its gravel mine off Northeast 18th Street was bumpy, but neighbors and the company seemed happy with the end point Monday night.
Vancouver, fire commanders OK contract
Four-year pact retroactive to 2010; raises for 2012, ’13
The city of Vancouver and its six-member fire command union settled a four-year contract Monday night.
Oregon lawmakers hear from CRC critics
Oversight committee has its own questions about megaproject
PORTLAND -- Oregon legislators tasked with overseeing the Columbia River Crossing said Friday they have grave concerns about the project -- especially its $3.5 billion price tag -- but also weren’t sold on the many alternatives opponents brought forward.
Neighbors have gripes about gravel
Renèe Anttila and her neighbors agree: The best kind of gravel quarry to live next to is one that isn’t being actively mined seven days a week.
LaHood: CRC height won’t derail plan
Transportation head suggests meeting to abate any delays
The issue over the Columbia River Crossing’s height hit Washington, D.C., on Thursday, with the U.S. transportation secretary suggesting that he might step in to mediate.
Audit: CRC payments ‘appropriate’
First of three reviews finds no major issues; suggestions made for improvements
A Washington state internal audit of the Columbia River Crossing’s finances released to The Columbian on Tuesday found the $37.8 million in payments it made to David Evans and Associates over the last two years appear clean.
Herrera Beutler flier asks residents to weigh-in on light rail
The $31,500 mailing outlines her take on controversial bridge
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who has frequently called for a local vote on light rail, has spent $31,500 of taxpayer money to ask Clark County taxpayers what they think about it.
Vancouver to study how it pays, classifies employees
$51,000 effort is city’s first workforce study in a decade
With an eye on an overhaul of employee compensation, the city of Vancouver has hired a Minnesota company to examine the way it pays and classifies the jobs of workers.
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