Recession sends county landfill waste rate down in the dumps
Say this for a weak economy: At least we’re throwing less of our stuff in the trash can. Landfill waste per person dropped 13 percent in Clark County from 2006 to 2008, the last year figures were available, the county government said this week.
Lasher sets sights on eighth term
Clark County treasurer, a Democratic Party activist, in job since 1984
Twenty-six years after being appointed to manage local governments’ financial systems, Clark County Treasurer Doug Lasher is seeking an eighth and possibly final term. “As long as you have the passion and excitement for what you’re doing, you ought to keep on doing it, up to the point where you’re not producing more,” the Lake Shore Democrat said Tuesday.
Analysis: Is image of sprawl county’s bad rap?
Portlanders’ opinions may limit options for bridge replacement
Did Clark County’s image as Sprawlville, Wash., kill the bridge? No, the plans for a replacement I-5 bridge haven’t been knocked out yet. But they’re clearly on the ropes — and they’d take another big blow if Portland environmentalists defeat Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder, one of the few elected Portlanders willing to champion a bridge replacement, in his race for Metro’s presidency next month.
2,000 kids find the thrill of the (Easter egg) hunt
Church super-sizes its annual event to reach community
Leroy Santiago of Vancouver stood in the middle of the windswept east Vancouver field Saturday and raised the bullhorn to his lips. Around him, hundreds of slightly-smaller-than-average human hearts beat slightly faster than usual.
In honor of Census Day (no foolin’), a look back
Happy Census Day! It’s April 1, and once every 10 years that means more than pranks: Today’s the day the U.S. Census Bureau officially takes its snapshot of the population.
‘Sleep Country Amphitheater’: Concert venue gets in tune with industry trend
Naming rights sold for three years for undisclosed sum
Clark County's biggest music venue has a new name.
Lower road bids reduce fees on home-builders
County expects to make adjustment in April
Surprise: A county fee is about to go down. It’s not exactly a big drop. But thanks to continued weakness in the construction market, Washington’s contractors keep bidding for jobs at bargain prices.
Lawsuits stack up against county
Officials sock away much-needed cash in case of losses
A stack of major legal claims against Clark County’s government has been piling up, and the county has been rapidly socking away cash in case it loses. Though officials say they don’t think the public is at fault in any of the cases, their decision to boost liability reserves sevenfold has driven up insurance bills and forced the cash-strapped government to tie up precious dollars, increasing the pressure to lay off cops, close parks and hike taxes.
Development envisioned for county’s rural centers
Task force re-imagines them as ‘villages’
Change is in the air for Clark County’s six rural centers, the little commercial intersections that served farmers and loggers in the north county hills for a century. A task force of rural residents told county commissioners Tuesday night that Amboy, Brush Prairie, Chelatchie, Dollars Corner, Fargher Lake and Hockinson should be re-imagined as “villages,” with residential lots as small as half an acre in some cases.
2010 Clark County Salary Review: Scaling down raises
Most of public sector’s top-paid employees saw no bump in pay in past year
After years of slowly climbing skyward, the pay rates in Clark County’s fire halls, city halls and schools are leveling off. Of 775 of the county’s best-paid government workers, only a third got a raise in the last year, according to The Columbian’s second annual
County arts scene gets a new booster group
Commissioners will also establish a commission
A group of local arts lovers say Clark County’s creative scene is underrated, and they’re on a mission to spread the word. “The arts really are a really important part of our economy,” said Laurel Whitehurst of Hazel Dell, chairwoman of the newly formed Arts of Clark County nonprofit group. “We like to think that we’re just small potatoes, but we ain’t.”
Dining getting finer in Hazel Dell?
Some hoping for arrival of upscale eateries in area
One $3.59 cup of French fries at a time, Hazel Dell’s restaurant scene could be growing up. Five Guys Burgers and Fries opened on 78th Street in December, bringing the chain’s six-inch-thick sandwiches and sit-down service — not to mention huge crowds at every mealtime — to the domain of the drive-thrus.
Surge in seniors looms for county
Citizens’ task force being created to help prepare for rush
A “silver tsunami” of retiring Baby Boomers is poised to wash over the United States, and some say Clark County isn’t ready. The county is short on ground-floor bedrooms, roll-in bathrooms, high-quality small homes and neighborhoods built for walking, aging experts say.
Salmon Creek man to run for county assessor
Entrepreneur wants overhaul of property assessment system
An accountant-turned-entrepreneur is Clark County’s newest candidate for assessor. Daniel Weaver, 64, of Salmon Creek said Tuesday that he wants to overhaul the county’s property assessment system to reflect more detailed data about trends in particular neighborhoods.
Fire Inspection fees going unpaid
Commissioners’ fix for closing gap in fire marshal’s budget — tripling costs for businesses — has unintended result
Nine months after Clark County commissioners closed a $276,000 hole in the fire marshal’s budget by tripling inspection fees, they’ve gotten a tough lesson in economics. Turns out that when you triple your fees, fewer people pay them.
County has rich plans for former poor farm
Farmers market, more gardens mulled for Hazel Dell site
As Clark County’s old poor farm heads into its second summer as a shared community garden, county leaders are firming up big plans for its future. Crafted with a team of volunteers, the latest vision for the 79-acre Hazel Dell site includes space for:
County sets urbanization hearings
Public can comment on plans for land near WSU Vancouver
Clark County has scheduled four public sessions on whether to allow urban building on a square mile southeast of Washington State University Vancouver. The affected area, almost all of it zoned for residential lots of about 6,000 square feet, is bounded to the west by Northeast 50th Avenue, the east by 72nd Avenue, the south by 119th Street and the north by 139th Street.
Most Clark County elected officials report for work daily
Two say spotty records don’t reflect work done
October 2009 was an especially busy month for Clark County’s government. Commissioners announced a $12.7 million general fund shortfall, eventually settling on deep cuts to the parks budget and a round of tax and fee hikes. Other elected officials scrambled to slash their own budgets. In the county assessor’s office, trouble with new software led to an unusually long delay in calculating property valuations, which are supposed to be mailed in the summer but didn’t go out until Nov. 9.
Low crime, high stakes in La Center
As heads into its second century, La Center has found a niche as a cute, friendly bedroom town, its public services kept well-fed by taxes on the four cardrooms that came to town in the 1980s.
This is what we’re made of
Saying county majority white doesn’t tell whole story
Compared with other suburban counties on the West Coast and the rest of the country, Clark County is very white. But in Clark County, “white” doesn’t mean “bland.”
Pleasant Valley development envisioned
A square mile would open to more houses and traffic, if county approves
After two years in limbo with the county planning department, a hunk of the Pleasant Valley area is almost ready to be opened for urban development. If approved, the transition will allow a stretch of land southeast of Washington State University Vancouver to gradually develop from mostly lots of 1 to 5 acres each to mostly lots of about 6,000 square feet.
County alters plans for E. Hazel Dell ball fields
Changes aimed at decreasing impact; some neighbors still upset
Changes aimed at decreasing impact; neighbors still upset Clark County says it’s cooking up a new plan for a set of baseball fields in east Hazel Dell that has angered some of its residential neighbors.
Jail officer Shotwell runs to replace sheriff
Challenger says he doesn’t see incumbent working
Tim Shotwell, a veteran custody officer in Clark County’s jail, said this week that he’s making his second run for Clark County Sheriff. He claimed that incumbent Garry Lucas, sheriff since 1990, is checked out, doesn’t seem to spend much time in the office and appears unmotivated to solve the department’s problems.
Inmate’s death may spur lawsuit
Man died of intentional overdose in Clark County jail; family filed tort claim
The first time they saw the small Vietnamese-speaking man lying on his Clark County jail bunk facing the cell’s wall one afternoon last June, custody officers assumed he was asleep.
Vancouver-Clark parks may snuff out smoking
Ban would go into effect by summer if approved by city, county
Get ready to add another Clark County institution to the list of those banning all tobacco use: the parks department.
Commissioners forsake mileage reimbursement
After taking flak from county managers and members of the public for their publicly funded vehicle travel, Clark County’s commissioners have backed off a bit.
Health facilities giving tobacco zero tolerance
Emboldened by past successes, Clark County’s health advocates are continuing to expand their crusade against tobacco. “You can tell people, ‘Don’t smoke. It’s bad. It causes cancer,’” county Public Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick said at a public hearing in January. “But that only influences a small number of people.”
Picnics still a hot ticket despite fee
People line up to reserve shelters, help pay for cleaning and upkeep
A new set of picnic shelter fees couldn’t stop Clark County’s annual stampede for summer picnic-shelter reservations.
Bridge woes brushed off at 'state of the county'
I-5 project vital to prosperity, commissioner says at annual speech
Two weeks after putting his name on a letter that was widely received in Portland as a death blow to existing plans for a new Interstate 5 bridge, Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart said he’s sure some sort of span will go up.
Environmentalists appeal stormwater agreement
County, state taken to task
Environmentalists will challenge Clark County’s unusual new plan for managing stormwater runoff.
Appeals court topples hurdle for Salmon Creek Walmart
Walmart’s plans to squeeze a double-decker store into a Salmon Creek field cleared a two-year legal challenge this week. In a decision signed Tuesday, three judges from the state Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that Clark County’s commissioners didn’t offer any facts to justify their 2007 denial of the retailer’s proposal.
Walmart plans for Salmon Creek pushed forward by judges
Walmart’s plans to squeeze a double-decker store into a Salmon Creek field cleared a two-year legal challenge this week. In a decision signed Tuesday, three judges from the state Court of Appeals unanimously agreed that Clark County’s commissioners didn’t offer any facts to justify their 2007 denial of the retailer’s proposal.
Home builders to get refund on permit fees from county
Total cost of 6,900 payments, interest, lawyer fees is $1.2M I
t’s been a rough few years for the county’s home builders, but this one is starting out with a twist: the government is giving them money.
County struggles to keep cost of benefits in check
Clark County and its unionized workers say they’ve been trying every trick in the book to hold down their rocketing health care costs.
Minnehaha man held after California chase
Listed allegations include vehicle theft, drugs
A Minnehaha man was reportedly arrested Friday after leading state troopers on a high-speed chase in Northern California. Harlan Butler, 41, was allegedly driving a stolen Oregon vehicle through Tehama County at up to 105 mph before finally being caught, according to the Daily News of Red Bluff, Calif.
A sample of life on a bee farm
Daylong class near Battle Ground opens the door to the secrets of a happy, healthy honeybee hive
Thirteen cotton-clad bee aficionados, ages 22 to 63, piled into Jacqueline Freeman’s little country kitchen. Freeman hoisted a yellow jar of butter-thick honey and explained, sadly, how things are done at big bee farms.
County study cites need for smaller new homes
Will new houses in Clark County ever get as cheap as they used to be? Even after the big price drop of the last two years — last month, the median local house sold for $215,000 — homes are still harder for the average local family to buy than they were in 2003.
C-Tran could sell Evergreen Park-and-Ride in. E. Vancouver
A new one will be built if sales-tax hike passes
Clark County’s bus agency is setting up a chess game to sell east Vancouver on higher sales taxes, and one of its pieces is the little-used Evergreen Park-and-Ride.
Commissioners step into online social whirl
Twitter, Facebook were recommended by teen constituents
Twitter, Facebook were recommended by teen constituents It was, perhaps, the most confused Clark County’s two older commissioners had ever been willing to appear in public.
Development fee freeze rankles commissioner
Stuart calls it a handout to builders, block to road work
County commissioners’ latest attempt to resuscitate the housing market with a dose of taxpayer money is spurring some sharp words.
Conservative push for new county charter gaining steam
Some Democrats open to system that offers more citizen control
A group of mostly right-leaning local activists is rebooting a 30-year-old effort to make Clark County a little more democratic. With a small d.
Cops reportedly close to pay deal with county
Clark County and its deputies are nearing a deal that would freeze deputies’ pay for two years, representatives for both sides said Wednesday. The county hopes such a deal would save about $700,000, enough to keep seven deputies on the street and prevent any layoffs in the sheriff’s office.
Challenger slams county assessor’s performance
Official says appraiser’s experience has only limited relevance to the job
Election year may have just begun, but the race for Clark County assessor is already off to a screeching start.
Annual Hangover 5K gets 2010 off on the right foot for fast friends
Mac Shipp and Kortney Langston’s brilliant idea came, as so many such ideas do, over beverages. The beverages were consumed at their New Year’s Eve celebration at Langston’s place in Camas. The idea was the Clark County Running Club’s annual New Year’s Day Hangover 5K at 10 o’clock the next morning.
Mystery woman jailed after mail-truck chase
A woman who allegedly stole a Portland mail truck on New Year’s Eve is spending the weekend in Clark County’s jail, unidentified. She wasn’t carrying an ID on her 70-mph race up Interstate 5 from Portland to La Center Thursday night.
New jail medical pact to cut costs
Contract will save $700,000 – and 10 jobs, facility beds
The Clark County jail is sacking its criticized medical contractor and hiring a cheaper one.
Deal will keep two boat launches open
Volunteers, donation join to save access at Daybreak, Haapa Volunteer labor and a cash donation to Clark County would keep the Daybreak and Haapa boat launches open for the next two months, under a tentative deal worked out Wednesday.
Building permit system praised
State audit of county department notes ability to figure costs
Clark County has built one of the state’s best systems for calculating the cost of issuing building permits, a state audit found Tuesday.
Ideas for Camas site on the way
Housing agency is expected to unveil possible designs in January
For the second time in five years, a public housing developer is eyeing an old drive-in movie lot in Camas.
Educator enters 18th district race
Field seeking to replace Herrera grows to five An Evergreen High School math teacher and vocal standardized-test reformer is the fourth Republican seeking an open legislative seat next year.
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