Will we have a repeat of last weekend’s mild weather? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed it, here are some of the top stories of the week:
The two sides in the fight over a proposed Vancouver oil terminal each received the same weapon Tuesday — a massive environmental review that they can use to bolster arguments for or against the project.
The Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council’s in-depth look at the proposed crude-by-rail transfer terminal at the Port of Vancouver, released Tuesday, leaves many key questions about the terminal’s environmental impact unanswered.
Read the council’s review.
Vancouver police cited three people for illegally camping in mobile huts Monday morning, prompting St. Luke’s Episcopal Church to open its parking lot to the three huts.
Vancouver Police Department spokeswoman Kim Kapp said a patrol officer had spotted the huts parked on city property along the road in the 400 block of Phil Arnold Way, near the Veteran’s Memorial Wall south of Vancouver City Hall. The officer knocked on the doors shortly before 8:30 a.m. and warned the people inside the three huts — two couples and a single woman — that they needed to move along to comply with the camping ordinance, which prohibits camping in public between 6:31 a.m. and 9:29 p.m.
Read more about the church’s efforts.
To those who sat through Tuesday’s six-hour Clark County council meeting, the outcome may have seemed written before it began. The Clark County council approved sweeping changes to the framework of its 20-year growth plan and adopted zoning policies that included the reduction of rural parcel sizes.
Councilors David Madore and Tom Mielke voted in favor of new planning assumptions for the Clark County Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update that will consider fewer lots buildable than under previously adopted planning policies.
Learn more about the approved plan.
Vancouver should allow nine recreational marijuana stores in town instead of six, the city’s Planning Commission said this month in response to the state’s removing its limits on the number of pot shops.
Vancouver city staff, however, want to keep the current limit of six stores until late next spring, when the City Council will have more information about how changes to medical marijuana laws and the legalization of recreational pot in Oregon affect local demand. Several new rules related to medical marijuana will become effective July 1.
Read more about marijuana stores debate.
Steven Webb, superintendent of Vancouver Public Schools, has been named 2016 Superintendent of the Year by the Washington Association of School Administrators.
The award recognizes “the outstanding leadership of active, front-line superintendents,” according to an association news release announcing the award.
Webb was selected for the award for leading the district’s improvements, including increasing the on-time graduation rate, increasing program choice and expanding school-community partnerships to meet needs of students living in poverty.
Read more about Webb’s award.
When holiday shopping, it’s easy to head to a big-box store and check an item off someone’s wish list. For the more creative shoppers who enjoy the thrill of the treasure hunt and the idea of buying something with a story behind it, however, there’s plenty of opportunity in Vancouver to do good.
Several stores around the county act as the business arm for local charities, while others give a portion of their profits to benefit various causes.
Learn more about ways to give back while also giving.
