After beautiful a Indian Summer weekend, is rain on the way? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
GOLDENDALE — Thirty minutes before Wednesday’s scheduled appearance at a Klickitat County grange hall with her opponent, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Carolyn Long swept through the door and made a beeline for the crowd, which had already started to gather. Deep in Republican country, the Democrat proceeded to work the room, shaking hands, asking questions and making sure everyone knew who she was.
A few minutes later, Republican Herrera Beutler entered, and took a spot near the podium, where she stood waiting to greet anyone who approached her. She too took questions, but in a venue where it was standing room only, few risked leaving their seats to say hello.
As much as any other issue in this year’s 3rd Congressional District race, the candidates’ communications styles are poles apart. And it’s become a key issue in the race.
Read more about town halls and the 3rd Congressional candidates.
A chickenpox outbreak at Daybreak Primary School in Battle Ground will keep some students home effective Monday.
There are five confirmed cases of varicella at the campus, Battle Ground Public Schools spokeswoman Rita Sanders said Friday.
Clark County Public Health requires that students and staff who do not have documented immunity against the virus must stay home for three weeks beginning Monday, according to a letter sent to parents Thursday night. Individuals who get a vaccine or provide proof of immunity, however, can return before then.
Learn more about the outbreak.
WASHOUGAL — Amanda Giese is talking about one of the less glamorous parts of running an animal shelter.
“I do all the poop scooping, but I actually like it,” Giese said, looking over at her two children, son Beast and daughter Jade. “It’s like therapy—they don’t bother me. If I’ve got a poop scoop in hand, they’ll come out and be like, ‘Oh, I’ll ask later.’ It’s kind of like Easter egg hunting, you know?”
With eight dogs at Panda Paws Rescue — the shelter for special needs and major medical animals that Giese runs out of her home — there’s been a lot of cleanup to do lately. Duncan Lou Who, the internet-famous two-legged boxer, isn’t home now, but there are four other dogs owned by Giese’s family: three spaniels named Garnet, Bullfrog and Groot, and Rogue, a hairless Chinese crested dog.
Learn more about Giese and the Animal Planet series.
C-Tran is another step closer to bringing a second bus rapid transit line to Vancouver along Mill Plain Boulevard.
During its regular meeting Tuesday, C-Tran’s board of directors agreed to ask the Federal Transit Administration to allow the Mill Plain project to enter the development phase. Essentially, that means bringing the project’s vision into sharper focus and making it eligible for federal funding. The board also approved a $4.5 million guarantee to cover the $50 million project’s development costs.
“We’ll ideally move into that phase (in) spring 2019 — pending (FTA) approval,” C-Tran spokeswoman Christine Selk said.
While the agency has its sights on the second phase, it’s still not finished with the first one. C-Tran is still connecting with the public and advisory committees, soliciting feedback and sifting through the responses. The agency is also still considering station locations, traffic patterns, ridership numbers, and more.
Read more about the second bus rapid transit line.
The Clark County Planning Commission on Thursday signed off on a proposal to support public trail development in the county by adding trails to the list of project categories that can be funded by Park Impact Fees. The County Council is scheduled to make a final decision on the issue in December.
Park Impact Fees are one-time charges that the county imposes on new construction projects in order to help pay for the cost of acquiring and developing public open spaces and parks to serve the growing population. Funding from the fees can only be spent on certain projects, and trails currently aren’t an allowed use.
Learn more about the developer fees.
