Morning Press: Kent employment; business license suspended; guilty plea in voyeurism case

Will the rain continue into Halloween? Check out out local weather forecast before you head outside.

Here are some of the stories that were popular this week with Columbian readers:

Joe Kent’s employment comes under scrutiny

Republican 3rd Congressional District candidate Joe Kent found himself the focus of scrutiny this week after a report surfaced questioning whether the company he said he works for actually exists.

Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA employee, has said in public forums and in filings with the Federal Elections Commission and House of Representatives that he is employed by a technology company called American Enterprise Solutions.

• Tax forms for 3rd District GOP candidate show discrepancies in company’s name
• Update: GOP 3rd Congressional District candidate Joe Kent’s employer pays its registration fee

Vancouver business has license suspended

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board on Thursday issued an emergency suspension for Sunny Market at 3303 Minnehaha St., Suite A, in Vancouver for reported violations of state and federal laws.

According to a press release Friday, the store had five public safety violations for selling age-restricted products to minors including cigarettes, vape products and alcohol since December 2021.

• Board received nine complaints since March 2022

Camas man falls to death while trail running in Columbia River Gorge

The body of a Camas man was recovered early Sunday morning after he apparently fell from a cliff while trail running along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Columbia River Gorge.

Authorities identified the man as 33-year-old Nicholas Wells.

•  Search began Friday evening after man’s wife called Hood River County Sheriff’s Office to report he had gone trail running, not returned

Former Vancouver Public Schools janitor pleads guilty to 137 voyeurism counts

A former Vancouver Public Schools custodian accused of secretly recording people in a women’s staff restroom at Skyview High School has pleaded guilty to 137 counts of first-degree voyeurism.

James D. Mattson, 38, of Vancouver entered the guilty pleas during his arraignment hearing Friday in Clark County Superior Court. All of the sex offenses occurred between Feb. 13, 2013, and Oct. 10, 2022.

• Man admits taking secret videos at Skyview High School between 2013 and 2022

Clark County attracts warehouse developers as industry booms

What’s that big building going up in your neighborhood? Odds are it’s a warehouse.

Nationally and locally, demand for warehouse space has been high. In the Portland metro area, vacancy rates for industrial space has declined and lease rates have gone up. This has encouraged developers to build even more facilities here.

• 40 distribution warehouses, approximately 360 storage warehouses are inside city limits