Morning Press: Warren Forrest murder trial; Second Safe park?; affordable housing tax Q&A

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Here are some of the top stories on columbian.com this week:

Painful memories on display as Warren Forrest murder trial gets underway

Old, painful memories surfaced Tuesday as witnesses took the stand in suspected serial killer Warren Forrest’s 1974 cold-case murder trial in Clark County Superior Court.

The jury of seven women and five men was impaneled late Tuesday morning, after a full day of jury selection Monday. Three women were selected as alternate jurors and would serve should a regular juror be excused.

• Forrest, 73, is charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 17-year-old Martha Morrison of Portland
• Related: Missing teen’s sister hopes for conviction in Warren Forrest trial
• Trial day 2: Warren Forrest trial: Camas woman describes surviving harrowing attack
• Trial day 3: Witnesses in Warren Forrest trial recount finding victim’s body

Vancouver seeks site for new Safe Park as people living in vehicles prompt concerns

Last fall, Irma Lucero noticed a recreational vehicle parked outside a house she owns in Vancouver’s Fruit Valley neighborhood. The vehicle sat on the street for about a month and a half. She never saw its owner, but it was clear to her that someone was living inside.

“It was an RV with graffiti on it. It looked like a hoarder’s nest. It just looked like something that is in Portland right now,” she said.

• “This is something that we’re starting to see progressively increase here in Vancouver.”

Is Vancouver tax part of affordable housing solution?

In Vancouver’s special election on Feb. 14, residents will determine the future of the city’s Affordable Housing Fund by voting on Proposition 3, a property tax increase that would sustain the fund for 10 more years. As voters consider their positions, The Columbian answered 10 common questions that community members have been asking.

• On Feb. 14, voters will decide whether to sustain fund for 10 more years

Clark County to get 1st charter school

Clark County’s first state-approved public charter school, the Rooted School Vancouver, is set to open its doors to ninth grade students this fall.

The founders of the Rooted School, which follows the model of locations in Indianapolis and New Orleans, say the school’s goal will be to attract a diverse student population with a focus on project-based learning and preparing students for job opportunities immediately upon graduation.

• Rooted School Vancouver hopes to open in the fall

Prospects good for at least 1 Cowlitz River smelt dip

As February approaches, local sportsmen and women start to think about smelt dipping.

Will the popular smelt dip take place on the Cowlitz River this year, or is the run supposed to be too depressed to allow recreational harvest?

• Ocean conditions seem favorable for smelt runs