Thank you for confirming your subscription to The Columbian’s email newsletters!
Here are a few stories you may have missed that have been popular with readers this week:
You may have seen Jp Walmer’s name a few times in The Columbian over the past year. Columbian reporters met him on his first day of homelessness when it was 103 degrees Aug. 14 in Vancouver. We were also there for his last day of homelessness.
Last week, Walmer, 71, moved into permanent housing in Vancouver’s Lincoln neighborhood with a roommate and an old dog and cat.
“I’m just looking forward to taking a big, deep breath and getting my life back together,” he said while sitting on the couch in his new home. “It’s been awhile.”
Battle Ground police Sgt. Richard Kelly confiscated illicit drugs hours before he suffered a fatal overdose in his office, the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office found.
In the first batch of records from a Cowlitz County review of Kelly’s death, the agency sought to answer questions from the former Battle Ground police chief about Kelly’s on-the-job death. An officer found Kelly, 54, unresponsive in his office Aug. 10. He was taken to a hospital, where he was later declared dead.
The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office determined Kelly died from an overdose of fentanyl and methamphetamines. The office ruled his death an accident.
Forget about the red and blue waves of politics. A green wave is sweeping the country, bringing a proliferation of indoor plants to homes near you (or perhaps to your own home). What may have begun as a pandemic-era pastime seems to have bloomed into serious obsession, generating $16.2 billion in 2022, according to Acumen Research and Consulting — revenue that’s expected to double in the next decade.
Until recently, the only place to feed the houseplant frenzy in Clark County was a nursery or grocery store. Now several local retailers cater specifically to “plant parents,” while other businesses like Pop-Local on the Vancouver waterfront and Acorn & the Oak in Camas (florist by day, restaurant by night) offer a robust indoor plant selection.
“I think the trend comes from wanting the home to feel alive,” said Matt Sievert, owner of Bright Indirect Light Social Club, a new indoor plant shop in downtown Vancouver. “It’s a sacred space for a lot of people. You go in and the air is fresh and there’s vibrant green and a sense of peacefulness.”
