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Here are some of the top stories of the week on columbian.com. Wondering what else was popular this week with readers? Check out our Trending Stories page.
Homeless people in Vancouver are increasingly the target of harassment and violence as exasperation toward encampments has grown over the past several years.
The pandemic — a time when the city, following federal guidelines, allowed homeless camps to shelter in place — accelerated resentment toward homeless camps, said Tyler Chavers, the city’s homeless response coordinator and a former Vancouver police officer.
Washington’s Department of Ecology fined Chad Williams of Livingston Mountain $71,800 for damaging wetlands on his property and failing to comply with a 2022 agreement to restore them, according to a Tuesday news release from the agency.
Despite a court order issued in August to follow the 2022 agreement, Williams has continued to defy it, according to the release.
In front of a room packed with more than 100 people Monday night, Vancouver officials declared an initiative that would require voter approval to remove traffic lanes from city streets to be legally invalid and ineligible for placement on a future ballot.
“Allowing an ordinance that we believe to be illegal to proceed to public vote not only sets a precedent for potential future initiatives in Vancouver, but for other cities in Washington,” City Manager Lon Pluckhahn said.
Shoppers rang in the new year with record-high egg prices.
The cause? Experts say bird flu is partly to blame. Seasonal demand and destroyed egg facilities have also played a role.
Hundreds of Hudson’s Bay High School students walked out of class Monday morning to protest the school district’s handling of 2013 sex allegations against a teacher.
“School should be a safe place to be,” ninth-grader Alexis Kidwell said. “We shouldn’t have to be afraid.”
