Community Funded Journalism

Living Houseless

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, center, and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg look up at the Interstate 5 Bridge on Tuesday in Vancouver.

‘We have a sense of urgency about getting this done’: Buttigieg joins Washington, Oregon officials for tour of Interstate 5 Bridge

February 13, 2024, 2:50pm Community Funded Journalism

Carbs, caffeine and the Interstate 5 Bridge consumed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg’s Tuesday morning in Vancouver. Read story

Vancouver City Hall (The Columbian files)

Vancouver City Council wants to expand Affordable Housing Fund into county but details need ironing out

February 13, 2024, 1:37pm Clark County News

Allowing Vancouver’s Affordable Housing Fund to pay for city residents to live outside of Vancouver within Clark County may be key to moving people out of overburdened shelters, according to some city staff. But Vancouver City Council members said they need more information before making a decision. Read story

Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington volunteers plant native trees and shrubs at the WaferTech campus in Camas on March 4, 2023.

Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington strives to bring Spanish-speaking community together with tree-planting event

February 13, 2024, 6:09am Clark County News

The Watershed Alliance of Southwest Washington’s second annual reforestation day this weekend is about more than planting trees. It’s about bringing the Spanish-speaking community together without language as a barrier. Read story

A former Howard Johnson’s hotel near Vancouver Mall converted into Bertha’s Place, a homeless shelter, which opened in late 2021.

Clark Asks: Why abandoned buildings can’t be used to house people experiencing homelessness? It’s complicated

February 12, 2024, 2:29pm Clark County News

Can’t some of the abandoned or under-used buildings in Clark County be used for shelters or affordable housing? That’s a question many readers have submitted to The Columbian through the Clark Asks portal on our website. Read story

Heather James, pictured here in September 2020, has been fighting aggressive breast cancer for four years.

I’ll fight as long as I can, says Felida cancer patient Heather James

February 9, 2024, 6:06am Breast Cancer

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Felida resident Heather James’ journey with breast cancer has been an uphill battle. Read story

Rebound Orthopedics & Neurosurgery’s customer systems down; health care provider won’t confirm if cyberattack occurred

Rebound Orthopedics and Neurosurgery external systems have been shut down since Monday, according to a customer service representative.

February 7, 2024, 6:54pm Business

Rebound Orthopedics & Neurosurgery would not confirm reports it had been hit by a cyberattack over the weekend, but all external computer systems have been shut down since Monday. As of Wednesday afternoon, patient and scheduling portals remained unavailable. Read story

Vancouver’s third Safe Stay ‘right exactly what we expected — calm and quiet and stable’

Employees at Express Cleaners across the street from downtown Vancouver's pallet-shelter community said it hasn't affected their business at all.

Neighbors of Vancouver’s third Safe Stay — known as 415 West for its address on 11th Street downtown — had concerns about how the opening of the transitional housing community in November would affect their businesses. Two months later, owners and employees say the community is generally quiet and residents… Read story