Menu Newsletters
The Columbian logo tagline
Login
Sunday,  March 23 , 2025
Current weather Vancouver, WA

Linkedin Pinterest

Community Funded Journalism

Living Houseless
A Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad rail car travels along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad.

EPA seeks to fine two Clark County businesses over Clean Water Act violations

A Portland Vancouver Junction Railroad rail car travels along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad.

February 3, 2025, 2:50pm Business

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is proposing fines for two Clark County businesses totaling $73,000 over Clean Water Act violations in the Curtin Creek and Chelatchie Bluff mineral lands. Read story

Volunteer Hugo Vasconcelos, center, joins members of the Clark County Public Works department and the Clark Conservation District while planting trees at Douglas Carter Fisher Neighborhood Park on Friday afternoon. The event was held after a state study showed a need for an increased tree canopy.

Tree canopy taking root in Minnehaha thanks to tree-planting events

Volunteer Hugo Vasconcelos, center, joins members of the Clark County Public Works department and the Clark Conservation District while planting trees at Douglas Carter Fisher Neighborhood Park on Friday afternoon. The event was held after a state study showed a need for an increased tree canopy.

February 3, 2025, 1:29pm Clark County News

The Minnehaha neighborhood now has more trees thanks to the efforts of volunteers and staff from the Clark Conservation District and Clark County Public Works in January. Read story

DeWayne Ledbetter of Portland and Lee Rafferty of Vancouver swing at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver at the Parks Foundation's 2017 Swing More 24. Give More 24! is returning to Southwest Washington after a two year hiatus.

Give More 24! returning to Southwest Washington

DeWayne Ledbetter of Portland and Lee Rafferty of Vancouver swing at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver at the Parks Foundation's 2017 Swing More 24. Give More 24! is returning to Southwest Washington after a two year hiatus.

February 3, 2025, 6:10am Business

once Southwest Washington’s biggest day of giving — is back after a two-year hiatus. Read story

Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary, right, is next to Vancouver Art Hub, where the city of Vancouver operates a winter homeless shelter.

Large number of families, children stay at winter shelter next to Vancouver elementary school

Vancouver Innovation, Technology and Arts Elementary, right, is next to Vancouver Art Hub, where the city of Vancouver operates a winter homeless shelter.

February 3, 2025, 6:10am Clark County News

Since the city of Vancouver opened a winter shelter next to an elementary school in mid-December, it’s been packed with an unexpectedly high proportion of families with young children, staff say. Read story

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing on Monday in Silver Spring, Md. As federal immigration enforcement efforts ramp up, local agencies are trying to reassure Clark County residents they are safe to attend school, church and seek help at hospitals and from law enforcement.

Law enforcement, schools, churches, hospitals in Clark County emphasize that crackdowns are federal government’s purview – not theirs

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Baltimore Field Officer director Matt Elliston listens during a briefing on Monday in Silver Spring, Md. As federal immigration enforcement efforts ramp up, local agencies are trying to reassure Clark County residents they are safe to attend school, church and seek help at hospitals and from law enforcement.

February 1, 2025, 6:14am Churches & Religion

s federal crackdowns on unauthorized immigration ramp up under edicts from President Donald Trump, Clark County agencies — from police departments to schools to hospitals to places of worship — seek to assure local residents that they are not involved in immigration enforcement. Read story

Shannon Yirka, right, scratches the ear of her 19-year-old pug, Pixie Momma, center, who is held by Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s Ian Vossler on Thursday, during the Project Homeless Connect resource fair at New Life Friends Church in Vancouver. Yirka brought Pixie Momma and her two sons, Idgie and Pug Pug (not pictured), to the fair for shots and checkups.

Point-in-Time Count workers collect data, offer resources to Clark County’s homeless

Shannon Yirka, right, scratches the ear of her 19-year-old pug, Pixie Momma, center, who is held by Humane Society for Southwest Washington’s Ian Vossler on Thursday, during the Project Homeless Connect resource fair at New Life Friends Church in Vancouver. Yirka brought Pixie Momma and her two sons, Idgie and Pug Pug (not pictured), to the fair for shots and checkups.

January 31, 2025, 2:01pm Clark County News

A team of outreach workers moved through an east Vancouver homeless camp Thursday as dawn’s first light touched the horizon. Read story

A sign and a barbed wire fence keeps visitors out of the artillery impact area at Camp Bonneville. Residents said recent information provided to the state Department of Ecology shows law enforcement is exceeding its allowed use of the property.

Camp Bonneville shooting range: FBI, ATF and Portland Police under scrutiny for usage practices

A sign and a barbed wire fence keeps visitors out of the artillery impact area at Camp Bonneville. Residents said recent information provided to the state Department of Ecology shows law enforcement is exceeding its allowed use of the property.

January 30, 2025, 1:15pm Clark County News

New information provided to Clark County and the state Department of Ecology has raised concerns about how Camp Bonneville is being used by law enforcement agencies. Read story

A federal funding freeze would have hit homeless services in Clark County but it was temporarily halted by a judge before the White House rescinded the order.

Clark County’s nonprofits and governments still reeling after federal funds freeze called off

A federal funding freeze would have hit homeless services in Clark County but it was temporarily halted by a judge before the White House rescinded the order.

January 29, 2025, 1:52pm Clark County News

Leaders of Clark County governments and nonprofits remain uneasy even though the White House on Wednesday rescinded an order freezing all federal grants and loans. The order would have undercut local projects and programs — from homeless services to the Interstate 5 Bridge replacement. Read story

Jeff Grisso of Battle Ground completed walking the equivalent distance of the circumference of the Earth on Saturday, crossing the finish line at the Battle Ground Community Center.

He walked 24,901 miles in Battle Ground, picking up trash along the way

Jeff Grisso of Battle Ground completed walking the equivalent distance of the circumference of the Earth on Saturday, crossing the finish line at the Battle Ground Community Center.

January 29, 2025, 6:08am Clark County Life

Over the past 6½ years, Jeff Grisso has become as familiar a sight on Battle Ground’s roadways as traffic jams and stoplights. Read story

Former State Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, is the newest director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families in Washington.

‘Kinship placements’ help reduce the number of foster youth that went missing in Western Washington in 2024

Former State Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, is the newest director of the Department of Children, Youth and Families in Washington.

January 29, 2025, 6:08am Clark County News

Fewer foster youth in Western Washington are going missing than in previous years thanks to a focus on family placements, according to the Washington Department of Children, Youth and Families. Read story