Clark County Politics

The Washougal School District predicted big cuts to programs from athletics to arts if its operations and capital facilities and technology levies failed for a second time in 2023. Both passed in the April special election.

Schools measures passing in Washougal, trailing in Woodland

April 25, 2023, 9:06pm Clark County News

Funding measures for two small districts in Southwest Washington saw a mixed bag of results Tuesday, with two levies in the Washougal School District strongly leading in initial returns and a measure in Woodland Public Schools trailing by 37 votes. Read story

Natural light pours into a community room at Fourth Plain Community Commons, a low-income apartment complex being developed by the Vancouver Housing Authority and city of Vancouver, as Mike Moran of Anning-Johnson Company lends a hand.

Vancouver weighs relaxed environmental standards to speed housing construction

April 25, 2023, 6:05pm Clark County News

The city of Vancouver is adopting loosened state environmental regulations for new residential developments to expedite housing construction. Read story

A voter drops off his ballot at a Clark County ballot drop box in the Vancouver Mall parking lot Nov. 3, 2020.

Today is Election Day in Washougal, Woodland; ballots due by 8 p.m.

April 25, 2023, 6:05am Clark County News

Today is Election Day for voters in Washougal and Woodland, where school districts are running funding measures to provide staff and programs not fully funded by the state. Read story

The capitol building in Olympia is flanked by flowering cherry trees as the Legislatures ends its 2023 session.

Clark County legislators see bills, resolutions pass

April 24, 2023, 6:25pm Clark County News

Before the Washington Legislature wrapped up on Sunday, lawmakers had waded through more than 2,100 bills, measures and resolutions during the 105-day session. Over 200 of those were introduced by Clark County’s legislative representatives. Read story

Nadine Shane, 6, a first-grader at Orchards Elementary School, dives into her lunch while dining with friends in the school's cafeteria in early 2020.

Washington Legislature increases support for free school meals

April 24, 2023, 3:04pm Clark County News

A new bill passed by Washington lawmakers last week promises to extend a portion of pandemic-era relief funding and provide 90,000 more students in Washington with daily free meals. Read story

Drug possession compromise fails in Washington Legislature as session ends

In this April 11, 2019 photo, Rep. Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, listens to debate on the House floor at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Jinkins is the sponsor of a measure that has Washington poised to become the first state to establish an employee-paid program creating an insurance benefit to help offset the costs of long-term care, pending a final vote in the House. (AP Photo/Ted S.

The Washington House voted down a last-minute deal to maintain a criminal penalty for drug possession and boost funding for treatment Sunday night, the final day of the legislative session, leaving the state's drug laws in question and potentially laying the foundation for a patchwork of approaches throughout the state. Read story

Swastikas, Nazi flag on home upset neighbors in La Center

La Center residents want the city council to do something about the hand-painted swastikas and Nazi-themed flag decorating their neighbor's home.

As La Center nears ever closer to the same kind of population growth seen in the neighboring communities of Ridgefield and Battle Ground, residents of the tiny town say there is one specific house sending the wrong message to incoming residents and businesses. Read story