All Politics is Local
The ‘Tom’ Tom Club
A big fear of newspaper reporters is that people will only scan the headlines. It happens more than many reporters would like to acknowledge (so it’s been acknowledged for them in reports, some of which show that six in 10 people only glance at headlines). NPR pulled one of the very few April Fool’s Day […]
April 17, 2014 11:36 am
Turlay’s concerns about the voter-approved “plague”
Vancouver City Councilor Bill Turlay’s views on the legalization of recreational marijuana would fit better with the Clark County Commissioners, but as it stands he’s the 1 in the council’s 6-1 vote to become the first government in Clark County to approve a law regulating the growing, processing and selling of recreational marijuana. During an […]
April 16, 2014 11:55 am
Forget a “meaningful” life, Madore wonders how one survives on $50k a year
Clark County Commissioner David Madore has said he doesn’t understand how someone can live a “meaningful” life on $50,000 a year. Well, now he’s dropped the “meaningful” and says people can’t “make ends meet” on $53,000 a year. On one of his Facebook pages, Madore mentioned the county charter proposed by freeholders: Former county HR manager […]
April 15, 2014 5:40 pm
Swings lowered at John Ball Park — but Teenage Mutant Turtles to invade Aug. 1
After I posted a video illustrating a frustration of parents in the Hough neighborhood, the city moved (relatively) quickly to fix the problem. The kid swings in John Ball Park, which had been ridiculously high, have been lowered by about 8 inches, reports Eileen Cowen, co-chairwoman of the neighborhood association. When I put up the […]
April 15, 2014 1:06 pm
It helps to read the paper
Clark County commissioners Tom Mielke and David Madore don’t read The Columbian. They’re rather obdurate on the matter, steadfastly refusing in most instances to even acknowledge the paper’s existence. They refer to The Reflector, North County’s community weekly, as Clark County’s real paper. And why not? They’ve already banned The Columbian from the county’s communal […]
April 11, 2014 4:39 pm
Madore stays up late, attacks C-Tran again
Clark County Commissioner David Madore isn’t backing down from his accusations that C-Tran has mishandled public meetings and public records. In fact, he’s escalating them. Madore’s most recent attack on the transit agency whose board he serves on came in a Facebook post published at 2:07 a.m. Friday. (Some would say it’s not a good […]
April 11, 2014 2:24 pm
It’s the calendar’s fault!
Last week, Clark County held a going away bash for Steve Stuart, whose last day as a county commissioner is today. Dozens of well-wishers showed up, including former county commissioners Marc Boldt, Betty Sue Morris, Craig Pridemore and John McKibbon. Even the chair of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners, Marissa Madrigal, popped in (a […]
April 11, 2014 11:21 am
Who are these swings for, anyway?
I know the city of Vancouver prides itself on its parks, but since I live in unincorporated Clark County I don’t take my daughters to many city parks. Are all of the swings designed for giants? This is at John Ball Park in the Hough neighborhood, and I’ve heard from some Hough parents who wish the […]
April 4, 2014 1:52 pm
Demystifying “Big Stu”
At Thursday’s farewell reception for Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart, a few speakers, including Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, referenced Stuart’s APIL nickname, “Big Stu.” (Until we started calling him that, nobody used the nickname except some of Big Stu’s old classmates from Prairie High School.) The speakers who talked about the moniker expressed what it […]
April 4, 2014 11:47 am
Musical (vice) chairs
At least Tom Mielke gets to be chair of the Clark County Board of Commissioners. Four times since December, Mielke has been nominated as chair or vice chair of two other bodies he serves on, only to be passed over for someone else. In each case, he was spurned by either the Regional Transportation Council […]
April 3, 2014 10:46 am