All Politics is Local
Blast from the past: Stormwater fee edition
At their last hearing Tuesday, the Clark County Board of Commissioners approved increases to stormwater fees for the first time in more than a decade. What the commissioners didn’t do was approve a “litter fee,” which would have been assessed to newspapers. And that’s telling. As I laid out in my story Wednesday about the board’s decision, […]
July 11, 2014 2:13 pm
Facebook: A politician’s best friend
Back in the day, Facebook was a convenient way for college kids to post photos of themselves at parties drinking themselves sideways. It was like an ontological study of creative quaffing practices and entitlement. It came with an added benefit. The next day, friends could go online and be all like, “BRO, partie (sic) was […]
July 10, 2014 3:08 pm
C-Tran board meeting takes uncomfortable turn
For several months now, the projector at C-Tran board meetings has displayed the same message during public comment. It warns people against using loud, disruptive or threatening behavior. The regular warnings started last fall, when the board approved the infamous light rail contract with TriMet. The resulting fallout included a “Unite Against Tyranny” rally complete […]
July 9, 2014 5:47 pm
A special, patriotic tribute to Clark County
When Francis Scott Key penned the poem that became “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the story goes, he was watching the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British. So taken with the incandescence of the “bombs bursting in air” he took pen to paper and gave us a national hymn centered around the imagery that would come […]
July 4, 2014 10:00 am
Vancouver City Council says “yes” more than “no”
If you want to criticize the Vancouver City Council, please be specific. Or else you’re just trolling Councilor Jack Burkman, and he’s going to take the bait. (Which in turn provides blog fodder for me, so actually, by all means, make broad generalizations about the council that can be easily disproved.) In an email to City […]
July 3, 2014 4:30 pm
Too close for comfort — at least in fireworks season?
In today’s paper, I have a story about updated population estimates from the state’s Office of Financial Management. The OFM provided some interesting maps with its news release. Here’s a map of the state’s 39 counties, showing the breakdown of the state’s population. In terms of population, Clark ranks fifth, behind King, Pierce, Snohomish and […]
July 1, 2014 1:25 pm
Mielke to freeholders: Decreasing commissioners’ salaries ‘sucks’
At last week’s board time meeting, noted wordsmith Tom Mielke offered a colorful assessment of a proposed salary reduction for county commissioners. With near Hemingway-esque succinctness, the commissioner deduced, “That sucks.” He seemed genuinely taken aback by “news” that the freeholders’ proposed county charter provisions call not just for increasing the size of the board from […]
June 26, 2014 2:57 pm
History of Leavitt’s streetcar desire
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt told me the streetcar idea isn’t new, and said I probably didn’t know about the study done “a few years back.” Fair enough. I wasn’t covering the city back then. He also said I’m too cynical. Maybe because I spend so much time writing about proposals that never work out? OK, […]
June 26, 2014 2:08 pm
Turlay’s fact-finding mission to Vegas
Vancouver City Councilor Bill Turlay said he wouldn’t vote for a resolution opposing an oil-handling facility at the Port of Vancouver and any other projects that would increase Bakken crude oil being hauled through Clark County because he didn’t have enough facts. Many people who testified to the city council in support of the resolution expressed […]
June 25, 2014 1:14 pm
Madore’s website promises bargain basement deals
Are you a business owner, or prospective business owner? Are you looking for a real humdinger of a deal, something too good to pass up? Well, look no further than Clark County. For zero down — that’s right, zero down! — you too can start a business or add square footage to an existing business. That’s […]
June 23, 2014 4:27 pm