All Politics is Local
COVID-19 gives awareness proclamations new feel
We don’t often cover proclamations at public meetings declaring (insert here) Day or (insert here) Month. That’s not to say that they aren’t important to raise awareness or reduce stigma about social issues. But journalists typically prioritize substantive actions that have the most direct effects on readers. On Tuesday, the Clark County Council retroactively declared […]
Parking tickets suspended during viral outbreak
Quarantined at home in Vancouver, but worried about overstaying your meter? Ducking out every two hours to move your car? You can chill. The city stopped issuing regular parking tickets on Thursday. “We are suspending, for the duration of the declared emergency, enforcement of parking tickets,” City Manager Eric Holmes told me on Friday. “We […]
Camas mayor in self-quarantine after Spain trip
Camas Mayor Barry McDonnell has, one might say, a global perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic after a family vacation to Spain. McDonnell, his wife and four children left two weeks ago, the mayor said in a video posted Friday to the city’s website and YouTube pages. On Saturday, Spain imposed an immediate, nationwide lockdown to […]
Clark County may emulate Vancouver camping laws
The Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office gave a legal thumbs up to Vancouver’s anti-camping ordinance, suggesting it could be a model for a county policy. The prosecuting attorney’s office was asked to review whether the city’s ordinance complies with the federal Martin v. Boise, Idaho, case. Issued in September 2018, the landmark decision by the […]
Long on lukewarm young voters: ‘Can you blame them?’
Carolyn Long, the main (scratch that; now she’s the only) Democrat seeking Washington’s 3rd Congressional District seat, told National Public Radio she’s trying to win over unaffiliated voters and energize the base in order to beat a 10-year Republican incumbent. However, the Washington State University Vancouver political science professor also said she understands why young […]
Kraft casts only vote against supplemental transportation budget
Never say that Rep. Vicki Kraft is afraid to stand alone. The Vancouver Republican, elected in the 17th Legislative District in 2016 and re-elected in 2018, is arguably the most conservative of the nine lawmakers from Clark County and a staunch foe of requiring public schools to provide comprehensive sex education. She had plenty of company […]
Bloomberg’s Vancouver office: 13 days, forever in our hearts.
Dearly beloved: We are gathered here today to celebrate the short but illustrious life of the Vancouver campaign office of Michael Bloomberg. The campaign headquarters for the former New York mayor and Democratic presidential candidate was located at the Schofield’s Corner shopping center at 1817 Main St. and opened Feb. 20. Bloomberg would suspend his […]
Vote late — if you want your ballot to matter
Vote early and vote often. That saying, attributed to former Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley, mobster Al Capone and a host of others, has never been sound advice, unless facing felony voter fraud charges is on your bucket list. For Tuesday’s presidential primary, “vote early” was particularly lousy advice for Washington Democrats as a once-crowded […]
County councilors attend NACo conference in D.C.
In lieu of meetings at the Public Service Center this week, Clark County councilors conducted business in a much larger setting — the nation’s capital. Council Chair Eileen Quiring and Councilors Julie Olson and Temple Lentz attended the National Association of Counties’ Legislative Conference this week at the Washington Hilton. NACo represents almost 40,000 elected […]
Finn seeks to lift Woodland priorities in Cowlitz County
This time next year, Will Finn would like to be in position to elevate Woodland priorities in Cowlitz County. He won’t know the specific position, though, for a few months. Finn, the city’s mayor, announced this week that he will seek the Cowlitz County commission District 1 seat. If he wins the Nov. 3 general […]