Clark County Today News

Washington Policy Center's Todd Myers breaks down why electricity rates are surging across Washington state — from Puget Sound Energy's proposed 30% increase over three years to Avista's 25% hike by 2030. Myers argues state climate mandates, not data centers, are the primary cost driver, with wind and solar carrying an effective cost nearly four times that of natural gas. https://www.clarkcountyto...

Rob Natelson of the Mountain States Policy Center traces the Declaration of Independence to English parliamentary petitions, the 1689 Bill of Rights, and John Locke's natural law philosophy — and explains why the document's precise language still shapes debates over federal power and constitutional interpretation today. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-declaration-of-independen...

Elizabeth New (Hovde) of the Washington Policy Center argues that Washington's rising payroll taxes, minimum wage mandates, and hostile signals to employers are shrinking the very opportunities workers need to build their futures. A recent Association of Washington Business survey found nearly one in four employers is considering leaving the state. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-...

U.S. Postal Service officials canceled their appearance before a Washington state House panel hours before a scheduled hearing on a proposed federal rule that would require states to share mail-in voter lists with the agency. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs called the proposal "an unnecessary rule" that constitutes federal overreach. Public comments are open until July 2. https://www.clarkcountytod...

Vancouver Councilor Erik Paulsen urged the C-TRAN Board of Directors to add fixed rail to the agency's 20-year plan, arguing that existing Vine BRT stops already have the floor height to support tram conversion and that fixed rail — not buses — drives transit oriented development. Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle backed the push. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-leaders-want-c-tran-to-look-...

Fireworks go on sale in Clark County on June 28, with legal use in unincorporated areas limited to July 4 between 9 am and midnight. Vancouver bans fireworks entirely. First-time violators face a $500 civil fine. Fire Marshal Donna Goddard urges residents to celebrate safely and responsibly. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/sale-of-fireworks-begins-june-28-4/ #ClarkCounty #Fireworks #July4 #I...

Camas Days returns July 25–26 in downtown Camas with nearly 16,000 expected attendees, a Broadway-themed Main Parade, the iconic Bathtub Race, and live acts including the Sarah Lodge Band and River Divide. Grand Marshal Richard Mancini is recognized for 24-plus years as Camas High School's band director. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/2026-camas-days-festival-broadway-comes-to-camas-its-s...

Vancouver resident Randall Rathbun poses a pointed question to Silas Matson and Rev. Kate Lore: are all religious and moral viewpoints equally valid, or does objective truth exist? Using the logic of basic math, Rathbun argues the answer matters. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-are-all-religious-viewpoints-relative-and-equally-valid/ #Opinion #Religion #ObjectiveTruth #ClarkCounty...

Thirty Vancouver and Clark County Fire District 6 firefighters extinguished a residential house fire on NE 100th Street on June 21. One resident was displaced and assisted by the American Red Cross. The Clark County Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-fire-extinguishes-residential-house-fire/ #VancouverFire #ClarkCounty #HouseFire #Publ...

Two separate shooting incidents in Vancouver led to multiple arrests after a 14-year-old was struck by gunfire and a firearm was recovered from a 17-year-old. PKSon Karuo, 18, was booked into the Clark County Jail for Minor in Possession and Criminal Impersonation. The Vancouver Police Department Crime Reduction Unit is investigating both cases. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-poli...

Vancouver Fire Boat 1 located an unresponsive adult female drifting in dangerous currents near docks and moored river barges on the Columbia River. Two trained rescue swimmers deployed from the vessel, entered the water, and brought the patient aboard for advanced life support care before transport to an Oregon-side dock. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-fire-department-conducts-res...

Seton Catholic has claimed the WIAA Scholastic Cup for Class 1A Washington high school sports for the third consecutive year, powered by 15 postseason teams and 10 academic state championships. Plus coaching moves at Mountain View, Seton Catholic, and King's Way Christian. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/sports/high-school-sports-notes-seton-catholic-earns-another-scholastic-cup/ #SetonCatholic #...

Nearly 700 graduates crossed the stage at the Cascades Amphitheater as Clark College honored its 90th graduating class, conferring 2,816 degrees and certificates — a 49% jump over 2025. Among them: 458 Running Start students, 126 Bachelor of Applied Science graduates, and Camille Villaneuva, recipient of a $15,000 Presidential Scholarship. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/clark-college-cele...

The Vancouver Bee Project's 2026 Pollinator Festival takes over Marshall Park on June 20 with more than 60 vendors, seven guest speakers, walking tours at 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., a Kids Zone, food, and arts and crafts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/vancouver-bee-project-presents-annual-pollinator-festival-on-saturday-june-20/ #PollinatorFestival #VancouverBeeProject #C...

Camas resident Douglas Tweet, PhD, argues the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program's own data shows a two auxiliary lane design outperforms one aux lane in every congestion measure — yet IBR recommends the lesser option. He says eliminating light rail, estimated at $3.5 billion or 25% of total project cost, and building two aux lanes instead could save more than $2.5 billion while improving safet...

Detectives arrested 19-year-old Isaiah Pontoja on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Assault in the First Degree, four days after London Jasiah Walker, a Camas resident, was killed on Creston Avenue. The Clark County Regional SWAT Team assisted in the arrest. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-police-make-arrest-in-shooting-investigation-4/ #VancouverPD #ClarkCounty #HomicideI...

Battle Ground resident Silas Matson argues the city council's competing proclamations — from Pride to public prayer — reveal a civic category error. Government, he writes, can enforce a minimalist civic morality around public safety, but lacks the mandate to validate maximalist cultural or theological frameworks. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-how-do-we-share-a-city-and-foster-com...

Vancouver's Jonathan Hines contrasts the York Revolution's forfeited game — players refusing mandatory Pride jerseys — with MLB's warning to Giants pitchers who wrote Bible verses on their caps. He argues corporate-driven ideological compliance is fracturing the common ground sports once provided. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-when-inclusion-mandates-exclusion-sports-lose-its-way...

Clark County's week covered a 3-2 council vote rejecting auditor expansion, Vancouver's unanimous median ban, and Rep. John Ley's criticism of the $7.65 billion Interstate Bridge Replacement project. Evergreen Public Schools locked in a five-year contract, and Camas football standout Reilly Hennessey got the surprise of a lifetime at Liberty Theatre. URLHERE #ClarkCounty #Vancouver #Camas #IBR #Ev...

The Clark County Council voted 3-2 against letting the county auditor prepare financial impact statements for ballot initiatives. Supporters said voters deserve cost data; opponents warned of concentrated power in one office — and noted voters rejected a similar measure in 2024. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/poll-did-the-clark-county-council-make-the-right-decision-by-rejecting-the-audi...

Sockeye returns to Bonneville Dam are projected at less than half the pre-season forecast of 275,000 fish, prompting Oregon and Washington to close Upper Columbia fisheries and cut four retention days from the lower Columbia season. WDFW managers say the Hanford Reach fishery closes June 20, with the lower river window now running June 27 through July 5. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/sports/low...

Washington added 10,600 jobs in May — its strongest single month this year — but the unemployment rate stayed stuck at 5.2%, up from 4.5% a year ago. Chief labor economist Anneliese Vance-Sherman calls it "an increasingly challenging labor market for job seekers," and a separate report from state economist Dave Reich warns job growth has been weaker than expected since February. https://www.clarkc...

Elizabeth New (Hovde) of the Washington Policy Center argues that the Trump administration's hospital price-transparency enforcement is appropriate — but insufficient. Most patients aren't comparison-shopping when insurers pay the bill, and Washington's certificate-of-need laws continue shielding hospitals from competition. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-hospital-price-transparen...

Evergreen Public Schools and the Evergreen Education Association have agreed to a five-year collective bargaining agreement covering teachers and certificated staff across 38 Vancouver schools and roughly 22,000 students. The EEA ratified the deal Wednesday, and the Board of Directors will vote on approval July 14. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/evergreen-public-schools-and-teachers-union-a...

After a pedestrian was struck and killed on a narrow lane divider at Vancouver Mall Drive and Fourth Plain Blvd in 2021, city staff spent years researching state and local law — and found nothing that required people to move off traffic islands. The Vancouver City Council voted unanimously Monday to change that, amending VMC Section 7.04.020 to give law enforcement tools to intervene before anothe...