Clark County Today News

Washington Policy Center's Elizabeth New (Hovde) argues Seattle's 50,000 students shouldn't be bargaining chips in a labor dispute. She examines teacher compensation, the legal status of public employee strikes in Washington, and Senate Bill 6134's unanimous passage requiring UI overpayment warnings for striking workers. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-a-school-bell-should-not-be-a-ba...

Seattle engineer Bob Ortblad argues the IBR's tolled bridge design can still be replaced by an immersed tunnel that would serve 45,000 daily local vehicles toll-free, save over $500 million, and better protect Hayden Island, Fort Vancouver, and the Vancouver Waterfront Public Market. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-not-too-late-for-better-i-5-crossing/ #IBR #I5Bridge #Vancouver #ClarkC...

Vancouver resident Bob Zak questions who authorized the costly Vine Bus station expansion along HWY99, NE 78th St., and Mill Plain, citing low ridership on existing C-TRAN routes and ongoing road disruptions tied to ADA compliance work. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-where-did-the-idea-of-expansion-to-the-vine-buses-come-from/ #CTran #TheVine #PublicTransit #Vancouver #ClarkCounty #Tr...

Vancouver Fire Department and Clark County Fire District 6 deployed 56 firefighters to a two-alarm blaze at Furniture World SW's warehouse on NE St. John's Road Friday evening. Crews battled fires in four simultaneous areas, including a dumpster, grass, a railroad car, and the building itself, bringing all under control in roughly 40 minutes. No injuries were reported. https://clarkcountytoday.com...

Elizabeth New (Hovde) of the Washington Policy Center examines a federal warning to Washington's Employment Security Department: enforce work-search rules for striking workers or risk losing federal funding and employer tax credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. More than half a million dollars have already gone to striking workers since January. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opini...

A six-week utility project on 92nd Avenue in Battle Ground has stretched nearly a year after city inspectors found problems along the entire length of the newly installed sewer line, forcing the contractor to remove and replace the pipe. Battle Ground City Engineer Ryan Jeynes explains what went wrong and what comes next before the road can be paved and reopened. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/...

Christine Myers brings more than five years of community engagement, event management, and wellness programming experience to the Downtown Camas Association, where she begins as Event and Project Manager on Sept. 1. The hire also comes as the DCA navigates a leadership transition, with Leah Nichelson stepping into the executive director role following Carrie Schulstad's retirement in November. htt...

Clark County Community Services has scheduled four public forums in October 2026 to gather public feedback on its low-income community needs survey. The results will shape which programs receive Community Service Block Grant funding countywide. Forums are set for Battle Ground, Vancouver, Camas, and online via Zoom. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/county-schedules-public-forums-on-community-need...

Clark County is hosting a public information session Sept. 14 on proposals to add a manufactured home park overlay zone in unincorporated urban growth areas. The county's moratorium on MHP redevelopment runs through February 2027, aimed at preserving affordable housing and reducing resident displacement. URLHERE #ClarkCounty #AffordableHousing #ManufacturedHomes #HousingPolicy #Vancouver #Washingt...

Bill Gaines of the Alliance of Western Energy Consumers says Washington's Climate Commitment Act and Clean Energy Transformation Act are the primary drivers behind Puget Sound Energy's proposed 20 percent natural gas and 30 percent electricity rate increases. He argues the CCA cost-cap rules are broken, timelines are unrealistic, and $4.5 billion collected over 3.5 years has largely missed its car...

Before World War II, Japanese farming families were central to Ridgefield's agricultural community, running strawberry operations that hired around 1,000 workers. A new collaborative exhibit at the Greely Building tells their stories through maps, census records, photographs, and family histories, including the Kawamoto family's 1925 legal victory in Toledo, Oregon. The exhibit runs through Sept....

Vancouver's council voted 6-1 to raise the sales tax for criminal justice, a wildfire forced Level 3 evacuations in North Clark County, and Governor Ferguson is pushing a statewide all-day school cellphone ban. Clark County Today's weekly newsletter covers it all. https://mailchi.mp/clarkcountytoday/this-weeks-top-news_august_28_2026 #ClarkCounty #Vancouver #Wildfire #CellphoneBan #ClarkCountyToda...

Gov. Bob Ferguson is pushing a statewide cellphone ban in Washington public schools covering the full school day, even as similar bills have repeatedly stalled in Olympia and many districts have already set their own rules. Clark County Today wants to know where readers stand. https://clarkcountytoday.com/youth/poll-how-restrictive-should-cellphone-policies-be-in-washington-public-schools/ #Washin...

Doug Dahl traces how a 1920s guess about driver behavior became a standard for setting speed limits, and why traffic engineers are now walking it back. A quarter of Washington's traffic fatalities in 2025 were pedestrians and cyclists, and the 85th percentile never accounted for them. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-problem-with-setting-speed-limits-by-how-fast-people-drive/ #Traf...

Evergreen Habitat for Humanity marks 35 years in Clark County with a free community block party on August 30 in Vancouver. The organization has served over 240 homeowners and is currently developing 32 cottage homes in East Vancouver's North Image neighborhood. https://clarkcountytoday.com/people/evergreen-habitat-for-humanity-celebrates-35-years-serving-clark-county/ #HabitatForHumanity #ClarkCou...

Gov. Bob Ferguson is traveling Washington to build support for a bill banning cellphones in public schools from first bell to last. He plans to release details Sept. 15 and pre-file on Dec. 7. Rep. Stephanie McClintock of Battle Ground has sponsored similar legislation for three consecutive sessions without success. https://clarkcountytoday.com/youth/wa-governor-lays-groundwork-for-cellphone-ban-i...

Washington State posted the second-largest net outflow of house hunters among the nation's 100 largest metros in Q1 2026, per Redfin. IRS data shows a net loss of nearly 19,000 taxpayers and $1.66 billion in adjusted gross income between 2021 and 2022. Mark Harmsworth of the Washington Policy Center examines what the moving data actually says about housing costs, taxes, and who is leaving. https:/...

Ridgefield Mayor Matt Cole says the city has grown to more than 17,000 residents, up about 10,000 over the past decade, with another 10,000 projected over the next decade. The Envision 2045 plan addresses housing, transportation, parks, and economic development while aiming to preserve the qualities residents value. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/ridgefields-envision-2045-plan-looks-to-balance-...

Goodwill Industries of the Columbia Willamette opens its new Ridgefield location and Job Connection facility on Sept. 3, featuring more than 40 employees, 11,000-plus square feet of retail space, and free career training services for the community. https://clarkcountytoday.com/people/new-goodwill-superstore-and-community-training-center-to-bring-job-and-learning-opportunities-to-ridgefield/ #Ridge...

The Clark County Board of Health voted unanimously to appoint Dr. Brianna da Silva Bhatia as interim Health Officer, replacing Dr. Alan Melnick, who retired after more than 20 years leading Clark County Public Health through the COVID pandemic and measles outbreaks. Dr. da Silva Bhatia joined the department as deputy health officer in February 2025. https://clarkcountytoday.com/people/board-of-hea...

An 18-year-old man was shot inside a townhouse in the 4100 block of NE St. Johns Road and later pronounced dead at a hospital. Detectives have identified 19-year-old Cash D. Cavett as the suspect, believed to have fled in a dark-colored 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/ccso-investigating-deadly-shooting/ #ClarkCounty #CCSO #Homicide #PublicSafety #Vancouver #WashingtonSt...

Lars Larson argues that vote-by-mail does not increase voter participation and often takes weeks to produce a result. He points to Oregon's removal of 800,000 faulty voter registrations and thousands of foreign citizens found on the rolls, challenging Secretary of State Tobias Read's claim that Oregon's system is secure, accurate, and fair. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-nothing-to-s...

Legislative candidate Sarah Mittelman, running in the 49th District, argues that biological males should not compete in girls sports and that Initiative IL26 638, which requires female interscholastic athletic categories to be based on biological sex, protects the fairness Title IX was designed to guarantee. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-males-in-girls-sports-vote-yes-on-initiative-...

The emerald ash borer, a metallic green beetle that has wiped out more than 100 million ash trees across the United States, has been confirmed in Vancouver, Washington. State officials say municipalities can expect to lose 90 to 100 percent of ash trees within 10 to 12 years without management. A statewide firewood quarantine is now in effect. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/invasive-beetle-that...

Eight Vancouver Fire Department units responded to a house fire on NE 102nd Avenue before 5 a.m. on August 26. An attached garage ignited and fire extended into the home. One resident escaped after being awakened by his dog. Two people and one dog were displaced. The cause remains under investigation. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-fire-crews-quickly-extinguish-early-morning-house-fir...