Clark County Today News

Todd Myers of the Washington Policy Center argues that the U.S. Forest Service's consideration of rescinding the roadless rule is driven by wildfire risk, not timber revenue, pointing to the 136,000-acre Little Giant Fire burning through two roadless areas filled with heavy dead and down fuels. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-forest-is-burning-the-roadless-rule-is-making-it-worse/...

A Level 3 GO NOW evacuation order is in effect for those within 0.5 miles of 14302 NE 346th St. in North Clark County as the Hidden Meadows Fire burns west of Highway 503. SR 503 is closed with no detour and no estimated reopening. A temporary evacuation assembly area is open at Charter Oak Community Church in Battle Ground. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/emergency-level-3-go-now-order-issued-f...

Eight custom luxury homes on 16,000 square-foot lots in Salmon Creek open to the public Sept. 11, with a VIP night on Sept. 10. The Building Industry Association of Clark County presents the GRO Parade of Homes, founded in 1977, running through Sept. 27. General admission is $10, with a dollar from every adult ticket benefiting St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. https://clarkcountytoday.com/pe...

Camas resident Anna Miller draws on decades of work history and two Bible passages to argue that Socialism is rooted in envy, and that envy, left unchecked, opens the door to communism and the loss of individual freedom. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-beware-the-sirens-call/ #Opinion #Socialism #ClarkCounty #Camas #WashingtonState #LetterToTheEditor #Politics #IndividualFreedom

A 28-year-old Battle Ground man faces felony DUI, reckless driving, and license suspension charges after his non-street-legal e-motorcycle struck a Ford F-150 at SE Rasmussen Boulevard and SE 14th Street. Investigators cleared the truck driver of wrongdoing. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/e-motorcycle-collides-with-truck-in-battle-ground/ #BattleGround #ClarkCounty #PublicSafety #EMoto #Traffic...

Camas resident Anthony Teso pushes back on Initiative 645, arguing it does not simply repeal a 9.9 percent tax on income above a million dollars but bans income taxes entirely, while leaving sales tax obligations in place. He notes Washington's poorest fifth pay 13.8 percent of income in state and local taxes, while the wealthiest one percent pay 4.1 percent. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/l...

MAJ Development Corporation has submitted plans to Ridgefield for a mixed-use project near Pioneer Street and Discovery Drive, proposing an 84,000-square-foot retail building, a 136-unit multifamily development, a convenience store with 12 fueling stations, a coffee kiosk, a drive-thru bank, and a car wash on roughly 16.94 acres. No tenant has been identified. https://clarkcountytoday.com/business...

After 11 years at the Seattle Times, sports columnist Matt Calkins resigned when editors refused to publish his July 31 column on female high school athletes opposing competition against biological males. He told @TCSWashington editors were "afraid of the smoke." https://clarkcountytoday.com/sports/video-seattle-times-loses-columnist-over-spiked-womens-sports-article/ #SeattleTimes #MattCalkins #W...

Vancouver resident Peter Bracchi uses satire to challenge the city's Homeless Assistance and Resource Team, questioning whether a system built on outreach, grants, nonprofits, and Community Court diversions is producing results or protecting itself. He calls for a full public review of HART's outcomes. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-what-if-every-problem-got-its-own-hart/ #HART #Vanco...

Lars Larson, a resident of Washington's 3rd Congressional District, argues that Rep. Marie Gluzenkamp Perez's votes against the SAVE Act and against extending major tax cuts reveal where her priorities lie. His vote, he says, goes to John Braun. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-i-certainly-dont-think-marie-gluesenkamp-perez-represents-the-citizens-well/ #Opinion #LarsLarson #MariePérez...

Clark County auditor candidate Mitchell Kelly is under scrutiny for using the "deputy county auditor" title in campaign materials. Current Auditor Greg Kimsey confirms Kelly holds the designation, but notes roughly 40 county employees share it. Kelly says his forum wording could have been clearer. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/poll-do-you-believe-mitchell-kellys-use-of-the-deputy-county-aud...

Save Vancouver Streets will argue before the Washington State Court of Appeals on Sept. 11, more than a year after losing in Clark County Superior Court. The group collected over 6,500 signatures seeking a voter-approval requirement before the city removes traffic lanes on existing roads. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/save-vancouver-streets-will-make-its-argument-before-washington-state-court-...

Kallie Keeler, 16, is asking a federal judge to issue an injunction after she says she was sexually assaulted by a male-identifying transgender wrestler during a Dec. 6, 2025 match. Her attorneys want her removed from the school environment, her mother notified before future matches against male athletes, and a bar on requiring her to wrestle males under Title IX. Principal Jason Smith and athleti...

Washington Policy Center's Elizabeth New (Hovde) argues that Washington's Paid Family and Medical Leave program disproportionately benefits higher-income workers, with top earners using it at 19% of all claims compared to 8% for the lowest wage group. The payroll tax, now at 1.13%, is projected to hit its 1.2% cap by 2027. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-workers-need-their-wages-more-...

Chris Cargill of Mountain States Policy Center draws on Friedrich Hayek's 1945 essay to argue that the information required to run an economy is scattered among millions of people and changes constantly, making central planning structurally impossible regardless of the planners' intelligence or intentions. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-fatal-flaws-of-socialism-the-knowledge-problem/...

Battle Ground Public Schools is forming its Citizens Advisory Committee, with two open meetings scheduled at Battle Ground High School. The Sept. 10 session covers organizations that support BGPS, and the Oct. 8 meeting addresses a student safety and academic support levy on the November ballot. No RSVP required. https://clarkcountytoday.com/youth/battle-ground-public-schools-seeks-citizen-advisor...

Ridgefield Main Street and the Port of Ridgefield have installed large-scale photo panels on the Greely Building in Downtown Ridgefield, featuring imagery of the National Wildlife Refuge, Chinookan Plankhouse, dragon boats, and other community landmarks. Local company Ballyhoo is handling the installation. https://clarkcountytoday.com/business/ridgefield-main-street-unveils-new-greely-building-pho...

A 74-year-old man in a motorized wheelchair was struck and killed by a pickup truck at S. Andresen Road and MacArthur Boulevard in Vancouver on Wednesday evening. The 55-year-old driver stopped at the stop sign before proceeding and showed no signs of impairment. The Vancouver Police Traffic Unit is investigating. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-police-investigate-fatal-collision-2/ #V...

Dick Rylander breaks down Battle Ground School District's proposed $116,830,000 three-year EP&O levy headed to voters in November 2026. He compares it to three failed levies, examines per-pupil spending trends, state mandate costs the Superintendent estimates at $21.9M to $26.9M annually, and asks what happens if the levy fails again. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-it-may-be-time-for...

Ryan Frost, director of budget and tax policy for the Washington Policy Center, told a Vancouver audience that Washington's new 9.9% income tax applies to every resident, not just millionaires, and that the $1 million deduction could be erased by a simple legislative majority vote. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/washington-policy-center-tax-expert-warns-that-new-income-tax-will-affect-everyone/...

Clark County Republican Party Chairman Matt Bumala says party data shows 60 percent of voters who sat out the August primary in the 17th and 18th Legislative Districts were Republicans. Ken Vance examines what that means heading into the November general election and whether optimism about a Republican comeback is warranted. https://clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-were-republican-voters-just-...

James Young-Lewis, known as "YL," has waited more than a decade for his shot as a head coach, and now he's leading the Prairie Falcons in his first season as head coach. A Clark County native who graduated from Evergreen in 2009, he became Prairie's assistant head coach and offensive coordinator in 2024 before taking the top job in May. https://clarkcountytoday.com/people/high-school-football-new-...

Twenty wildfires have cost Washington $207 million in firefighting expenses in a single month, more than two-thirds of what the Department of Natural Resources spent battling fires in all of last fiscal year. Over 770,000 acres have burned in 2026 alone, the third-highest acreage on record, with the fire season still months from ending. https://clarkcountytoday.com/news/cost-to-battle-20-wildfires...

At WA Cares' June 30 launch, Gov. Bob Ferguson spotlighted an 87-year-old woman's existing caregiving arrangement, but WA Cares benefits didn't begin until the following day. Washington Policy Center's Elizabeth New (Hovde) examines the eligibility gates, a roughly 50% denial rate among early applicants, and the distinction between WA Cares and Washington's existing Medicaid long-term-care system....

Neil Cahoon, husband of former state Rep. Liz Pike, underwent five surgeries on Aug. 15 alone following a small aircraft crash near Daybreak Airport in La Center on Aug. 10. Pike is asking the public to hold off on visits while Cahoon manages intense pain and begins physical and occupational therapy. https://clarkcountytoday.com/people/former-state-rep-liz-pike-provides-update-on-husband-neil-caho...