Clark County Today News

Brian Kendall pushes back on Nancy Churchill's column arguing Washington's new tax on income over $1 million is a stepping stone to broader taxation. Kendall says slippery slope logic replaces evidence with fear — and that civic debate deserves better. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-facts-not-slippery-slopes/ #WashingtonState #IncomeTax #TaxPolicy #Opinion #CivicDebate #ClarkCount...

Let's Go Washington collected 92,000 signatures in the first week of its campaign to repeal Washington's new 9.9% income tax on earnings above $1 million — nearly 30,000 more than any prior initiative at this stage. The group needs 308,911 verified signatures by July 2 to qualify IP26-645 for the November ballot. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/business/lets-go-washington-breaks-week-one-signatur...

The death toll from Tuesday's chemical tank rupture at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant in Longview has risen to two, with nine workers still unrecovered. A 900,000-gallon white liquor tank failed Tuesday morning, injuring seven mill employees and one firefighter. The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board has opened a formal investigation. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/con...

Washington's ACA exchange lost nearly 13% of qualified health plan enrollees after enhanced premium subsidies expired — but Elizabeth New (Hovde) of the Washington Policy Center argues the headline obscures the real story. Of 28,000 who dropped exchange coverage, 6,000 moved to Apple Health. Subsidies shifted costs to taxpayers without lowering the actual price of care. https://www.clarkcountytoda...

Clark County has launched a parks partnership program allowing businesses and organizations to offer fitness classes, guided activities, food options, and more inside county parks. The program is open to mobile vendors, established companies, and community groups. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/new-parks-partnership-program-aims-to-bring-more-services-and-activities-to-clark-county-parks/ #...

Willie Williams III was appointed to the Evergreen Public Schools Board of Directors in a 4-0 vote, filling a District 4 seat vacant since Jacqueline Weatherspoon resigned March 2. Williams, director of the Grice-Adair Center for Educational Excellence in Portland Public Schools, will serve through the end of 2027. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/eps-board-of-directors-appoints-willie-will...

Constitutional scholar Rob Natelson opens a series on the Declaration of Independence's 250th anniversary by tracing how British tax laws — from the Stamp Act of 1764 to the Coercive Acts of 1774 — dismantled a working colonial federation and made revolution nearly inevitable. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-runup-to-the-declaration-of-independence/ #DeclarationOfIndependence...

Longview Superintendent Karen Cloninger now faces criminal charges — including witness tampering and obstruction — after school officials allegedly concealed reports of student rapes for months. Lars Larson argues mandatory reporting laws are routinely ignored across the Northwest, and parents everywhere should demand accountability now. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-rape-coveru...

All Seal owner Patty Clark painted Yacolt's centerlines red, white and blue at no cost to celebrate America's 250th birthday — but one anonymous complaint now threatens the display's future. Mayor Ian Shealy says the town may be forced to remove the striping before summer ends. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/one-complaint-threatens-yacolts-patriotic-road-display/ #Yacolt #ClarkCounty #Ameri...

A white liquor tank holding 900,000 gallons ruptured at Nippon Dynawave Packaging in Longview Tuesday morning, killing at least one person and leaving nine employees unaccounted for. Gov. Bob Ferguson mobilized the National Guard Civil Support Team and Homeland Response Force as hazmat crews worked in dangerous conditions. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/chemical-tank-rupture-in-longview-lea...

Rep. John Ley, R-Vancouver, compares the Interstate Bridge Replacement project to California's high-speed rail disaster, warning costs have ballooned from $3.2 billion to potentially $18 billion with only $5.5 billion secured. He argues tolls could legally reach $18 per trip and that 40,000 to 50,000 vehicles could divert to Highway 205. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/video-rep-john-ley-war...

Columbia River boys soccer is back in the final four — as the 3-seed, just like the year they won the state championship. Seton Catholic baseball, the 5-seed, knocked off Klahoya 5-1 and Rochester 9-2 to reach the Class 1A semifinals. Washougal won the 2A girls golf team title. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/sports/high-school-sports-columbia-river-boys-soccer-looking-for-a-repeat-state-champion...

Jonathan Hines argues Washington's public-sector union system creates a self-reinforcing financial loop — public wages become dues, dues fund PACs, and PACs elect the politicians who set the next round of contracts. He calls for opt-in-only political fundraising, pay-to-play restrictions, and an end to government-run dues collection for partisan campaigns. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/...

Ryan Frost of the Washington Policy Center dismantles three progressive studies claiming Washington's budget has shrunk, showing the Near General Fund grew from $31.2 billion to $80.2 billion — 55% above the population-plus-inflation benchmark — while real per-capita state and local revenue climbed 42% since 2005. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-no-washingtons-budget-is-not-shrink...

Camas resident Tony Teso argues that mass homelessness is primarily a housing market problem — driven by the gap between median rents and stagnant wages — and lays out evidence-based strategies from Housing First to zoning reform and Medicaid integration. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-effective-solutions-to-mass-homelessness/ #Homelessness #AffordableHousing #HousingFirst #ClarkC...

When Obamacare passed in 2013, its new taxes targeted the wealthy — but by 2022, 7 million filers were paying the Medicare payroll tax, up from 2.8 million. Dr. Roger Stark of Mountain States Policy Center argues the ACA has failed its core promises and is ensnaring the middle class. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-more-americans-are-forced-to-pay-obamacare-taxes/ #Obamacare #Heal...

Joe Cortright of City Observatory argues the IBR's own investment grade analysis — produced by Stantec at a cost of $2.3 million — shows I-5 bridge traffic dropping from 127,000 vehicles daily to about 77,000 under $4.60 tolls, with tens of thousands diverting to I-205. IBR officials call the numbers "too conservative," but Washington's own toll projects — SR 520 and Tacoma Narrows — both fell far...

Clark County Fire District 3 is hosting a free public presentation on wildfire risk and preparedness June 15 at 6 p.m. at the Battle Ground Event Center. Fire Chief Chris Drone says every household in east Clark County's Wildland Urban Interface should have a plan before smoke is in the air. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/clark-county-fire-district-3-invites-community-to-wildfire-event/ #Wi...

A Vancouver Police officer shot a male suspect Tuesday morning after he approached a woman in her yard with a knife and refused commands to drop it. The incident began as a residential burglary call in the 10900 block of NE 48th Street. The Washington State Office of Independent Investigations has taken over the case. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-police-involved-in-shooting-2/ #...

The Community Military Appreciation Committee held a nearly two-hour Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, featuring a military flyover, artillery fire, rifle salute, and a dove release. U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez, Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, and Police Chief Troy Price were among the speakers. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/vancouver-honors-the-fa...

Battle Ground Mayor Eric Overholser approved advancing proclamations supporting ICE and recognizing a federal "Antifa" domestic terrorist designation — even after city staff warned one draft violated the city's own governance standards for ceremonial proclamations. The proposals follow earlier controversy over Overholser's handling of LGBTQ-related proclamations. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/n...

Waterfront Way in Vancouver will be closed to vehicles every weekend from Memorial Day through Labor Day — Fridays at 4 p.m. through Mondays at 5 a.m. The pilot program showed the closures reduced street racing and created a calmer riverfront. More than 8,000 nearby parking spaces remain available. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/pedestrian-friendly-waterfront-way-weekends-are-here-for-the-s...

Bellevue City Council member Jared Nieuwenhuis argues four bills passed last session — covering sheriff accountability, license plate readers, pension funds, and face coverings — are deepening Washington's last-place police staffing ranking, where only 44 percent of violent crimes were solved in 2025. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-washington-state-keeps-making-it-harder-for-law-...

House Bill 2034 would pull billions from Washington's LEOFF 1 pension fund — built to protect retired firefighters and police — and redirect those assets to unrelated state spending. Ryan Frost of the Washington Policy Center argues the legal theory behind the move threatens every public pension fund in the country. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-nations-first-pension-raid-is...

Douglas Tweet of Camas argues IBR's own FSEIS data shows the recommended one-auxiliary-lane design fails to reduce congestion, while a two-auxiliary-lane design reduces northbound congestion by 31% and cuts travel time by 60%. He says the $15.2 billion project devotes half the bridge to modes used by just 2.3% of travelers. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-i-5-bridge-eliminate-light...