Clark County Today News

Battle Ground's annual Memorial Day ceremony takes place May 25 at 11 a.m. at the Veterans Memorial in Kiwanis Park, where 31 Battle Ground-area men are enshrined on the memorial walls. Mayor Eric Overholser, Cub Scout Pack 443, trumpeter Rubyee MacPherson, and bagpiper Logan Gillespie will mark the occasion. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/battle-ground-to-host-annual-memorial-day-ceremon...

After the Washington Supreme Court blocked a referendum on the new 9.9% tax on income over $1 million, Let's Go Washington launched Initiative to the People 26-645 — a measure that would repeal the tax and ban future income taxes statewide. Columnist Nancy Churchill argues the effort goes beyond one tax rate, pointing to Sen. Jamie Pedersen's communications with the Attorney General's Office and D...

Wes Hopkinson, a junior at Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver, is one of just 64 students nationwide invited to the Deaf Youth Leadership Camp in Stayton, Ore. He's raising $4,500 through GoFundMe to attend the camp, which has built deaf leaders since 1969. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/gofundme-spotlight-vancouver-student-raising-funds-for-prestigious-camp-for-the-deaf/ #DeafYo...

Thurston County Superior Court Judge John Skinder rejected a lawsuit targeting House Bill 1296, Washington's rewritten parental rights law. Plaintiffs — including school board members and parents — argued the law limits transparency and interferes with parent-child relationships. The ruling is expected to be appealed, and voters will weigh in on a ballot initiative this November. https://www.clark...

Future 42 Clark County has released its 2026 Legislative Scorecard, grading local state legislators from the 17th, 18th, 20th, and 49th districts on 12–15 key votes covering taxes, public safety, housing affordability, and regulations. Sen. John Braun led with a perfect 12-for-12 alignment, while Rep. Monica Stonier and Rep. Sharon Wylie each aligned on just 3 of 14 tracked votes. https://www.clar...

Vancouver resident Anthony Teso fires back at Nancy Churchill's Climate Commitment Act repeal argument, exposing that her lead source Willie Soon received over $1.2 million from fossil fuel interests including ExxonMobil and the American Petroleum Institute. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-climate-commitment-act-critique-rests-on-fossil-funded-denial/ #ClimateCommitmentAct #WillieS...

Jonathan Hines argues that IP26-645 isn't a partisan fight — it's a defense of a voter mandate that Washington has reaffirmed ten times since 1934. With over 400,000 signatures needed by July 2, he warns that letting the millionaire tax stand creates the legal architecture for a broader income tax on every working family. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-why-petition-ip26-645-is-a-s...

Sharon Nasset of Economic Transportation Alliance/Third Bridge Now argues that tolling the I-5 mainline would divert billions from transportation funding — with over 40% of collected revenue going to private collection companies, not roads. She proposes utility tax diversions and smart meter infrastructure as toll-free alternatives. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-an-important-rea...

Gary Perman calls out Camas Mayor Steve Hogan's Form of Government Citizen Committee, stacked with former officials who championed a $78 million bond voters rejected by nearly 90%. Perman argues the push to install an unelected city manager strips residents of direct accountability. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-camas-voters-keep-your-strong-mayor/ #Camas #ClarkCounty #LocalGover...

Forty-six years after the May 18, 1980 eruption killed 57 people and flattened 150 square miles of forest, Mount St. Helens remains one of Washington's most remarkable destinations — from Coldwater Lake to Johnston Ridge Observatory. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/mount-st-helens-46-years-later-scenic-stops-history-and-recovery-across-the-blast-zone/ #MountStHelens #PacificNorthwest #Wash...

Venice.ai founder Jesse Proudman says Washington's new income tax is the final blow — and he's not alone. An April 2026 AWB survey found 24% of employers are considering leaving the state. Former Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire called it a spending problem, not an income problem, drawing applause at a Vancouver business summit. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/business/video-entrepreneur-exodus...

FEMA is reimbursing Washington state $538 million in COVID-era costs — money that sat delayed for years while hospitals absorbed billions in losses. Sen. Patty Murray accused former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem of holding up the payments without cause, while FEMA says the release aligns with a Trump executive order targeting fraud. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/wa-gets-538m-in-d...

Former Gov. Christine Gregoire told the Association of Washington Business that Washington's budget grew from $33 billion to nearly $80 billion — and called it a spending problem, not an income problem. Chris Cargill of Mountain States Policy Center unpacks what her candid remarks reveal about Olympia's relationship with employers and economic growth. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opini...

Brush Prairie resident Bob Mattila says light rail on the I-5 Bridge doubles construction costs unnecessarily — and proposes moving it to the existing southbound span or the railroad bridge a mile downriver. His alternative phased design, he argues, could be built faster and far cheaper than the current plan. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-present-bridge-plan-has-been-in-the-expen...

Camas resident Tony Teso responds to Jonathan Hines's letter, arguing that blaming Iran, Obama, and Biden for Washington's gas prices is political misdirection — and that oil-company profiteering, regressive taxes, and militarized foreign policy are the real drivers crushing working families. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-stop-turning-gas-prices-into-war-propaganda/ #GasPrices #W...

Sarah Mittelman, a medical provider and downtown Vancouver resident, argues that Clark County's homelessness response too often measures activity instead of outcomes — and that real compassion must include treatment, accountability, and a path toward stability. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-compassion-requires-accountability/ #Homelessness #Vancouver #ClarkCounty #PublicPolicy #O...

A commercial truck caught fire at 1200 W. 8th St. in Vancouver Thursday night, with flames visible from the engine and cab. An automatic sprinkler system held the fire in check until Vancouver Fire crews cut through a locked gate and extinguished the blaze. No injuries were reported and the Fire Marshal's Office is investigating the cause. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/commercial-vehicle-f...

A 7-2 C-TRAN board vote to extend light rail to Library Square, the loss of a WPA-era shelter at Lewisville Regional Park, two Vancouver bowlers helping Alabama A&M reach the NCAA championships, and 40-plus students at a skilled trades job fair defined Clark County's week. https://mailchi.mp/clarkcountytoday/this-weeks-top-news_may_15_2026 #ClarkCounty #CTRAN #LightRail #LewisvilleRegionalPark #Cl...

C-TRAN's board voted to request a light rail extension to Library Square but rejected an amendment that would have protected taxpayers from additional construction and operating costs. Critics are asking who picks up the tab if costs climb. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/poll-should-c-tran-taxpayers-be-protected-from-paying-additional-costs-tied-to-extending-light-rail-to-library-square/...

Starting May 14, WSDOT contractor Kerr Contractors Oregon LLC will close up to three southbound I-5 lanes between NE 179th Street and the I-5/I-205 split for crack, seat and overlay paving work. Single-lane overnight traffic runs through the weekend, with all lanes reopening May 18. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/weekday-weeknight-and-weekend-lane-closures-continue-on-southbound-i-5-in-vanc...

Dominique J. Lane, 34, was booked into the Clark County Jail for Assault II-DV after barricading himself inside a West Columbia Way apartment following an assault. SWAT officers negotiated for several hours before Lane surrendered. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/vancouver-police-arrest-assault-suspect-2/ #VancouverPolice #ClarkCounty #PublicSafety #DomesticViolence #SWAT

WSDOT has released holiday travel charts for Memorial Day weekend, flagging peak congestion windows on I-5, I-90, US 2, and the I-5/Canada border crossing. Most highway construction is suspended May 22–25, but lane shifts and work zone staging may remain. Chinook and Cayuse passes reopen May 22, and the I-90 Vantage Bridge will have all lanes open for the holiday. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/...

Peter Bracchi obtained over 5,000 Vancouver police photos through public records showing cleanup notices, tents, tarps, and garbage around the Men's Share House — and the same conditions returning again and again. Bracchi argues the city's own documentation proves a pattern of unequal enforcement at public expense. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-when-the-city-of-vancouvers-own-pho...

A 24x8-foot mural by local artist Travis London now graces the carriage house of Two Rivers Heritage Museum, featuring nearly a dozen historic images of early Camas and Washougal. The free dedication ceremony is May 30 at 10 a.m. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/new-historic-mural-to-be-dedicated-at-two-rivers-heritage-museum/ #TwoRiversHeritageMuseum #Washougal #Camas #ClarkCounty #PublicArt...

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has added up to six additional spring Chinook retention days on the mainstem Columbia River from Rocky Point/Tongue Point upstream to the Washington/Oregon border. Dates, zones, and vessel restrictions vary by location from May 15 through May 25. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/sports/columbia-river-to-open-for-additional-spring-chinook-retention-days/ #...