Clark County Today News

Five Washington Supreme Court seats are on the 2026 ballot — and 675,000 voters skipped judicial races in 2024. Nancy Churchill opens her series examining what's at stake: income tax precedent, a $4 billion pension raid on retired first responders, voter-approved initiatives, and sheriff authority. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-high-stakes-hidden-election/ #WashingtonSupremeCour...

Bob Pishue of the Mountain States Policy Center argues rail costs on the I-5 Bridge replacement are being severely underestimated — and that Phase 1's $5.9 billion freeway-only option reveals officials may be quietly pivoting away from the full $14.4 billion plan. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-transportation-officials-may-be-pivoting-as-costs-explode-on-interstate-bridge-replace...

Vancouver resident Myronie McKee was filming a commercial playing a breast cancer patient when she received her own diagnosis the very next day. At PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center's National Cancer Survivors Day, she shared how surgery, radiation, and community transformed her outlook on survival. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/peacehealth-celebrates-national-cancer-survivors-day/ #C...

OFM Director K.D. Chapman-See warned state agency directors in a June 5 memo that Washington faces severe shortfalls in both its operating and transportation budgets for the 2027-29 biennium. Inflation has risen 39% over a decade, population grew 14.2% between 2015 and 2025, and agencies have been told not to count on the legally contested millionaire's tax. Budget requests are due to OFM by Sept....

Washington AG Nick Brown is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to accept a challenge to the state's redrawn legislative maps — then send the case back down for review under Louisiana v. Callais, a ruling Brown calls "a horrible decision" that undermines minority voting power. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/why-ag-nick-brown-wants-the-supreme-court-involved-in-was-redistricting-fight/ #Washington...

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence not by seniority, but because John Dickinson refused to support independence. Rob Natelson of the Mountain States Policy Center profiles each member of the Committee of Five — their origins, careers, and the roles they played in founding the nation. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/opinion-the-men-who-wrote-the-declaration-of-indepen...

Public records obtained by economist Joe Cortright reveal the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program allocates $320 million to TriMet's Ruby Junction maintenance facility in Gresham — 20 miles from the bridge — while the overall IBR price tag has ballooned from $3.2 billion to potentially $15 billion. Rep. John Ley of the 18th Legislative District breaks down the numbers and questions who is accoun...

Washington and Oregon transportation commissions reviewed four tolling proposals for the Interstate Bridge, with rates ranging from $1.55 to $4.70 depending on time of day and plan. Tolling is expected to begin in July 2028, years before the replacement bridge opens, possibly in 2035. Critics raised concerns about traffic diversion to I-205, low-income discounts, and whether the public has enough...

Gov. Bob Ferguson's budget director, K.D. Chapman-See, sent a three-page memo to state agency directors warning of significant shortfalls in both operating and transportation budgets next biennium. Agencies must submit budget requests by Sept. 14 and are directed to pause most new programs. The state's two-year operating budget now sits near $80 billion — nearly double the $43.7 billion budget sig...

Vancouver resident Peter Bracchi breaks down where the I-5 Bridge replacement project actually stands: the river bridge package is at roughly 30% design, $280.2 million has been spent since 2019 on planning and preconstruction, and the first funded phase of $5.68 billion is not the same as the full $14.4 billion corridor vision. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-that-is-why-the-proce...

Tom Schenk of Amboy argues that 40 years of Democrat governors — led by Jay Inslee's 123 judicial appointments — have stacked Washington's courts with partisan judges who rubber-stamp emergency clauses, tax hikes, and the Interstate Bridge Replacement. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-forty-years-of-democrat-governors-judicial-appointments/ #WashingtonState #JudicialAppointments #Cl...

Clark County is replacing the intersection at Northeast 182nd Avenue and Risto Road with a single-lane roundabout. Road closures begin June 22, with Northeast Risto Road closed between Northeast 176th and Northeast 182nd avenues. Northeast 182nd Avenue will also be resurfaced. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/work-begins-this-month-to-improve-intersection-at-northeast-182nd-street-and-risto-r...

Decades after the land was purchased in 1999, Clark County officially opened Curtin Creek Community Park with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. The park features the county's first lighted multi-sport rugby field, four lighted pickleball courts, inclusive play areas, and trails overlooking the Gaddis wetlands and Mount Hood. Development was funded through the Metropolitan Park District Levy, REET II fund...

175 booths and more than 300 small businesses run by teens and children took over Esther Short Park in Vancouver for the Greater Vancouver Chamber Lemonade Day Junior Market. From Origami flapping birds to crochet plushies and hypoallergenic jewelry, young entrepreneurs showed up — some as early as 7 a.m. — ready to sell. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/its-an-early-morning-for-those-who-p...

Clark County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a stabbing near NE 117th Avenue and NE 244th Street in Battle Ground at 1:28 p.m. Friday. A man died at the scene and a woman was transported to an area hospital with serious injuries. A suspect is in custody as the Major Crimes Unit processes the scene. NE 244th Street remains closed from SR 503 west to NE 239th Street. https://www.clarkcountyto...

Mayor Eric Overholser defended ICE and anti-Antifa proclamations as the Regional Transportation Council debated light rail costs and who pays. The Veterans Advisory Board asked for two new positions to serve 33,000 veterans, while Hockinson's Bridget Brennan heads to Annapolis as her family's third Naval Academy appointment. https://mailchi.mp/clarkcountytoday/this-weeks-top-news_june_5_2026 #Clar...

The U.S. Senate voted 48-50 against advancing the SAVE America Act, Trump's push to require birth certificates or passports for voter registration. Four Republicans — Collins, McConnell, Murkowski, and Tillis — joined Democrats in opposition, falling well short of the 60-vote threshold needed. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/us-senate-blocks-trumps-save-america-act/ #SAVEAmericaAct #VoterID...

Vancouver resident Jonathan Hines makes the case that universal mail-in voting has exposed serious logistical and security failures — from nearly 400 abandoned ballots found near a Renton dumpster to California acknowledging weeks-long primary count delays. He proposes a three-pillar hybrid model built around verified drop boxes, expanded in-person voting windows, and a request-based absentee syst...

Rep. John Ley is questioning whether the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program should demolish the existing spans at all. With bridge removal now estimated at nearly $400 million, Ley argues seismic upgrades and repurposing could offer a more affordable path — and free up billions for other Washington and Oregon transportation needs. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/poll-would-you-support-...

Battle Ground Mayor Eric Overholser signed two proclamations at a June 1 city council meeting — one designating Antifa a domestic terrorist organization, one affirming support for ICE — drawing national coverage to a southwest Washington city of 23,000. Overholser says the proclamations reflect his constituents' values and the city's commitment to the rule of law. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/...

At a Washington Policy Center forum in Vancouver, state lawmakers Monica Stonier and April Berg faced off with WPC policy directors Mark Harmsworth and Elizabeth New over Washington's income tax, minimum wage, retail theft, and AI's impact on the workforce. A survey cited at the event found one in four businesses are considering leaving the state. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/business/wpc-foru...

Camas resident Douglas Tweet presents ridership data showing TriMet's MAX light rail lines have fallen to less than a third of their forecast numbers — and argues the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program is using similar models to justify $3.5 billion in light rail spending. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-trimets-history-of-over-predicting-light-rail-ridership/ #TriMet #LightRail...

Bridget Brennan, salutatorian of Hockinson High School's Class of 2026, leaves this week for Annapolis to begin her first year at the U.S. Naval Academy — following in the footsteps of brothers Tommy and Joseph, both now Navy pilots. She's been working toward this since age 7. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/people/class-of-2026-spotlight-hockinsons-bridget-brenna-prepares-for-u-s-naval-academy/...

Tyler Long scores the Battle Ground City Council's June 1 meeting — where Mayor Overholser's ICE and Antifa proclamations drew masked protesters, two arrests, and a political own-goal from Councilor Troy McCoy, whose own 2024 rule change made tabling the proclamations impossible. https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/opinion/letter-the-clearest-losers-are-antifa/ #BattleGround #ClarkCounty #Opinion #Ba...

Clark County is revising its 20-year Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, with the County Council and Planning Commission holding a series of work sessions from June through July. Topics span land use, housing, transportation, capital facilities, and school and fire district impact fees. Sessions are open to the public in hybrid format at the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver, w...