Top Features

  • Community
  • Feb 6, 2012
Lew_Waters_470

Lew Waters named one of three best political bloggers in Washington

  • Lew Waters, whose blog "Clark County Conservative" tackles local political issues in the county and beyond, has been honored by Stateside Associates. Waters was named one of the three best local political bloggers in Washington, along with Politics Northwest in Seattle and Political Buzz in Tacoma...
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  • Business
  • Nov 17, 2011
Kiggins

Kiggins Theatre on path to national recognition

  • Bill Leigh, owner of the Kiggins Theatre building, was approached by several people encouraging him to put the Kiggins, located at 1011 Main St., on the National Register of Historic Places, but he felt the designation presented “too many restrictions and not enough benefits.” During discussions with the City of ...
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  • Growing Local
  • Sep 2, 2011
Cedar Creek Grist Mill

Cedar Creek Grist Mill flows back through history

  • Resting an experienced hand on the smooth metal wheel, Tom Henrick explains the simple but ingenious mechanics that power the grist mill. “The throttle wheel is right here. Just by taking this wheel and turning it a little bit I allow water to enter the turbine and run through, producing ...
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Recent Posts

  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 22, 2012
Orcutt_470x270

Orcutt: CRC financials shouldn’t be this hard to obtain

  • Transportation officials should be able to provide much clearer answers about expenditures on the $10 billion* Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project than they do now, according to one frustrated Washington legislator. Speaking during an earlier meeting of the Washington State House Committee on Transportation in Olympia, Rep. Ed Orcutt ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 21, 2012
John_Charles_featured

John Charles: Transit oriented development coming soon to Clark County?

  • For some time now Cascade Policy Institute president John Charles has monitored transit oriented development, something he claims has “became sort of a religious icon for Portland.” Transit oriented development (TOD) is a mixed-use residential or commercial area designed to maximize access to public transport. Portland was an innovator in ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 20, 2012
crc_plan_slider

Oregon treasurer’s CRC review shows overestimated revenue, outdated traffic counts

  • Overestimated toll revenue projections. Outdated traffic data. Pie in the sky funding assumptions. Those elements – along with the unpalatable news that Washington State will be completely responsible for toll collection and bridge maintenance – are contained in a financial plan review of the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project. ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 17, 2012
toll_booth2_featured

Independent analysts say CRC revenue-from-toll forecasts ‘too high’

  • Reports from two independent analysts looking at the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project show grave reservations about the scope of the project and outdated data used to plan it. In its July, 2011 report to the governors of Washington and Oregon, London-based RBConsult Ltd. writes that “In the absence ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 16, 2012
Oregon Supreme Court ruling affirms land-use decision on the CRC.

Oregon Supreme Court offers favorable ruling on CRC

  • Today the Oregon Supreme Court ruled on the Land Use Board of Appeals for the Columbia River Crossing project. It concluded that petitioners failed “to show that Metro either exceeded its statutory authority or made a decision …that was not supported by substantial evidence.” The suit was initiated after Metro, ...
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  • Issues
  • Feb 16, 2012
ultrasound_featured

Bill passes requiring health insurance to cover abortion

  • A House bill sponsored by Democrats Sharon Wylie and Jim Moeller, both from the 49th Legislative District, seeks to force health plans that offer maternity care to also pay for abortions. Using vague terms such as “voluntary termination of a pregnancy” HB-2330 was approved. The legislation exempts multi-state health plans ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 16, 2012
Gov. John Kitzhaber called for independent financial review of the CRC’s financial options.

Based on concerns, governors promise CRC financial report

  • Last April the governors of Washington and Oregon announced plans to break ground on the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project in 2013, and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber promised an independent financial review of the CRC’s financial options. “I appreciate very much the concerns about financing expressed by my longtime ...
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  • Issues
  • Feb 15, 2012
bpa towers six-story building

Decision on BPA power line placement expected by summer

  • The controversy on where to place 11 huge electrical towers – larger than any currently seen in the city – has ignited potential stakeholders who examine every nuance of the Bonneville Power Administration’s work. So it was odd that none of them attended Monday afternoon’s workshop where BPA representatives updated ...
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  • Elections
  • Feb 14, 2012
school_update

Voters in Clark County say yes to schools

  • The Feb. 14, 2012 special election had some clear winners and no losers. With percentages ranging from 56 percent to 70 percent, levies around the county and one bond gave education funding a strong show of confidence. Here are the results as of 12:40 p.m. Wednesday. Evergreen School District Voters ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 14, 2012
toll_booth_resized

CRC tolls get green light, spending cap put on project

  • The Washington State Senate on Tuesday voted to approve tolls on the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project, but also capped the project’s cost at $3.14 billion. Sen. Craig Pridemore (D-Vancouver) said tolls aren’t ideal but are a better option than sales or property taxes, according to media reports. According ...
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  • Issues
  • Feb 14, 2012
paramedic ambulance

Vancouver Council mulls contract for ambulance response times

  • The Vancouver Fire Department returned to Monday’s City Council workshop to continue discussion of the proposed “Stop the Clock” ambulance agreement, which would add a few minutes to emergency response time and cut back on hours that ambulances are staffed. Vancouver Fire Chief Joe Molina and Clark Regional Emergency Services ...
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  • Issues
  • Feb 13, 2012
He puts the wedding ring on her

Washington governor OKs same-sex marriage, referendum expected

  • Gov. Chris Gregoire on Monday signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, a move that sparked promises of a referendum from opponents. Last week the bill was passed by a vote of 55 to 43 in the Washington State House of Representatives, according to a story in The Olympia ...
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  • Elections
  • Feb 13, 2012
vote ballot

Voters decide Tuesday on more than $1B in tax boosts for schools

  • Clark County voters will be asked to cast their ballots Tuesday on upwards of $1 billion in property tax levies earmarked for five school districts – one of which had more than $800,000 embezzled over a 10-year period. Measures on the table range from $47 million in Ridgefield to $400,000 ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 10, 2012
I-5Bridge_Resized470

Interstate Bridges good for 60 more years, says ODOT website

  • Flying in the face of a $10 billion* price tag that planners have put on the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project is an Oregon Department of Transportation report that the two Interstate Bridges are good for another 60 years – and when their time ends a replacement bridge could ...
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  • Community
  • Feb 9, 2012
SASPR1

‘Sense and Sensibility’ kicks off 10th anniversary for Magenta Theater

  • Jane Austen’s romantic classic “Sense and Sensibility” kicks off the 10th season for Magenta Theater just in time for Valentine’s Day. “The 2010 production of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ clearly demonstrated the Vancouver/Portland audiences’ love for all things Austen, so it was a natural move to start the very important 10th ...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 8, 2012
Artist's rendering of a light-rail station.

RTC board amends transportation plan, OKs $28M more for CRC

  • The SW Washington Regional Transportation Council board of directors amended a transportation plan Tuesday in order to allow the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project another $28 million in federal and state funds. The amount includes $24.25 million in federal National Highway System funds and $3.83 million from the Washington State Department of Transportation...
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  • CRC Light Rail Project
  • Feb 7, 2012
A 2007 rendering shows the curved CRC bridge and proposed interchange at SR 14.

C-Tran to provide extra security for Vancouver light-rail trains, stations

  • Beefed-up fire and police presences, along with fare enforcement, would be provided by C-Tran for light rail trains and stations when the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project is built, according to a report presented to the Vancouver City Council...
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  • Community
  • Feb 6, 2012
Drawing superbowl contest

Chuck Green wins movie tickets in COUV.COM caption contest

  • Some of those who participated work in our building. Some are friends, and all are people we admire – they visit our website, after all! In the spirit of inclusiveness, we decided to enter everyone’s name in a hat and have someone from outside COUV.COM draw a winner. (The only ...
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