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 ...
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 ...
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 Outdated traffic data.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. ...
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looking at the Columbia River Crossing Light Rail project show grave reservations about the scope of the project and outdated data used to plan it.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 ...
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, ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
It has taken two years of construction, more than 160,000 man hours and 3.8 miles of shelf space, but the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District is ready for its next chapter as it debuts Vancouver’s newest library July 17. The new facility replaces the old main community library that has stood at the corner of Mill Plain and Fort Vancouver Way for nearly fifty years.
