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State’s
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate improves,
unadjusted rate worsens
Washington’s
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.8
percent in November, compared to 7 percent in
October, according to the state Employment Security
Department. But the non-adjusted rate rose by .2
percent to 6.8 percent for the same period.
Clark
County’s non-adjusted unemployment rate dropped 1.1
percent to 7.6 percent for November. The national
non-adjusted unemployment rate remained the same, at
5.6 percent, for October and November.
Two thousand
more people were employed in Clark County in
November over the previous month. The total county
employment level is at 169,100. There are 183,000
workers in the county.
“Vancouver
is open for business,” His Honor will say at the
2004 State of the City address
Vancouver
Mayor Royce Pollard’s
2004 State of the City address is on the theme
“Vancouver is Open for Business.”
Appropriately
the annual address, which is at 10 a.m. Thursday,
Jan. 8, will be in the Columbia Tech Center Plaza,
the now vacant former headquarters of Consolidated
Freightways, 16400 SE Tech Center Drive.
There is no
charge. Light refreshments will be served. Call
696-8200 for
required reservations.
Rail
bypass project includes
overpass at 39th Street
An overpass
at W 39th Street is included in the final plans for
new rail bypass tracks through the Vancouver rail
yard, according to the state Department of
Transportation’s
Rail Connection newsletter.
Although the
Federal Highway Administration has completed
environmental documentation for the WSDOT project,
construction is not to begin until 2007.
The
additional rail trackage begins southwest of the
Vancouver train depot and continues north to the Wye
Junction near 78th Street and Lakeshore Avenue.
The Vancouver
segment of improvements, part of WSDOT’s 20-year
improvement plan, will help increase passenger speed
limits along Amtrack’s Cascade corridor.
According to
state transportation officials, seven of ten
Washingtonians live within 15 miles of the
Interstate 5-Amtrack Cascades corridor.
Battle
Ground School District board will hear music, school
bond election recommendation
The Battle
Ground School District board meeting is in two parts
tonight, separated by an hour-long holiday concert.
The board
convenes at 6 p.m. in Laurin Middle School, 13601 NE
97th Avenue, for the first hour of business and will
adjourn for the district’s holiday concert in the
Glenwood Heights Primary School.
When the
board reconvenes at 8 p.m. in the Laurin Middle
School, it will hear a recommendation for a school
bond issue election early next year.
Camp
Bonneville acquisition possible
in 5 to 10 years, or maybe never
Acquisition
of most of the 3,840-acre Camp Bonneville military
reservation by Clark County for public use,
including a major regional park, is not expected
until 2009 to 2014, if ever, according to the
county’s Camp
Bonneville News & Information newsletter.
County
officials had hoped for transfer of the reservation
from the Army to the county’s Local Reuse Authority
last September, through an early transfer.
The sticking
point is the anticipated enormous cost of cleaning
up unexploded ordnance and mitigating other
environmental issues.
According to
the newsletter, the Army tried to turn the camp over
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which uses a
small part of the complex for training, but the FBI
decided against taking responsibility for what is an
enormous environmental liability.
While there
had been tacit agreement between the Army and the
local community for the transfer, the Army says it
cannot commit to turning the facility over to
anyone.
News
briefs
Women in
Action’s annual raffle is at their noon luncheon
Wednesday, Dec. 17, in the Red Lion Hotel at the
Quay. Reservations are required. Call
418-6888 for
further information.
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Clark County Commissioners meet in an informal
session at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 17. |
