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Clark Count fairgrounds exhibition hall cost comes in at $18.5
million--Oregonian, Bill Stewart
Unpredictable Washington now gets say--Seattle Times, David Postman
Local
four-year university study bill lacks opponents--Columbian, Don
Jenkins
Melnick and Swanger get backing for district court judge
opening--Columbian, Stephanie Rice
Story
of Vancouver adventurer in Japan in 1848 getting retold--Columbian,
Margaret Ellis
Enrollment still climbing at WSU-Vancouver, headcount 1,835
Tuesday--Columbian
County rescheduled growth plan hearing to Feb. 17--Oregonian, Bill
Stewart
Massachusetts Supreme Court declares same-sex couples entitled to
marriage--USA TODAY, AP
Ridgefieldiers pass school
levy big time, Oregonians smother income tax bailout
BY TAUF CHARNESKI
Staff Writer The Insider
Nearly 42 percent of the
registered voters in the Ridgefield School District cast ballots in
yesterday’s special election, giving the district’s $7.9 million
special levy proposal a whopping 69.01 percent majority.
Meanwhile, voters in Oregon
trounced Measure 30, which would have raised $800 million in state
income tax to pay for, among other things, public school operations.
The defeat of the measure triggers over $500 million in cuts in
Oregon’s schools, public safety and human services.
Even Multnomah County voters
rejected Measure 30, after having in last May given their approval to
a local income tax increase essentially targeted to schools.
Statewide, the measure was losing by 59 percent to 41 percent.
Does this mean that Oregon
voters are more mean-spirited than those in Ridgefield?
No. Ridgefield voters were more
enlightened than those in Oregon.
Ridgefield voters were much
better informed about their school district’s needs than Oregon voters
were informed about what the $800 million bailout would produce.
Voters, and that includes you,
dear reader, and me, are much smarter and much more knowledgeable than
some people give them credit for.
If we are given a proposition
that is unambiguous and clearly explained we can make a decision—for
or against. When we face a proposition that is not clearly spelled
out, it’s pretty hard to come to a positive conclusion.
Congratulations to the
Ridgefield School District and its supporters for a job well done.
Let’s hope that the backers of
the March 9 Fort Vancouver Regional Library District’s proposed $48
million bond issue do as good a job of informing us about the need for
updated library facilities and services as the backers of the
Ridgefield schools did for their voters.
Student musicians to compete
to perform
with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
Nine regional student musicians
will compete Sunday, Feb. 22, in Trinity Lutheran Church for an
opportunity to perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
The competitors are: pianists
Eileen Chow and
Ellen Kim, both of Portland,
and Andrea Johnson, Milwaukie;
brass/woodwind instrumentalists Linda
Brest, West Linn, Margaret
Francis, Portland and Andrew
Helmsworth, Portland; and string players
Sonja Anne Bohr, Beaverton,
Karin Kasparyan, West Linn and
Tobie Webb, Tualatin.
Three winners of this, the
tenth annual young artists competition held by the symphony, will
perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra during its concerts
April 17 and 18.
There is no charge to attend
the competition, which begins at 1:30 p.m. in the church at 309 W 39th
Street.
Skills Center auto tech
students headed
for the New York International Auto Show
Three Clark County Skills
Center advanced automotive technology program pupils will complete in
the National Auto Tech contest sponsored by the Greater New York Auto
Dealers Association during the New York International Auto Show in New
York City April 12 through 16.
Dan Talley, Aaron Springer and
Jeremy Mark are seniors in the
Skills Center program. Their instructor,
Kirk Vangelder, will accompany
the trio, which earned the right to compete nationally after their
dominating first- place finish in state competition earlier this year
sponsored by the Puget Sound Auto Dealers Association.
They will be given 90 minutes
to correctly identify and repair a variety of faults in a 2004
vehicle.
News briefs
Hearings on a request for a
conditional use permit for a 40-unit Alzheimer’s facility and a
45-unit expansion of an existing independent living facility at 8200
NE 54th Street, and a request for approval of the Hockinson Village
Subdivision of nine single-family residents, are being held before
Clark County hearings examiner Daniel
Kearns at 7 p.m. tonight in the Public Service Center.
nnn The
Puget Sound Blood Center is holding a blood drive from 11 a.m. to 5
p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in the International Air Academy, 2901 E Mill
Plain Boulevard. nnn
An artists reception for glass artist
Gregory Lueck is at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 5, in the North Bank
Artists Gallery, 1005 Main Street. Lueck is owner of Firehouse No. 12.
Wednesday
on the air
Population and Funding: Why They Grow Differently—4 p.m. CVTV
Clark County Focus—6 p.m. CVTV
Portland Blazers at Phoenix (live)—-6 p.m. KGW-TV, KXL, KRMZ
Clark County Close Up—6:30 p.m. CVTV
Telecommunications Commission (1/21)—7 p.m. CVTV
Clark County Land Use Hearings (2/3)—9 p.m. CVTV
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