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Vancouver council OKs
vision for downtown
The Vancouver City Council, by a 6-1 vote, approved a
“vision” for downtown Vancouver that enlarges the scope of the original 30-block
Esther Short-area program that started in 1998 and thus far has seen nearly $240
million invested in the core area.
The new vision is expanded to 130 blocks and includes the
Uptown Village area of upper Main Street, between Fourth Plain and McLoughlin
Boulevards.
Revitalization of Esther Short Park was the focus of the
first vision. The focus of this vision is a pedestrian bridge connecting
Vancouver Barracks and downtown in the vicinity of 7th or 8th Streets.
The pedestrian bridge across Interstate 5 should provide
the city with an “Oh-wow factor,” according to
Ginger Metcalf, executive director of Identity Clark County, the chief
proponent of growth and development for downtown.
The bridge, clearly visible from I-5 in both directions,
could become a more recognizable landmark than the former Lucky Lager sign,
according to Tauf Charneski, another
proponent of downtown prosperity.
Clark Public Utilities connects
345 new families in January
Clark Public Utilities recorded 345 new residential
hookups during January, compared to 213 new hookups during January 2004, for an
annual growth rate of 2.65 percent.
Average residential consumption of electric energy, as
well as the average residential electric bills, were down, however. A year ago
in January, residential customers used an average of 1,882 kilowatts-hours of
power and paid an average $144.76 monthly bill. This year, the average
residential use was 1,639 kilowatt-hours. The average residential bill was
$126.83.
The utility residential customer base, which grew by just
over 3 percent in 2004, currently has 156,198 residential customers.
TeenTalk gets national recognition
Clark County’s TeenTalk program, which emerged from a
county initiative to prevent teenage suicides, has won recognition by the
national Excellence in Community Communications and Outreach Program.
TeenTalk, staffed by teenage volunteers, provides
web-based and telephone communications for troubled teenagers. The young
volunteers receive 32 hours of training and work a three-hour shift once a week.
TeenTalk can be reached by calling
397-2428, or by going to
www.ccteentalk.clark.wa.gov.
More than 1,000 locals and hundreds
more will walk Vancouver in April
Hundreds of walkers from North America, Europe and Asia
will join more than 1,000 local walkers during the 9th annual International
Discovery Walk Festival in Vancouver Friday, April 22, through Sunday, April 24.
Events, which are open to all ages, range from family and
fun walks of less than 4 miles to a shin-splinting 42 kilometer walk, which
walkers are supposed to complete in less than 6 hours. In addition to walking,
there are swimming and bicycling events.
The Discovery Walk Festival is the only International
Marching League event in the United States and is sanctioned by the American
Volkssport Association.
Headquarters for the three-day festival is the Red Lion
Hotel at the Quay. For further information and registration, call
(887) 269-2009, or go to
www.discoverywalk.org.
News brief
The Evergreen Public Schools board will interview candidate
for superintendent Donald Barnes in a
public meeting at 5 p.m. today in the student center of Cascade Middle School,
13900 NE 18th Street.
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MIRIAM GREEN 
"Working to help you!"
