Columbia crossing west alignment
to be explained at two open houses

The Columbia Crossing Task Force’s decision to abandon any Columbia River I-5 crossing east of the Interstate Bridge alignment will be explained in detail at two open houses scheduled by the task force next week.

The first is at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 17, in the former Hayden Island Yacht Club, 12050 N Jantzen Drive. The second is at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, in the Lincoln Elementary High School, 4200 NW Daniels Street.

According to task force spokesperson Danielle Cogan, the informative sessions will also provide the public with recent technical findings, cost estimates and a decision making timeline.

Monday the task force announced it was abandoning any crossing alignment that would be east of the current I-5 corridor. The task force also announced it favors transit alignments along Washington Street and along Broadway in downtown Vancouver. A park-and-ride transit station proposed for 39th and Main Street was to have had 2,400 parking spaces, but the task force has reduced that to 1,800 parking spaces.

Vancouver gets national performance award

The International City/County Management Association has recognized the City of Vancouver with a  Center for Performance Measurement Certificate of Distinction for incorporate performance date into decision making.

The Certificate of Distinction is the association’s highest award and was presented to only 24 cities this year. City manager Pat McDonnell, who accepted the award this week, said that special recognition was given by the association to the city’s performance analyst Tom Nosak for his part in organizing the city’s performance measurement program.

Awards piling up for
Firstenburg Tower

Southwest Washington Medical Center’s recently opened Firstenburg Patient Tower continues to rack up architectural and construction awards for the facility and some of its contractors.

The tower was one of nine featured on the cover of Healthcare Design Magazine’s 2007 architectural showcase publication.

The citation noted that the Heart and Vascular center located in the tower is the only one in the country with fully integrated catheterization laboratories equipped to handle cardiovascular, open heart surgery, neurology and interventional radiology in a single location.

In addition, the Firstenburg Tower was named one of the top ten Clark County architectural projects of the year in Columbian newspaper polls of architects and readers.

The tower was also named the top project of the year by the Northwest Wall and Ceiling Bureau, which also named gave Performance Contracting a top award for creating the curvilinear steel and drywall showcase ceiling.

Developmental Disabilities Awards presented

Awards for individuals who and organizations that promoted developmental disability employment were presented today by the Clark County Developmental Disabilities Advisory Board and the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce.

Winners were as follows: Outstanding Service Award, Dennis Campbell; Employee-of-the-Year Award, Anne Timberman, 14-year employee of 1st Aid Only; Public Employer-of-the-Year, City of Vancouver; Private Employer-of-the-Year, Southwest Washington Medical Center.

YWCA Fall Festival is Saturday

YWCA Clark County’s annual fall festival for parents and children is  from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct.  13, in the Helene Schoen  Center, 3609 Main Street.

The focus of the festival is healthy parenting and keeping children safe from violence and assault. A special appearance of the Vancouver Police Department’s K-9 unit is scheduled. For further information, call Krista Liles, 906-4301.

News brief

The Vancouver Business Journal has moved its editorial offices from its former Fourth Plain Boulevard

location to 1251 Officers Row. For further information, call editor Jessica Swanson at 448-6009.

Calendar

Pediatrician John Edward Guillery will discuss childhood obesity during a two-hour class that begins at 6 p.m. this evening in Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital, 2211 NE 139th Street. There is a $5 fee for the class and registration is required. To register, call 487-3500. For further information about classes and support groups offered by Legacy Health System, go to www.legacyhealth.org. <> Jean-Dominique Mellot, senior conservator of France’s Bibliotheque nationale de France, will discuss the history of the French National Library and the library’s current project of digitizing 80,000 published works for world-wide distribution, from 3 to 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10, in room 6 of the Washington State University Vancouver Media Center. There is no charge. For further information, call Sue Peabody, 546-9647. 

Headlines Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2007