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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
In the United States, people accused of crimes are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Yet nationwide, 65 percent of the people incarcerated in local jails are awaiting court proceedings, according to the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The gap between the law’s lofty ideals and today’s common practice has put the issue of pretrial release in the spotlight.
Not only could reform benefit the accused, it could help ease jail overcrowding.
The Clark County Jail regularly houses close to double its capacity, and the county says it faces an upgrade that could cost $63 million to $284 million lest the jail burst at the seams.
From 2009 to 2015, 59 percent of inmates at the Clark County Jail were being held before sentencing, according to information calculated by jail administrators. The average daily population for those years was about 718.
The statewide average for the period was 45 percent.
Read the full story: The high cost of justice in Clark County
On Thursday morning, Gary Berreth stepped outside of his house in the Green Meadows neighborhood and found an unexpected letter attached to his front door.
The letter featured the Washington state seal and claimed to be from the Office of the Governor. It warned of “an adjustment in property taxes” due to the shutdown of an oil terminal and an agreement with BNSF to prohibit the shipping of oil, lumber and coal by rail through Vancouver.
At the end of the letter was a carefully scrawled signature: “Jay Inslee,” Washington’s Democratic governor. CC’d on the letter were Clark County Assessor Peter Van Nortwick and Treasurer Doug Lasher.
“I instantly knew that there is no way the government does business like this,” said Berreth, who said that he saw the same letter attached to other doors throughout his neighborhood.
Read the full story: Fake Inslee letter posted on doors around Clark County
About one student is homeless for every classroom in Washington, according to data released by the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
For the ninth year in a row, the number of homeless students in the state is on the rise, up to 40,934 students in the 2016-2017 school year, or roughly one in every 25 students. That’s up 3.2 percent from the year prior. In the last five years, the state’s seen a 33.7 percent increase.
The rate of growth in the number of homeless students in Clark County’s largest school district is more staggering.
In Evergreen Public Schools, the number of homeless students in 2016-2017 declined slightly from 2015-2016, from 1,076 to 1,042. That’s a 3.2 percent decrease. But since the 2012-2013 school year, the number of homeless students nearly doubled from 532.
The district had 26,178 total students last school year.
Read the full story: More homeless students statewide
BRUSH PRAIRIE — Some of the bucolic qualities of The Cedars on Salmon Creek are on hiatus.
Past an orange safety fence near the clubhouse, wheezing excavators scrape at what used to be fairway grass while a reversing backhoe chirps. Construction has been the norm for the Brush Prairie course since last summer.
As members of a high school girls golf team practiced their short game just yards away, coach and course professional Joe Cain tries to put a little backspin on the situation.
“It’s a good lesson in turning all of it into white noise,” he said, smiling.
The distraction may be temporary, but it could lead to an eventual boon. Located at a dead end on the outskirts of Battle Ground, Cain said the public course relies on regular visitors for its revenue and not membership dues.
Whether they golf or not, more people are on the way. Early last year The Cedars sold the land underneath its driving range and first two holes to a Portland real estate developer. Nearly 300 homes are expected to rise.
“We’re a little off the beaten path, so this kind of opens the door,” Cain said, noting that The Cedars will redesign part of its course to field 18 holes. “It’s always been more of a destination. This is kind of a rebranding.”
While dotting homes around a golf course is not a new concept, the sport’s waning popularity and land-hungry developers seem to be easing these sorts of strokes.
Read the full story: Golf courses say … show me the greens
