Could it be true — the rain may take a break and the sun make an appearance this weekend? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed it, here are some of the top stories of the week:
JB Schutte has a new title, effective last Friday: general manager of Vancouver Mall.
Until Friday, Schutte had been manager of Westfield Vancouver mall, the same mall but with the word Vancouver second to “Westfield” at the insistence of its Australian corporate owners. The decision by the mall’s new owner, Centennial Real Estate Company of Dallas, to restore the mall’s historic name appears to have been pitch-perfect. Many dozens of commenters on The Columbian’s Facebook page and website expressed joy that the mall would again be known by its original name, without a corporate branding attached.
Leran more about changes at the mall.
Starting next month, many Vancouver residents will have a cable TV option besides Comcast for the first time.
Monday, the city council granted a five-year, non-exclusive cable TV franchise to CenturyLink effective Jan. 22 through Dec. 31, 2020. The company will provide Internet-based Prism TV service to the area, allowing customers to use wireless set-top boxes, set their DVRs remotely, watch and record multiple shows at once with a single DVR, or pause a show and pick it up in another room. The service offers a variety of packages and more than 210 high-definition channels.
The city doesn’t have the legal authority to regulate rates, which haven’t been established yet in Vancouver. However, having a competitor in the market could result in lower prices for consumers.
Read more about the new cable TV option.
For the first time, 5-year-old J got to open a Christmas gift picked out and wrapped just for him. And like most kids, he found just as much joy — if not more — in popping the bubble wrap insulating the toy.
The last few days have been full of firsts for J — feeling a wet dog tongue, touching sand, chewing Cheerios — and the next three weeks will be full of many more firsts before the little boy has to return to the Chinese orphanage where he lives.
Felida residents Amanda Giese and Gary Walters brought J, as they call him, to the U.S. to spend the holidays with their family. (The adoption agency prohibits the use of his legal name.) They’ve also lined up appointments with several medical, vision and dental specialists so J can receive evaluations for the first time.
Learn more about J’s visit to the U.S.
The Mountain View High School boys basketball team stared attentively as coach Aaron Shepherd drew up plays on a whiteboard.
Jake Ryan stood behind his teammates. His hands were folded behind his back, which rested against a row of lockers.
Ryan could be forgiven if his mind wasn’t completely on that night’s game against Heritage.
As his teammates studied ways to pierce the Heritage defense, Ryan’s thoughts were on a different kind of surgery. The next morning, doctors would open his rib cage and perform a life-saving operation on his heart.
