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In case you missed it, here are some of the top stories of the week:
One hundred and twenty-five years ago this week, on Oct. 10, 1890, the Vancouver Columbian introduced itself to its readers for the first time.
A story simply headlined “SALUTATORY” opened in the stilted prose of that era: “In entering the arena The Columbian has no vain-glorious proclamation to make,” the new weekly wrote modestly to the county’s 11,617 residents. It continued:
“In the independent expression of view on all subjects it will, of course, be impossible to please everybody, and we trust no one will expect us to sacrifice the public interests for any individual or class. We have come not for that, but to do battle for the rights and interests of the people — the people at large — and especially the great masses who need the redress of wrong, whose labor is the basis of our wealth, and whose fidelity is the best guarantee of free institutions.”
Twelve-and-a-half decades later, Clark County’s population is just over 450,000. Businesses and entire industries have come and gone. The news industry, of which The Columbian is a part, has expanded into the worlds of radio, television, the Internet, the mobile device. These days, more people get their news online than from ink on paper.
Read more about the past and future of the Columbian. Also check out more 125th anniversary coverage with our special section.
Salvador Brotons stands still and gazes into space. A rare moment of silence. He’s listening, inside his head, to Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet “Romeo and Juliet” — clearing away all other sounds and distractions, steadying himself, summoning the precisely right tempo.
Then he jabs his arms, and the 80-strong Vancouver Symphony Orchestra bursts into sudden sound — a dramatic leap into one section of this timeless tale of doomed passions and warring clans. The story is legendary, but this version is told without words. The roiling, rushing music must say it all.
Brotons talks and sings and occasionally shouts his way through comments to the musicians while they play — “Drums a little softer please, keep it very soft.” “Please don’t rush.” “Evereebodee should plaaaay right heeere.” “Very flat, please do better.” “The last two notes are staccato, very important notes!” — and when they’re done, he plunges into more critiques and corrections in friendly but businesslike fashion: “Let’s see what we can improve. …”
Learn more about the Vancouver Symphony’s Brontons.
Clark County Councilor David Madore is, once again, taking the county’s Comprehensive Growth Management Plan update into his own hands.
Madore, who earlier this year developed his own zoning recommendations to cater to the requests of rural residents, is working on what he is calling a “locally preferred alternative,” Acting County Manager Mark McCauley confirmed Friday.
The contents of that plan, however, are unclear.
“He has not shared with anybody what is going into this,” McCauley said. “He’s in his office. He’s working on it by himself.”
Madore did not return a request for comment Friday afternoon.
The Clark County Planning Commission did not recommend any of the proposals, including Madore’s alternative, that would reduce the minimum lot size of resource lands and rural property in unincorporated Clark County at a meeting last month.
Learn more about the new plan.
RIDGEFIELD — Nobody showed up in a wheelchair on Saturday morning to test the easy, gradual incline of the new universal-access bridge that’s now welcoming everyone into the northern Carty Unit of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.
“They’ll be here,” said Kevin Foester, regional chief for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Word will spread about the 615-foot span over the railroad tracks, he’s certain.
Saturday morning’s bridge dedication — the centerpiece of Ridgefield’s annual Birdfest and Bluegrass festival — was attended by hundreds of folks nonetheless, including representatives of the Cowlitz and Chinook nations, who sang, drummed and chanted to bless the bridge.
Chinook vice chairman Sam Robinson and Cowlitz elder Tanna Engdahl both pointed out that their ancestors lived in and around this area for thousands of years before Europeans showed up; Engdahl said her grandmother used to travel the Lewis River for friendly gatherings of different tribes at what’s now the refuge. Since those gatherings really were pretty darned friendly — leading to definite intertribal “hugging and kissing” — Engdahl joked that she and Robinson must be at least distantly related.
So the history here isn’t remote and ideal, Engdahl said — it’s immediate and personal.
Read more about the new bridge the the refuge.
Why: Costa Vida opened its first Vancouver location in July, bringing a bit of costal-life feel to Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard. Two more Clark County locations are scheduled to open before 2017. The franchise restaurant serves quick, nutritious, made-from-scratch Mexican cuisine that can be customized. Fresh grilled meats, tortillas and vegetables combine for traditional entrees paired with rice and beans.
What I tried: I settled on two enchiladas filled with sweet pork and topped with roasted green chili sauce. I decided on black beans to accompany the rice. My dining companion had the fajita burrito, made with chicken. Both entrees were garnished with dark green lettuce and fresh pico de gallo. For dessert, we sampled the key lime pie and the tres leche.
Items were prepared in hard foil bowls and then placed on a surface that takes them through a heated oven to melt cheeses and gave entrees a fresh-from-the-oven appeal.
The sweet pork was very sweet, and I found the green chili sauce an appetizing choice with the pork. The ingredients were balanced and, although there was a lot of cheese, it was not too much to detract from the flavor of the meat or the sauce. The rice, unlike Spanish rice, did not have a tomato base and it had a mild, savory flavor, which paired well with the black beans. I appreciated the fresh green lettuce and pico de gallo, which kept the sweet pork from becoming boring.
Read the rest of the Costa Vida review.
