What’s on tap for the weekend’s weather? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories of the week:
A chicken sandwich meal at Chick-fil-A costs about $6.50. That same meal plus a visit from the towing company costs about $356.50, warns neighbor Terrie Cox.
“That’s a pretty expensive chicken sandwich,” said the real estate agent, whose offices share a parking lot with the fast-food chain’s new location in the Bennington neighborhood.
The Georgia-based fast-food restaurant opened its new location in early September to much fanfare at the corner of Southeast Mill Plain Boulevard and 164th Avenue. Hundreds camped out, thanks partly to a promotion that offered free lunch for a year to the first 100 customers.
But you wouldn’t guess the grand opening was six weeks ago by looking at the traffic during the lunch and dinner hours. Employees navigate traffic and take orders at the drive-through while traffic hints at spilling out onto the streets.
The congestion has bit into businesses that share the parking lot, Cox’s real estate company Terrie Cox Home Concepts and the Mexican restaurant Catedral Tapatia.
“It was awful, my friend,” said Isabel Moran, an assistant manager at the restaurant, who said the parking lot isn’t as packed as it was in September. “It was a nightmare in the beginning. It was so bad.”
Read the full story: Chick-fil-A patrons overwhelm lot shared by 2 other businesses
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was elected America’s 45th president Tuesday, an astonishing victory for a celebrity businessman and political novice who capitalized on voters’ economic anxieties, took advantage of racial tensions and overcame a string of sexual assault allegations on his way to the White House.
His triumph over Hillary Clinton will end eight years of Democratic dominance of the White House and threatens to undo major achievements of President Barack Obama. He’s pledged to act quickly to repeal Obama’s landmark health care law, revoke the nuclear agreement with Iran and rewrite important trade deals with other countries, particularly Mexico and Canada.
The Republican blasted through Democrats’ longstanding firewall, carrying Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, states that hadn’t voted for a GOP presidential candidate since the 1980s. He needed to win nearly all of the competitive battleground states, and he did just that, claiming Florida, Ohio, North Carolina and others.
Global stock markets and U.S. stock futures plunged deeply, reflecting investor alarm over what a Trump presidency might mean for the economy and trade.
A New York real estate developer who lives in a sparlking Manhattan high-rise, Trump forged a striking connection with white, working class Americans who feel left behind in a changing economy and diversifying country. He cast immigration, both from Latin America and the Middle East, as the root of the problems plaguing many Americans and tapped into fears of terrorism emanating at home and abroad.
Trump will take office with Congress expected to be fully under Republican control. GOP Senate candidates fended off Democratic challengers in key states and appeared poised to maintain the majority. Republicans also maintained their grip on the House.
Read the full story: Trump wins White House in astonishing victory
The shorter, darker days are upon us. And with the change of seasons can come the blues.
“Most of us can relate,” said Dr. Arundhati Undurti, psychiatrist at The Vancouver Clinic in Salmon Creek. “When the weather changes, we’re feeling a little more blah, a little less motivated to go do things than we were in the summer.”
But for some people, the weather change leads to more than just the winter blues. For about 3 percent of the population, this time of year is when symptoms of seasonal affective disorder appear.
Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is reoccurring episodes of depression with a seasonal onset and regression, Undurti said. SAD is not a separate mood disorder, but a subset of depression, she said.
“There is very clearly a seasonal pattern to the depression,” Undurti said. “The seasonal pattern has to do with the availability of light.”
Seasonal affective disorder tends to affect women more than men, with the first onset beginning in the 20s, said Dr. Rebecca Hoffman, a family medicine provider at Kaiser Permanente’s Salmon Creek office. But just because a person is diagnosed with SAD, it doesn’t mean it’s a lifelong diagnosis, she said.
“It’s not persistent,” Hoffman said. “It can remit.”
Read the full story: When winter blues hit, these strategies can ease the load
The Clark County council passed an ordinance Tuesday altering the way sensitive contracts are publicized. By the next morning, Councilor David Madore had convinced 256 people to sign a petition seeking to refer the ordinance to a vote.
The ordinance was drafted by Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Horne to give the county manager greater authority in delegating routine contracts and also to address concerns voiced by some members of the council that contracts for sensitive human resource investigations not be published on the county’s website.
The measure changes a 2015 ordinance approved by the Clark County council that required the county manager to post contracts on the county’s website prior to signing them, allowing the public and councilors to offer input. The Home Rule Charter gives the county manager authority to sign contracts.
Horne explained that individuals involved in human resources investigations “may have claims to confidentiality.”
“It is our job to protect everyone in the investigations,” said council Chair Marc Boldt at Tuesday’s meeting.
The ordinance was passed with a 3-2 vote with Boldt, no party preference, and Republican Councilors Jeanne Stewart and Julie Olson voting in favor of it. Republican Councilors Tom Mielke and Madore, who have often been at odds with the rest of the council, voted against it.
Madore called the ordinance a huge step backward for “transparency and accountable government,” while suggesting it was politically motivated and related to two legal actions against members of the council.
Read the full story: Madore pushes petition about county contracts
LA CENTER — It was standing room only Monday night at the La Center Public Work’s building, as concerned residents got their first listen at possible design ideas for the upgraded Interstate 5 La Center junction.
Eric Eisemann, a planning consultant working with the city, said he counted at least 90 people at the meeting, where Eisemann and a team he assembled revealed ideas from their three-day intensive planning session that started Nov. 1.
“I’m thrilled with the turnout,” La Center Mayor Greg Thornton said. “It shows how engaged our community is. There’s a lot of energy when it comes to this topic.”
The team presented an idea to build a new Main Street-like area just off the junction east of I-5, with space for retail, restaurants and offices. It would be in close proximity to the Cowlitz Indian Tribe’s Ilani Casino Resort, which is on pace to open in April. Major construction on the interchange already is underway.
City officials want a plan to take to developers showing what residents would like to see at the interchange.
“We want a flexible framework that allows for a variety of uses to come in,” Eisemann said.
Eisemann’s team was made up of planners, engineers and landscape artists, including Laurence Qamar of Qamar Architecture and Town Planning in Portland, Michael Mehaffy of Structura Naturalis Inc. in Portland, and Sam Nielson and Darren Sandeno, both of Parametrix.
Read the full story: La Center hears ideas for I-5 junction upgrade
