Cheers: To the capital budget. After a legislative impasse last year delayed the state’s $4.2 billion capital budget, money is finally flowing into projects that will benefit Clark County. The budget includes funding for the Bridgeview Education and Employment Resource Center, projects at Clark College and Washington State University Vancouver, work at Washington State School for the Blind, safety upgrades at Harmony Sports Complex, and numerous other construction needs.
Clark County will receive $80 million from the capital budget, and members of Southwest Washington’s legislative delegation effectively worked together to prioritize projects. While that money can do a lot of good, it should be noted that the funds represent about 2 percent of the budget for a county that has 6.3 percent of the state’s population. That discrepancy warrants discussion, but for now cheers go to the fact that projects are moving forward.
Jeers: To being unprepared. A tsunami warning that followed a recent undersea earthquake near Alaska provided a reminder of Washington’s lack of preparedness. Maps detailing the threat of tsunami flooding are incomplete and out of date, and Corina Forson of the Department of Natural Resources said, “We really only have about half of all Washington’s coastline mapped for tsunami hazards.”
Much attention has been placed upon retrofitting or constructing buildings to better withstand an earthquake in the Northwest, but quakes from elsewhere also can pose a threat. Washington is the only West Coast state without thorough tsunami maps, and the Department of Natural Resources has asked for funding to complete that task.
Cheers: To a welcome sign. Vancouver officials are planning to spruce up one of the city’s primary entrances — the intersection at 6th and C streets, where travelers from Interstate 5 and Highway 14 enter downtown. Plans include a basalt rock wall with 2-foot-tall letters spelling out “Vancouver.”
That would be a big improvement for an entry point to downtown. The area currently provides no indication that visitors have arrived in a vibrant city, and city official Chad Eiken said, “It’s a really unimpressive first impression of downtown.” As they say, you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression.
Jeers: To endangering workers. The first sentence from a Tri-City Herald story sums it up: “New test results show that monitoring for airborne radioactive contamination has not protected Hanford Nuclear Reservation workers as the site’s highly contaminated Plutonium Finishing Plant is demolished.”
There have been many opportunities to jeer the work at Hanford over the years as the federal government cleans up the nation’s most contaminated site. Given the danger posed by the site near the Columbia River, it is essential that the public be aware of the situation. We’re guessing that if Hanford sat along the Potomac River, much more diligence and care would go into the cleanup. Residents of Washington and Oregon warrant the same attention.
Cheers: To political engagement. Members of the Vancouver City Council expected maybe 20 people to apply for an opening on the council; instead, they received 56 applications. A seat on the council is open after Scott Campbell was elected posthumously in November.
The influx of candidates means more work for the sitting councilors, who will choose the next councilor, but it also reflects increased public engagement in politics. There has been an awakening in this country regarding the importance of government at all levels, and that strengthens our democracy. City councils and county councils and school boards make decisions that impact lives, and that means there is no room for apathy. Cheers — and good luck — to those seeking a seat on the council.
