Cheers: To cutting emissions. Washington and the 16 other states in the United States Climate Alliance have announced plans to put a settlement with Volkswagen to good use. The states have pledged that their shares of a $1.4 billion agreement with the automaker will go toward zero-emission vehicles, vessels and infrastructure. In Washington, that could include the purchase of electric cars for the state fleet and the electrification of the ferry system.
While much attention is given to carbon emissions from industry, auto emissions remain the most troublesome in dealing with human contributions to climate change. Gov. Jay Inslee said transportation emissions are “where our big bugaboo is.” The Volkswagen settlement was the result of a lawsuit that held the company accountable for falsifying emissions tests; using that money to reduce emissions is an appropriate investment.
Jeers: To test scores in local schools. Results of standardized tests administered last spring in Vancouver Public Schools and Evergreen Public Schools fell below statewide averages. For example, among sixth-graders in the Evergreen district, 36.6 percent of students passed the math test, compared with 48.3 percent across the state.
Standardized tests are not the sole measure of a school or a district; each district has unique challenges and a unique student body. And there are other factors that help prepare students to be productive citizens. But the tests are instructive in highlighting strengths or weaknesses for a particular district and for assessing the progress of local students. “We’re concerned but we’re not alarmed,” said Travis Campbell, an administrator in the Vancouver district. “There are plans that are in place that are constantly being adjusted and updated.”
Cheers: To The Waterfront Vancouver. A pair of restaurants is scheduled to open next week, heralding the new development along the Columbia River. WildFin has set a Monday opening, and Twigs Bistro & Martini Bar is expected to welcome customers beginning Wednesday. A grand opening celebration for the development’s park and Grant Street Pier is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. Sept. 29.
More restaurants, offices and residences are in the works as The Waterfront Vancouver prepares to transform Vancouver and the city’s connection to its waterfront.
Jeers: To phony documents. An Oregon judge has ordered a halt to the online sale of fake bank statements, fake tax forms, falsified bank statements and other bogus documents. Integrated Flight Solutions marketed the documents through NoveltyExcuses.com, a website that has been taken down.
“Authentic fake forms!” the website trumpeted, apparently unaware of the definitions of “authentic” and “fake.” Company owner Steven Simmons has been ordered to pay $15,000, which may be used to help consumers affected by use of the fraudulent documents. The fine is warranted, but it is difficult to feel empathy for anybody who used the company’s services in an attempt to pull off a fraud.
Cheers: To animal news. The stories are unrelated, but we figure you can never have enough animal news in the newspaper. So we offer kudos to Koa, who has been on the job about two weeks as the newest member of the Vancouver Police Department’s K-9 unit. And we welcome the return of Vaux’s swifts to Chapman Elementary School in Northwest Portland, where about 10,000 birds take up residence in a chimney stack every September. And we commend an Oregon judge for rejecting a case in which lawyers representing a horse sued the horse’s former owner. We love animals, but giving them standing in a court of law would create more problems than it solves.
