Cheers: To solar energy. Investors in a statewide solar project run by local utilities stand to recoup their investments. Participants spent between $100 and $10,000 for pieces of a project at the corner of Padden Parkway and state Highway 503, and have received yearly payments plus energy credits.
The program started four years ago and will end in 2020, but investors will move into the black when they receive this year’s checks. The project is relatively small, generating enough electricity to power about 30 homes for a year. But it has been a worthwhile one for both utilities and customers. Matt Babbitts of Clark Public Utilities said: “There is a large percentage of these participating customers who are very passionate about environmental concerns, and they want to be part of the solution at the local level.”
Jeers: To a monster crash. In truth, the crash was minor, fortunately. But any wreck involving a monster truck at the Clark County Fair is a little scary. During a demonstration on the final day of the fair, a truck named Bounty Hunter came down on some electrical equipment and sparked a brief fire. As The Columbian explained, the truck “caught air, bounced when it landed and then teetered on its rear wheels, veering toward the barrier at the fair’s grandstand dirt track.”
Nobody was injured and the blaze was quickly extinguished. In the end, it simply added to the spectacle of the event — which actually might be worthy of cheers.
Cheers: To baby orcas. Researchers reported this week that two young orcas in the southern resident pod off the coast of Washington are alive and appear to be well. The population of the imperiled pod has dropped to 73 — the lowest in generations — with the presumed deaths of three adults, so the appearance of the babies is encouraging.
Meanwhile, researchers worry because the orcas have only briefly appeared at their traditional summer habitat of the inner Salish Sea. Experts say that is because salmon runs are too low to draw attention from the killer whales. But for now, the sighting of the young orcas is some good news for the species.
Jeers: To American Airlines. Nine Northwest children who suffer from neurofibromatosis were kept from their medication during an overnight delay. The kids were returning from a trip to a camp in Virginia that caters to children with the disease, which causes tumors to grow on the spinal cord, nerves and in the brain.
The trip was sponsored by Dino Doozer, a Kelso-based organization that works to send children ages 7 to 17 to the camp each summer, and included two children from Longview and one from Kelso plus others from Washington and Oregon. During the 16-hour delay, the children were kept under supervision, but organizers say they did not receive adequate access to meals or bathrooms and some skipped doses of their medication. Airline officials say they will try “to make this right.” It sounds as though that will require a bit of work.
Cheers: To The Waterfront Vancouver. The latest addition to the growing development is a water feature now open to the public. The feature, which includes a river running 1 inch deep, mimics the topography of the Columbia River Basin and serves as a tribute to the mighty river that flows nearby.
The installation is valued at $3.5 million and was donated to the city of Vancouver by Columbia Waterfront LLC, developer of the site. As Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle said, “Think of the thousands of people that will enjoy this for years and years.”
