Cheers: To Shared Hope International. The Vancouver-based organization dedicated to eradicating sex trafficking recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Since being founded by former Congresswoman Linda Smith, the effort has helped raise awareness of global trafficking and has successfully pushed for changes to laws across the United States, as detailed in a recent Columbian article.
Along the way, Shared Hope has helped alter views about sex trafficking. “They really shined a light on an area where we just weren’t that familiar,” John Chapman of the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said. “It changed my whole mindset and that of many others to seeing these young women and young men as victims and treating them accordingly.” The organization continues to grow because the need remains. On Thursday, authorities announced the arrest of 33 people on sex-trafficking charges in Atlanta, the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl.
Jeers: To unaffordable housing. According to RealtyHop, an online real estate listing service, the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore., metro area is the eighth least affordable in the country for housing. Using median home prices and median income, the ranking assessed the nation’s 100 most populated metro areas. The Seattle metro area was deemed the ninth least affordable.
While the numbers reflect the Northwest’s desirability and the fact that more and more people are moving here, they also reflect conscious choices. Strict land-use laws limit the construction of housing in an effort to prevent sprawl. While that helps preserve a high quality of life, it also makes housing in the Northwest inaccessible for many.
Cheers: To Mick Hoffman. The longtime Vancouver school administrator has been selected as the next executive director of the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association. The organization oversees high school activities throughout the state, ranging from athletics to drama and music competitions.
Hoffman has been an assistant superintendent for Vancouver Public Schools since 2016, after serving as the district’s athletic director. Before that, he was a coach, primarily at Fort Vancouver. The WIAA works to ensure positive extracurricular experiences for thousands of high school students throughout the state. Looking ahead to his new role, Hoffman said, “All you can hope for is that people appreciate what you did for them even if they don’t know you did it.”
Jeers: Cowlitz County Sheriff Brad Thurman says he will delay enforcement of Initiative 1639, a gun-control measure that passed in November. He said only one portion of the measure — raising the minimum age for purchasing assault-style rifles from 18 to 21 — has gone into effect thus far, and ongoing lawsuits could eventually alter the measure.
Even though Cowlitz County voted against the initiative — and even though county commissioners have formally registered their opposition — it is indeed the law. Thurman should enforce it.
Cheers: To new buses. Some of the money from the state of Washington’s settlement with carmaker Volkswagen will be used for the purchase of 41 new school buses in Clark County and two electric buses for C-Tran.
Volkswagen illegally tried to get around emissions standards on its diesel vehicles, resulting in a federal settlement that will bring $112.7 million to Washington. Because the company’s subterfuge resulted in increased emissions that add pollution, it seems appropriate to use some of the money to replace high-emissions buses.
