Cheers: To Vancouver’s university. Officials at Washington State University Vancouver are taking a step toward on-campus housing for students, requesting a county code change that would allow for dorms holding up to 700 students. WSUV — which moved to its Salmon Creek site in 1996 — has been a commuter campus throughout its existence, and student housing is the next logical step in the school’s continued development.
On-campus housing remains in the distant future; administrators say they have no immediate plans for dorms and that the request is simply the first move in the process. Meanwhile, neighbors express concerns about the impact of having students live on campus, particularly the prospect of more cars parking on side streets. As the campus grows, school and county officials must heed those concerns and work to make sure that changes are beneficial for the entire community. But for now, cheers are warranted for the idea of WSUV moving closer to a full-service campus.
Jeers: To influenza. Flu season apparently has arrived in Clark County, with positivity rates rising above the 10 percent threshold this week. This is relatively late for the season to begin, but it remains too early to predict how severe influenza will be in the region this year. During the 2017-18 season, 14 deaths in Clark County were attributed to the flu in one of the worst years for the illness in the United States.
Officials stress that it is not too late to receive a vaccination. “For those of us who are not infected yet and haven’t gotten the shot, you should get the flu shot now,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County’s director of public health. And take note: Most positive tests this year have been for influenza A, which causes more serious complications than influenza B.
Cheers: To Clark Public Utilities. A recent article by Columbian reporter Andy Matarrese detailed how the local power company is working to improve the sustainability and efficiency of its vehicle fleet. Clark Public Utilities maintains 265 vehicles that annually drive about 1.5 million miles. The newest trucks are plug-in electric hybrids, and others use what is called renewable diesel. The result, officials say, has been a reduction from about 200,000 gallons of fuel a year to 165,000.
That is progress, but more can be done. In 2007, the Legislature passed a law telling state and local governments to run vehicles on electricity or biofuels “to the extent practicable.” With concern about sustainability, climate change and the burning of fossil fuels having grown in the past decade, all government agencies should make low emissions a priority.
Jeers: To drinking the profits. A Portland bartender apparently was a little too enthusiastic about his establishment’s product, and now he is facing a lawsuit. Gunnar Hokan Jorstad admitted to drinking on the job, causing the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to yank the Barrel Room’s license for three weeks.
Now the bar’s owner is suing Jorstad for $115,000, saying that is how much revenue will be lost during the three-week dry spell. The lesson: It’s best not to drink on the job, even if you work at a bar.
Cheers: To a new bridge. Clark County Public Works has opened the 10th Avenue Bridge over Whipple Creek outside of Ridgefield. State and federal money contributed to the project, which is part of a broad $3.4 million infrastructure investment in the area in anticipation of new development.
Along with other benefits, the bridge is expected to mitigate congestion around the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater and the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. As anybody who has tried to leave the amphitheater following a show can attest, improvements are desperately needed.
