Cheers: To Ichiro. Yes, he has a last name. It is Suzuki, but it is not necessary in the minds of baseball fans throughout Japan and the United States — particularly in Washington. The 45-year-old Seattle Mariners legend wrapped up his career Thursday, retiring after the second of two regular-season games in Japan against the Oakland Athletics.
Ichiro came to Seattle in 2001 after nine seasons in the top Japanese league and quickly became a star. During 18 seasons in the major leagues, he recorded 3,089 hits (ranking 23rd all-time), won an MVP award, and became known for his exciting style of play as much as his skill. And now he has retired. The appropriateness of Ichiro’s career ending in the country where it began led to an emotional scene as he left the field for the final time.
Jeers: To excavator theft. Somebody managed to purloin an excavator from a construction site in La Center. According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the suspect or suspects left with a bright orange Kubota U55-4R3AP excavator on a flatbed trailer attached to a full-sized truck.
The attraction is understandable; the Kubota website says the U55-4 series is a “superior 5-ton tight tail swing excavator with the power and flexibility to work wonders in narrow spaces,” along with “a luxurious cab.” But the brazenness of the theft is nothing to celebrate. We hope the criminal or criminals are caught and the excavator can get back to digging the site for a new store in La Center.
Cheers: To accessible child care. Thanks to a four-year grant of $487,200 from the U.S. Department of Education, about 50 students at Clark College are able to use the school’s child care facility.
As detailed in a recent article in The Columbian, the grant can mean the difference between attending school or not attending school. College officials note that only about 33 percent of students with children complete a degree or certificate within six years, and child care concerns are one of the major roadblocks. The grant plays a big role in improving the lives of parents and, therefore, their children.
Jeers: To shirking your duty. The Trump administration has proposed cutting the budget for cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation by $416 million. This is not unique to the current federal government; several presidential administrations have ignored their duty to clean up the nation’s most contaminated Superfund site.
For decades, Washington officials and residents have implored the federal government to clean up the decommissioned nuclear weapons facility. In January, a report estimated remaining costs will be between $323 billion and $677 billion. Cutting the budget is not the way to make progress on a pressing problem.
Cheers: To pedestrian safety. Law enforcement officers throughout Clark County were out and about this week emphasizing pedestrian safety. Through a program funded by the Washington Traffic Safety Commission’s Target Zero program, they worked to educate, enforce and hopefully reduce the number of incidents involving motorists and pedestrians.
In 2018, there were eight fatalities in crashes involving a pedestrian in Clark County; another 18 resulted in suspected injuries. “We have people jaywalking all the time,” said Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Alex Schoening. “The problem is largely the pedestrians.” But not always. Motorists also must be alert for pedestrians in the area. Regardless of who is at fault for a collision, the aftermath can be traumatic for everyone involved.
