After the long holiday weekend, the forecast calls for a sunny day today, with gradually increasing cloudiness for the short workweek. Will we get any rain before the weekend? Check out our local weather coverage.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
On Tuesday, the Clark County Council will hold a hearing for the capital facilities plan for five school districts. The plans lay out the facilities each district plans to build through 2025 and how they will be funded, which will have a direct effect on the price of a new home.
Each plan includes adjustments to school impact fees, which are paid by developers for each unit of housing they build in unincorporated Clark County. The fees are intended to help pay for the increased demand on school districts created by the new housing and are commonly passed on to buyers or renters.
Read the full story: Updates to Clark County school impact fees vary
Oregonians can no longer request an exemption to Washington’s sales tax at the point of sale. Now, Oregonians need to save their receipts and submit them to the Washington State Department of Revenue as part of a single annual application for reimbursement. Few are expected to do so.
The state expects the change to generate nearly $53 million in new sales tax revenue during fiscal years 2020-21. The new law was part of a series of tax code changes Democrats said were needed to generate money for services in the fast-growing state.
Vancouver-area merchants have argued that those dollars won’t materialize because the tax will scare off Oregon shoppers, and their businesses will suffer as a result.
Read the full story: Will sales-tax exemption changes spook Oregon shoppers?
Nancy Baker, the first woman ever on the Port of Vancouver commission, died Friday night at 81 years old after suffering from dementia, according to her son, Randy Baker. She was born in Ridgefield and moved to Vancouver as a baby, and lived the rest of her life in the city.
“Her passion for Vancouver was tremendous,” her son said. “She really devoted a lot of her time and energy, especially after she retired, to nonprofit organizations. She loved that job as commissioner of the port. She was very disappointed when that came to an end.”
Read the full story: Former Port of Vancouver Commissioner Nancy Baker dies at 81
Getting on southbound Interstate 5 or state Highway 14 from downtown Vancouver near the soda can-shaped Smith Tower often proves difficult.
Clarence Robertson, an employee at Briz Loan & Guitar on Washington Street for the past decade, said traffic jams used to accompany times typically associated with rush hours, such as the early morning work commute and lunch time. Now, it’s seemingly random.
The Columbian’s Clark Asks webpage, where readers ask questions and vote on which should get further coverage, recently received this inquiry: Why is the I-5 onramp in downtown Vancouver metered in the middle of the day?
Read the full story: Clark Asks: As congestion rises, ramp meters on I-5 in Vancouver active more often
One person is dead after a car crash at around 5:17 p.m. Sunday near Southeast 164th Avenue and Southeast 12th Street.
Three people were involved in the two-car crash, according to Vancouver Fire Capt. Raymond Egan. Four units from the Vancouver Fire Department responded, Egan said, adding that the initial call was for a “heavy rescue.”
Read the full story: One dead after car crash on 164th Avenue
