Check out the weather headed our way this week.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
As of the new year, Washington cyclists and pedestrians should be enjoying a less-crowded, less-vulnerable feeling when forced to share public roadways with motor vehicles. A new state law that took effect Jan. 1 mandates that motorists passing cyclists or pedestrians in the road must give them at least 3 feet of space, if not a whole lane. At least 35 other states already had such a requirement.
A recent “Three Feet Please” ride organized by the Vancouver Bicycle Club aimed to raise public awareness of the new law, which intends to protect “vulnerable roadway users” by cracking down on drivers leaving whisker-thin buffers as they blast past bikes and walkers who have no sidewalks and no bike lanes — nowhere to travel but along the same pavement.
Read more: New state law requires drivers to move over for cyclists, pedestrians
A Clark County second-grader is working to make the world a little bit kinder, one bead at a time.
Keoni Ching, an 8-year-old at Vancouver’s Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, is selling keychains made of lettered beads to pay off his classmates’ outstanding balances on their lunch accounts. The customized trinkets go for $5 apiece, unless they’re Seahawks-themed, in which case the price is $19.77. Keoni is a Dolphins fan, his mom, April Ching, said.
In less than a month, he’s raised $840 in sales and donations and is pushing toward $1,000, April Ching said.
Read more: Boy, 8, makes, sells keychains to help pay off classmates’ lunch debt
The city of Vancouver is seeking comments from residents about its Westside Bike Mobility Project, a proposal that would install protected bike lanes along multiple north-south streets connecting the uptown and downtown neighborhoods.
As part of an outreach process connected to the project, the city will host several events in January — an open house, “coffee talks” and an online survey — to solicit feedback on the plan, which includes six bike-lane route options along Columbia, Daniels, Franklin and Washington streets.
Read more: City of Vancouver wants input on Westside Bike Mobility Project
A popular way for new businesses to hold a grand opening is to host a ribbon-cutting, and for decades, the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce would send a host of red-coated ambassadors to appear at its members’ events.
But starting Jan. 1, the chamber discontinued the program and released its 24 volunteer ambassadors from their service. The chamber’s board of directors plans to reshape the program and could relaunch it as soon as March, but details are not solidified, said Kevin Getch, board chair. The decision created hurt feelings from the ambassadors, but Getch said they will be able to reapply. The application process is not yet determined.
Read more: Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce halts Ambassador Program
Hey, forget about all those silly New Year’s resolutions. I’ve got one that I’m pretty sure will save the world — or at least save you from a life of one-dimensional milquetoastedness.
