Cheers: To prosecutorial equity. The Vancouver City Attorney’s Office is making changes to how it prosecutes certain crimes, including those related to substance abuse and misdemeanor driving with a suspended license.
As reported by The Columbian: “The changes seek to address barriers that people with criminal convictions face when seeking housing and employment, as well as the disproportionate impacts to Black, Indigenous and people of color and those who may not have financial means.” City Attorney Jonathan Young said his office “is committed to advancing our understanding of who is, and is not, benefitting from the institutions our society has created.” That does not mean being soft on crime; it means working to ensure the punishment fits the crime.
Jeers: To Clark County Public Health. Officials this week began accepting requests for coronavirus vaccines for two additional demographics: People over 65, and anyone older than 50 who lives in a multigenerational household and isn’t able to live independently or has grandchildren in the house. But there’s a catch.
You can file a request to get a possible life-saving vaccination only via the internet. People in those populations often lack not only internet access, but a computer or a cellphone. For people in such situations, Public Health officials recommend having a friend or family member with internet access submit a request on their behalf. The department should devise a more accessible alternative for isolated seniors.
Cheers: To outdoors recreation. There has been at least one benefit to the coronavirus pandemic — a surge in new anglers and hunters. With people seeking to get outdoors, where the virus is less likely to be transmitted, local retailers report increased interest in traditional recreation.
“There’s a lot of new fishermen on the water,” one official said. “We have seen quite a lot of activity on the water since so much else is shut down.” Connecting with the wonders of nature is one healthy way to endure the pandemic.
Jeers: To declining species. Three recent reports illustrate the need to better care for our environment. One study indicates that the number of western monarch butterflies wintering along the California coast is at a record low. An annual count recorded fewer than 2,000 butterflies; in the 1980s, counts were in the millions.
Another study finds that the population of gray whales in the Pacific Ocean along the West Coast has plummeted 24 percent since the last count in 2016. Populations have increased since enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972, but now the numbers are going the wrong way. And a third report warns that salmon in Washington are on the brink of extinction because of warming water and environmental degradation. There are various reasons for the declines, but it’s clear that humans are not doing a good job of protecting our planet.
Cheers: To the state Department of Ecology. Speaking of protecting the planet, state officials have denied a permit for a proposed methanol plant at the Port of Kalama. The $2.3 billion project, proposed by a Chinese company, would turn fracked gas into methanol for export to China.
Proponents argue that the project would result in less global carbon emissions. But it would create more emissions in Washington and violate the state’s duty to combat global warming. The rejection of the permit hopefully will be the last we hear of a proposal that would endanger the Columbia River and our state’s environment.
