Cheers: To declining COVID-19 rates. For two years we have frequently pointed out increases in coronavirus rates, so it is a pleasure to cheer some good news — with a few caveats. Clark County health officials this week reported a sharp decline in COVID-19 infections, about half the rate of the previous week. New hospitalizations also have declined.
One caveat is that infections are at 527.4 per 100,000 in population; anything above 200 is considered high by health officials. Another is that local hospitals remain near capacity. Also, the increased availability of home coronavirus tests likely means that actual infections are underreported. Vaccinations have played a role in diminishing infection rates and in preventing severe symptoms that lead to hospitalizations, but COVID-19 is still with us. At least the numbers are trending in the right direction.
Jeers: To a flawed report. Clark County councilors have wisely voted to rethink a report about buildable lands in the county. According to Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle, data used for the report, which is required under Washington’s Growth Management Act, assumes residential density targets established in 2002.
Clark County has changed quite a bit since then, with quick population growth and increasing density. As Chad Eiken, Vancouver’s director of community development, noted: The report “estimates we have capacity for only 3,400 housing units for the next 14 years. But we issued permits for more than half that number of units just last year.” Effectively managing and preparing for growth will require accurate data.
Cheers: To fossilized plants. Two fossilized winged fruits discovered on Sucia Island — one of the northernmost San Juan Islands — have created a mystery. As The Seattle Times writes: “New research published in January in the journal New Phytologist is prompting scientists to rethink how plants may have been dispersed over 66 million years ago.”
One researcher said, “In some ways this is like finding a penguin in North America.” Related fruits today are found only in the Southern Hemisphere, thousands of miles away, and scientists are confounded about how the specimens found their way to North America. It’s all part of the wonder that is science.
Sad: To the death of E.E. “Van” Valkenberg. The Vancouver native, who had a remarkable career in service of his nation, died this month at the age of 95.
Valkenberg served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Most interestingly, he worked as a communications chief aboard Air Force One for 15 years, serving Presidents Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. “I could be anywhere in the world and call any number in the world,” he once told The Columbian.
Cheers: To firefighters. This is a conundrum: Do you cheer or jeer the extinguishing of a fire in a building that is being torn down? That is the question after a blaze at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay, along the Columbia River west of the Interstate 5 Bridge. Fire broke out on the roof of the abandoned hotel and was handled by firefighters despite high winds.
The building is being demolished so the site can be redeveloped by its owner, the Port of Vancouver. So why not let it burn? In truth, tearing down the remnants of a fire-ravaged building can be more costly than a sound structure; it also can be more dangerous. Cheers go to firefighters from the Vancouver Fire Department and Clark County Fire District 6, who quickly responded and kept the damage to a minimum.
