Cheers: To reading. A bill passed by the Legislature will help provide free books to children age 5 and younger in Clark County. Led by Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, lawmakers approved expansion of a state program to all 39 counties, and state Superintendent Chris Reykdal said: “Imagine every student in this state, from birth to the age of 5, getting age-appropriate books sent to them every month. It’s incredible.”
The Imagination Library program was founded in 1995 by Dolly Parton in her home state of Tennessee. It since has provided 174 million books across the country. The benefits of reading have been well-documented in preparing young children for academic success. Any family is eligible to enroll in the program, and officials hope to have 150,000 participants by the end of 2023.
Jeers: To litter. As several recent letters to the editor have noted, Washington’s highways are a mess. Litter covers roadsides and the edges of onramps and offramps throughout Clark County and other areas of the state. There is good news: Cleanup programs under the Department of Ecology are resuming, after being postponed for two years because of COVID-19 precautions.
Much work needs to be done, and cheers are warranted for everybody who pitches in to help. But vociferous jeers go to those who consider our roadsides to be their personal garbage cans. The solution is simple: Have some pride in your community and don’t throw refuse from your car.
Cheers: To a new arrival. A calf has been born to the J pod of the southern resident orcas, an endangered population of killer whales that inhabits the waters off Washington. The joyous news is tempered, however, by the loss of two other pregnancies in the pod. “A calving rate of one-third of the documented pregnancies will, unfortunately, be consistent with the high rate of reproductive loss that has been documented in recent years,” researchers said.
The southern resident population stands at 74, down from a peak of nearly 100 in the mid-1990s. Scientists say the orcas face three main threats: Underwater noise, pollutants, and lack of chinook salmon, their primary food source. Any addition to the family is worthy of cheers as the orcas fight for survival.
Jeers: To confusion over short-term rentals. As a recent article in The Columbian detailed, the city of Vancouver has been slow to update regulations for short-term rental properties such as those found at Airbnb. In one instance, a homeowner who rents out an accessory dwelling unit received conflicting letters within days of each other. The first said the city was halting short-term rentals; the second said the first letter was sent in error.
Such rentals generate both benefits and problems for property owners and neighbors, as well as a conundrum for city officials. But short-term rentals have been prominent for several years now; Vancouver leaders should quickly clarify the regulations.
Cheers: To good COVID-19 news. Coronavirus cases continue to decline throughout Clark County. They fell by about half this week and have dropped at schools and at Larch Corrections Center. Meanwhile, Washington’s statewide mask mandate and other restrictions will end March 12. Everywhere we look, there is positive news about COVID-19 infection rates.
That doesn’t mean the virus has disappeared or that the threat no longer exists; we should avoid complacency. But after two years of persistently distressing reports about COVID-19, it is a pleasure to offer a few cheers.
