January 9, 2015 6:01 a.m.
For her third term in Congress, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler is talking a good game. "More than ever, we need to prove the ideas and principles we stand for are going to work," the Camas Republican said Tuesday as the 114th Congress convened. "We shouldn't let egos, attitudes and personalities get in the way."
January 8, 2015 6:01 a.m.
It often is tempting to brush aside the latest report or the latest study about the newest thing that is endangering you and your family. Goodness knows, we all-too-frequently are informed that something we never have heard of is a threat to our well-being.
By The Columbian January 7, 2015 6:01 a.m.
The most jarring visual image of this week's torrential rain in parts of the state came from Snoqualmie Falls. Many a video posted on social media showed the Snoqualmie River in King County surging over the 268-foot falls, placing the recent storms into an easily understood context.
January 6, 2015 6:01 a.m.
The lesson — as always — is that it's important to know the rules and to follow them. That's what Don Kosterow, owner of Sunrise Bagels in downtown Vancouver, discovered recently. Years ago, Kosterow had bought and planted six European hornbeam trees next to the sidewalk in front of his business — an area that is owned by the city but is the duty of the business owner to maintain. When the hornbeams grew a little too large — they were obscuring the view of the company's sign — he paid an arborist to lop off the tops.
January 5, 2015 6:01 a.m.
Local high school students see them daily in the lunchrooms, in the parking lots, at games. They're school resource officers, armed police who are dedicated to patrolling the campuses of local high schools. Found in all of the Vancouver and Evergreen district high schools, the officers work for the Vancouver Police Department or the Clark County Sheriff's Office.
January 4, 2015 6:01 a.m.
Even if you couldn't care less about Oregon Ducks or Seattle Seahawks football, there is already a reason to be optimistic about 2015. Southwest Washington's economy seems to be firmly on the upturn.
January 3, 2015 6:01 a.m.
Cheers: To a $28 million renewal of Skyline Crest, the Vancouver Housing Authority's 150-unit public housing complex in McLoughlin Heights.
January 2, 2015 6:01 a.m.
A small item carried by the Associated Press late last month delivered the final blow to an effort to bring a retired U.S. aircraft carrier to the Columbia River to serve as a museum.
January 1, 2015 6:01 a.m.
Late winter and early spring are landslide season in Western Washington. It's not uncommon for heavy rain and melting snow to send sodden earth slumping down hillsides, blocking roads, covering railroad tracks and changing the course of streams.
December 31, 2014 6:01 a.m.
Before we get caught up drinking the New Year's Champagne, let's pause to remember 2014.
December 30, 2014 6:01 a.m.
Visitors to Washington, D.C., may know the U.S. Capitol is home to the National Statuary Hall, a place where every state has a chance to display two images depicting their greatest Americans. You can see images of Samuel Adams, Henry Clay, Robert E. Lee and even Hawaii's King Kamehameha I.
December 29, 2014 6:01 a.m.
Not content to wait until they convene in January, some lawmakers have fired a shot in the renewed battle of Legislature v. Supreme Court. A bipartisan group of legislators has pre-filed House Bill 1051, which would require candidates for the state's highest court to declare a party preference instead of running in nonpartisan races.
December 28, 2014 6:01 a.m.
So far, so good. As Clark County voters approved a home-rule charter in November, many indicated they were hoping to smooth out some of the bumps from what has been chaotic management of the county.
December 27, 2014 6:01 a.m.
Cheers: Clark County residents can rest assured that their sheriff's office remains in good hands with the ascension of Chuck Atkins to head the department. Atkins, who was elected as sheriff by voters in November, was sworn in this week to replace Garry Lucas, who is retiring after 24 years in the post.
December 26, 2014 6:01 a.m.
One sentence from a recent ruling by a federal judge effectively summarizes the issue of housing mentally ill defendants in jails. "The mental health of detainees further erodes with each additional day of wait time, especially when those detainees are held in solitary confinement," wrote U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman in a case involving how Washington treats defendants awaiting trial. The reason: Jails are "inherently punitive and not therapeutic institutions."