dailyinsider

Southwest Washington's Community News Service

Monday, June 28, 2010

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Gregoire announces "nation's first electric highway" will run through Clark County

Copenhagen: electric car by tomislavmedak.

Photo of electric car by Flickr user tomislavmedak. Creative Commons licensed.

A $1.32 million federal stimulus grant will pay for Washington to turn Interstate 5 into the nation’s first “electric highway,” with a network of public access electric vehicle (EV) recharging locations from Portland to the border of Canada. Once implemented, Washington will have the first border-to-border highway to offer "fast charge" technology.

"Washington state is a leader in creating green jobs, adopting new clean technologies, and we are poised to do it again with electric vehicles," Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a news release.

The electric highway will support plug-in electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus, and the forthcoming Chevy Volt.

For more information visit the state's "West Coast Green Highway" site.

Locally filmed movie leads off Vancouver's 2010 movie season Friday

Vancouver's free Friday night movie season starts this week with family-friendly drama Extraordinary Measures, filmed last year largely in Vancouver and the Portland area.

Movies are shown each Friday in July at dusk, which is usually around 8:45 to 9 p.m. Vendors will be on site starting at 6 p.m. Seating is first-come, first served.

At Esther Short Park:
July 2 - Extraordinary Measures (PG)
July 9 - Tooth Fairy (PG)
July 16 - Star Trek 2009 (PG-13)

At LeRoy Haagen Memorial Community Park (located in east Vancouver at 136th & 9th Streets):
July 23 - The Spy Next Door (PG)
July 30 - The Blind Side (PG-13)

Parking is available at the Vancouvercenter Garage downtown and in LeRoy Haagen Park's lot. The season is sponsored by Bonny Lund, DDS, and the Port of Portland, with support from The Columbian.

For more information, go to www.cityofvancouver.us/events or call City of Vancouver Special Events at (360) 487-8631.

Parks & Rec consolidation talks begin Thursday

A "blue ribbon commission" of prominent citizens will meet in county offices Thursday to begin discussing cooperation, consolidation and possible long-term cuts to parks and recreation funding in Clark County and its cities.

The 12-member commission's first public meeting starts at 2 p.m. in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. in Vancouver.

"The bottom line is this: We can no longer afford to do things the way they've been done in the past," Pete Mayer, Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation director, said in a news release Monday. "Solutions will likely include eliminating and/or transferring some services, but in the end, we hope to be able to recommend a model for a parks and recreation system that not only provides what the community desires, but is both efficient and financially responsible."

Clark County, Vancouver, Battle Ground, Camas, Washougal, and Ridgefield each appointed two people to serve on the commission.

The commission will meet monthly for about 8 to 10 months, finishing with specific recommendations for the county and cities.

Blue ribbon commissioners are Florence Wager and Vern Veysey from Clark County; Roy Heikkala and Jeff Gordon from Vancouver; Adrian Cortes and Debbi Hanson from Battle Ground; Melissa Smith and Jerry Acheson from Camas; David Scott and Suzanne Bachelder from Washougal; and Sean Kearns and Darrin Class from Ridgefield.

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Campaign Events

3rd District Candidate Forum: Leadership Clark County will host a candidate forum at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 8, at Clark College's Gaiser Hall, featuring candidates running for the open seat in the U.S. 3rd Congressional District. The event is free and open to the public.

Candidate forum: The Forum at the Library and League of Women Voters are offering a forum featuring the candidates for Clark County Prosecuting Attorney at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15 in the community room at Clark Public Utilities, 1200 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. For more information, call 360-695-1566.

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News Briefs

Camas airport: East Clark County's port is preparing to form an Airport Advisory Committee to guide the future of Grove Field, three miles north of Camas. A three-member "forming committee" plans to report to the port commission July 7.
Fallen soldier: Gov. Chris Gregoire ordered flags to half-staff Tuesday, June 29, in honor of Joshua R. Dumaw of Spokane Valley. Dumaw died last week in Afghanistan.
Volunteers needed: With less than one month before Independence Day at Fort Vancouver, the nonprofit organization which produces the event, the Fort Vancouver National Trust, is looking for volunteers to fill a number of roles, from ticket collectors, information booth and parking lot attendants, servers for the adult beverage area and more. For more information about volunteering on July 4th, visit the Trust’s website at www.FortVan.org or call the Trust at 360-992-1800.
Summer events slated: Esther Short Park and LeRoy Haagen Memorial Park will be the sites of free entertainment this summer. Esther Short Park is located at 8th and Columbia Streets in downtown Vancouver. LeRoy Haagen Memorial Park is located at 136th Ave. and 9th St. in East Vancouver. A full listing of free events is available at, http://www.cityofvancouver.us/concerts.
CRESA Book Club: The Clark Regional Emergency Services Agency (CRESA) will be hosting a lunchtime book club to discuss the Amanda Ripley book The Unthinkable beginning on Monday, July 12. The book provides examples of how people have responded to disasters. The club will be facilitated by Cheryl Bledsoe and Beth Vaughn, who are both emergency managers for CRESA and Clark County. The club will run for eight Mondays over the lunch hour from noon to 1 p.m. from July 12 through Aug. 30. It will be held on the sixth floor of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin Street, Vancouver. Registration is available at http://www.cresa911.org/emergency/training-register.php or via phone at 360-992-6270. The group will be limited to 25. Participants will be expected to bring their own copy of the book. People may also participate in the book club discussion virtually, off-site, through Twitter by following www.twitter.com/CRESA_Presents.
Summer Lunch Program: The Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation Department will be sponsoring the Simplified Summer Food Program through the United States Department of Agriculture. Meals will be made available at no charge to attending children under 19 years of age. Most programs start today. For details, contact Teresa Williamson at 360-487-7060.
Free Tai Chi: A group of Tai Chi Chuan practitioners meets every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 7 a.m. at Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver. The group welcomes new members at no cost. For more information, call 971-322-7942.
Electronics Recycling: Clark County Environmental Services will partner with Empower Up, a nonprofit organization that recycles electronics and offers free computer training, to recycle and reuse electronics during three upcoming collection events. More information is available on the organization’s website at www.empowerupnow.org. For additional information, contact Clark County Environmental Services at 360-397-2121 ext. 4352. Used electronics will be accepted at household hazardous waste collection events, including:
- Battle Ground – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 10, Battle Ground Police Department, 507 S.W. First St., Battle Ground.

Calendar

June 29: The Ridgefield Business Association (RBA) will host a Business After Hours networking event to benefit the Neighbors Helping Neighbors nonprofit organization from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 29, at Agave Denim Outlet, 6210 S. Eleventh St. in Ridgefield. This is the RBA's first Business After Hours. The event is $5 per person or equivalent donations of non-perishable food items or clothing. Participants may register at the door. For more information, visit www.ridgefieldwash.com.
July 20: The next Face to Face with Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt and the Vancouver City Council will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 20, at Fort Vancouver High School, 5700 E. 18th St., Vancouver.

Monday on the air

Vancouver City Council workshop (live)—3:55 p.m. CVTV 23

Parks Foundation Nature Play Summit (6-22)—9:15 p.m. CVTV 23

Community Calendar Links