Primary elections are funny creatures. They can take on many different meanings. For candidates who win the primary, they point to the results and declare themselves on a roll and deserving of support. Politicos study the results much like they do polling data. This helps them determine who should be considered for general election support both financially and otherwise.
So many of us send our kids and loved ones off to the movie theater and assume they are safe. After all, this is one of America's favorite pastimes that is cherished by young and old alike. My teenage boys attended a midnight showing of "The Dark Knight Rises." They went with my blessing. Little did I know that at the same time their movie trailers were starting, a horrific tragedy had just unfolded in Aurora, Colo. This incident made me sick to my stomach because of so many reasons. As a parent, it is unbearable to imagine what the families of the victims are going through right now. The senseless and violent deaths of 12 people including children at a movie that was developed from a comic book hero, is unfathomable.
Recently there was a letter published regarding the upcoming Camas EMS renewal levy, and I want the readers and voters to be more fully and factually informed. Since the late 1970's voters have repeatedly supported the emergency services provided to the community by approving levy ballot measures. The initial rate of 25 cents per $1,000 assessed value, and then a subsequent voter approved rate increase to 35 cents per $1,000 to continue to provide the funds necessary to provide nationally recognized superb care to the citizens.
If you're someone who appreciates the Fourth of July holiday as much as I do, you know your reasons for it being such a special day.
May 20-26 was National Small Business Week. Around the country, government officials paid homage to the small business owners who drive innovation in our national and state economies. The recognition is certainly well deserved, but small businesses need more than a week of ceremonial platitudes in order to create the jobs that will spur our national and state economies out of recession.
Can they make good decisions? I often wonder about this because as I am writing this, my senior is at a presentation at his high school about the perils of alcohol and drug use while driving. I hope it's kind of a "Scared Straight" presentation, complete with a car that has been crashed to an unrecognizable pulp, simulated blood and guts, EMT and firefighters giving sobering facts, and hopefully a young adult giving a horrific testimony about their own experience. I really hope that the term "smart decisions" is floating in his mind right now. Not just now, but for some time to come. Because, this is a presentation I did not have in high school.
Activists waging a national war on coal have turned their sights on the Pacific Northwest, targeting proposed shipping terminals in Washington and Oregon that would export coal to China.
If anyone had any doubt why light rail to Vancouver is so controversial, look no further than what the city of Vancouver tried to do. In November 2011, voters approved Proposition 1, which raised the sales tax rate in the Clark County region by 0.2 percent. C-Tran officials promised voters then that the new revenue would raise between $8 million and $9 million per year, and they would use this new money to preserve the existing bus system and prevent further service cuts.
In 1979, four visionary fire chiefs came together to ensure the public safety needs for our community for generations to come. Deloy Little of Camas, Darrell Alder of Washougal, Bob Holland of Clark County Fire District 1, and Clyde Webberley of Clark County Fire District 9, signed a document that established what has come to be known as the "Three Parties Agreement." This agreement provided for the funding of a paramedic transport service in the East Clark County area. The money was to be used for hiring personnel, buying equipment, and the ongoing emergency medical training needs of the involved departments.
Governor Gregoire kicked off 2012 with a strong statement about the importance of the state's small businesses in creating the jobs that will turn the state's economy around: "...If we can make it easier and cheaper for them [small business owners] to do business, they can afford to add more employees. This is the key to our economic recovery..."
