EDITORIAL: Cheers & Jeers: Safer roads; Hanford cuts
May 25-Cheers: To safer roads. Clark County is mirroring statewide and national trends with a reduction in traffic fatalities. The Washington Traffic Safety Commission reports 35 fatal collisions in the area during 2025, a drop from a record 41 the previous year. Throughout Washington, there were 659 deaths last year, down from 809 in 2023 and 737 in 2024.
"It is a relief to see fewer people killed in 2024 and 2025. But our goal is zero. One person killed is too many," said Shelly Baldwin, director of the traffic safety commission. Traffic fatalities spiked across the nation in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and deaths remain higher than pre-pandemic levels. Still, the rate of fatalities per mile driven is approximately one-third the rate of the 1970s. Improved vehicle safety, seat-belt requirements and stricter drunk-driving laws have reduced the risk for all motorists.
Jeers: To proposed cuts at Hanford. With the Trump administration requesting a 50 percent boost to an already record-high defense budget, cleanup efforts at the Hanford nuclear site are at risk. This year's budget is approximately $3.2 billion; the administration has proposed a reduction of $400 million; and now the House of Representatives has proposed an additional $55 million cut.
For decades, presidents and legislators of both parties have failed to fulfill the federal government's obligation to clean up what is considered the nation's most contaminated site. More than 50 million gallons of radioactive waste is in underground tanks at Hanford, near the Columbia River, and many of those tanks are known to be leaking. Cleanup of the site should be a federal priority.
Cheers: To new arrivals. A pair of 4-month-old South African lion cubs have made their public debut at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. Zoo officials also announced the birth of a baby gorilla and were expecting another one soon, although it will be a while before those newcomers are available to the public.
South African lions are considered a vulnerable population, and western lowland gorillas are critically endangered. Zoos play an important role in the study and preservation of at-risk species.
Jeers: To outdated systems. A report from the state auditor's office warns of a "high risk for catastrophic failure" in a key state department. The 17-year-old IT system in the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction is used to divvy up funds for school districts throughout the state, and officials say it is outdated.
State Auditor Pat McCarthy said: "I encourage OSPI to treat our recommendations with the highest sense of urgency as it moves forward with plans to upgrade the state's essential school funding system." The issue demonstrates the value of the state auditor's office in flagging risks to taxpayers' investments. While no failure has yet occurred, urgent action is needed and jeers are warranted for allowing the situation to reach a critical point.
Cheers: To making friends. Camas Public Library has implemented an innovative way of promoting social connections through "speed friending." As The Columbian explains: "Similar to speed dating, strangers are paired up and given two to three minutes to hopefully forge a friendship before they move onto the next."
As library associate Stacy Yakouba said, "After college, a traditional office space is kind of your only time that you can make friends, but not everyone wants to make friends with the people they work with." In an age when interactions are dominated by social media, it is easy to overlook the value of in-person connections.
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