Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 575 - 599 of 3749
If Americans are to receive all of their electricity without coal and natural gas by 2035, they will need nuclear power. Even if Washingtonians, who already procure over 70 percent of their electricity from the hydro, are to be completely devoid of fossil fuel generation by 2045, they must have nuclear. Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act passed earlier this year by the legislature leans heavily on renewable fuels, particularly wind and solar. It calls for electrical generation to be c...
I love food--good food. I think it’s safe to say that all humans like to eat. (Unless you have some other issues, but we’re not going there.) As humans, we are biologically prone to certain foods like sweets and salty things. Food companies have expounded on this to the point of being unhealthy, but we’re not going there either. There are some really good eats out there, and we all have things we are particularly fond of and it can cause us distress to not eat those things. While I can eat a...
Each morning my husband and I read 365 Blessings to Heal Myself and the World by Pierre Pradervand, which among others, encourages blessings for people engaged in different occupations, including politicians. Today I want to send a blessing to our Representative for the 5th Congressional District, Cathy McMorris Rodgers - to bless her for her ability to demonstrate integrity in listening to her constituents and promoting peace; to bless her for caring and advocating for people in need who are suffering and anxious because of Covid-19; to bless...
Oops! I missed a birthday. Our lovely drug prohibition is 105 years old, today -- March 15, 2020 -- Happy birthday, prohibition, and hats off, to all the people out there who are profiting from it. Prohibitionists claim that prohibition didn’t, didn’t, didn’t, create our drug problem. Then explain history to me. For 56 years (1915-1971), the US had a policy of drug prohibition, while England and Europe had a policy of legal drugs. The two policies had different outcomes. Under prohibition, America had developed a large drug problem. Under...
Our environmental quality strategy must be encompassing and not just focus on climate change. Since Democrats announced their Green New Deal, the emphasis is reducing greenhouse gases, particularly CO2, which contribute to global warming. Their goal is to replace gasoline and diesel burning vehicles with those operated by batteries and to eliminate coal and natural gas burning power plants. It is understandable since the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities is from...
Okeydokes: New crosswalk flashers on Main Street. Pet Peeves: This is one senior citizen who wants to see her kids while she is alive, instead of my kids seeing me when I’m dead!...
Dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers provide an appropriate balance between the economic needs of Eastern Washington and fish protections. While we already knew that here in Eastern Washington, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came to that conclusion, too, after completing yet another environmental study this spring. The results of that new study were released last Friday, and they support keeping things essentially the way they are on our rivers. The dams will stay, for now. Our power...
There he goes again, Publisher Harnack with another anti-government editorial. I don’t dispute his right to his opinion. Was it Mark Twain or A.J. Liebling who said “Freedom of the press belongs to he who owns one.” Initiative 1114 seeks to limit the powers of an elected official to exercise leadership in our state. How is no leadership on the national level workin’ out for ya? Bob Curry, Endicott...
America desperately needed some positive news and a reprieve from the coronavirus pandemic and rioting which is ripping apart our country---most notably in Seattle, Olympia and Portland. We needed reaffirmation that our political leaders can come together, set aside bitter partisan differences, and act in our country’s best interests. That actually happened in the course of the last month. The result would undoubtedly please the legendary U.S. Senator Henry ”Scoop” Jackson (D-WA)---the master problem solver. In March, President Trump signa...
One of the ways high school honors English class has scarred me is it has left me forever analyzing stories. With five kids at home, those stories are often animated movies and cartoons. It’s an interesting juxtaposition when you apply college level analytic to Disney and Pixar characters. In Trolls World Tour—one such fun kids’ movie—the different genres of music trolls live in isolation from each other, until the Hard Rock Trolls try to take over the rest, bringing all trolls under one music....
Okeydokes: Whitman County Road Department’s work paving Steptoe Street and old 195 in Steptoe! Atta boy! To Inland Asphalt - great job! Plenty of sunshine and cooler weather! Pet Peeves No toilet paper or lights on at Schmuck Park women’s restroom. I had to use the men’s, which had everything. People that live on Southview and Valleyview that let their dogs run loose after dark to defecate in their neighbor’s yards....
Gov. Jay Inslee may order quarantines and business shutdowns, but he cannot enforce them. In agreeing with that argument — presented by attorneys for the governor — U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle ruled last Friday that Gov. Inslee cannot be sued for the “unconstitutional” quarantine of healthy residents, shutdown of otherwise viable businesses or mask mandates. According to the judge, state officials can only be sued if they are connected to enforcement of an allegedly unconst...
Several subscribers have complained in the paper that there is no state voters pamphlet. There is, but only on line. Those in the county without computer access are out of luck since our library system has had to be shut down. Given the importance of the voters pamphlet and the public’s expressed interest in having one, I submit the greatest service to county residents the Gazette could supply since the ownership change would be publication of the pamphlet in next week’s paper. This is your chance to validate your support of the 1st ame...
Truth to tell, there are some immigrants we would be much better off without; and I am not afraid to name them. They include Russian knapweed, field bindweed or morning glory, dogfennel, rush skeletonweed, kochia, Canada thistle (all natives of Eurasia); yellow star thistle and diffuse knapweed (Mediterranean area); canary grass and fanweed, to name a few. No matter how many we Roundup, they continue to proliferate. As for human immigration to North America, arguably the most destructive, in terms of disease importation, genocide, habitat...
Sending federal marshals into Portland, Chicago, and other cities will go down as one of the President’s biggest mistakes. It hurts him politically, it harms the already tarnished image of the police, and it works against the rule of law and order. Sending Homeland Security forces to quell the protests under the guise of protecting federal property creates a no-win situation for the President. If his troops clear the streets, he will be rightfully accused of denying the right of peaceful assembly. Any use of force will be countered by the c...
Okeydokes: New paint on Colfax Main Street. My body. My choice. NO mask. All the parking lot fixes done by local businesses. Pet Peeves: My body. My choice. Birth control. People who don’t mind their own business about others not wearing masks. Masks are a choice and some of us won’t be controlled by fear projected by our governor. New format of the Sheriff’s Log. The new county website is pretty, but I miss the old click on the calendar. Very important national election...Whitman County left without information on candidates for office. Compu...
Harvest has begun in the southwestern portion of the county and is rolling along. To all the farmers out there, just in case no one has told you lately, thank you. Thank you for what you do, for the food and commodities you provide and for what that in turn does for our communities. Farmers (which heretoafter shall mean all people busting their rears to put food on our tables; farmers and livestock producers alike) have been greatly disrespected in the last year or so. Politicians and actors...
I always enjoy hearing from Les Wigen (Gazette 7/9/20). And while his arithmetic is impeccable, his logic and sense of thoughtful consideration fall short. Les argues that since Covid deaths (statistically speaking) have been minimal, our Governor has unjustifiably infringed on our freedom (Socialism?) by closing some area businesses and asking county residents to wear face masks. Statistically speaking, very few deaths have occurred on Whitman County’s roadways this year. Does this warrant the removal of all speed limits and other driving r...
Are you as disappointed with our Fifth Congressional District Congresswoman as I? Not once has Cathy McMorris Rodgers had the courage to stand up to Trump and his divisive actions. It is time to vote for someone who has the courage, who has demonstrated skill in dealing with people of all walks of life, and who will work across party lines to serve us and our country. It is time to vote for Dave Wilson! Any successful challenger to CMR must bring all Democrats, Independents and disaffected Republicans together to defeat her. Democrat Dave...
On Friday, July 1, 2016, I chanced to meet congressional candidate Dave Wilson on Main Street in Walla Walla. Being a newly retired healthcare administrator, my eye caught a reference to Critical Access Hospitals in his campaign brochure. I was pleasantly surprised when he accepted my request to meet over coffee later that afternoon to talk about rural healthcare in particular and his campaign, in general. That meeting eventuated into a deep friendship that is now over four years in the making. What I observed then, and continue to experience,...
There are two legal options to respond to a state budget deficit: The governor orders across the board budget cuts, or a special session of the Legislature occurs liquidating the deficit. The first is a blunt instrument allowing no thoughtful response. The second provides the people’s legislative branch of government the opportunity to deliberate a more surgical response. Gov. Jay Inslee, however, has made it clear he doesn’t plan to call a special session to allow lawmakers to meet to bal...
