Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1177 - 1201 of 3750
Mitch McConnell just did our constitutional order an enormous favor by burying the so-called Robert Mueller protection bill, hopefully never to rise again. There's been much harumphing about how Republicans are in the tank for President Donald Trump by not getting on board the bipartisan bill, but it is a singularly misbegotten piece of legislation. Plan A, i.e., passing the thing, would have been hard enough. But its supporters apparently didn't think through a need for a Plan B or C: Trump would have vetoed the bill if it passed Congress,...
A reason the petition (Malden petition misses budget vote-Nov. 28) was necessary is because, even after the results of the Felton Hall Survey with many citizens sharing their ideas/comments, even after multiple families spoke at a council meeting regarding the need for park improvements, even after the mayor suggested during the meeting that Brad Harris and myself get together with the others on the issue, even after we did and I delivered ideas/progress/proposals over the next several council meetings, still the mayor/council ignored our...
The good news is Washington’s revenues continue to grow, and projections for the next couple of years appear promising. That is welcome news, but it is sprinkled with caution about introducing new taxes. Our state’s Economic and Revenue Forecast Council (ERFC) quarterly update shows a whopping 17.3 percent increase in state income for the current biennium. That welcome announcement comes just in time for Christmas. For background, Washington’s budget is on a two-year cycle. The current spend...
During the recent mid-term elections, Democrats campaigned extensively and at times quite successfully on health care. The specifics covered a wide spectrum. The recurring theme, however, appeared to be cost. Politicians across the board promised cheaper care. Realistically, care can only be cheaper if we reduce the quality or quantity. Twenty-five years ago, my uncle died of prostate cancer. There was nothing that the medicine of the time could do to save him. Now, however, patients have several treatment options; all of which are expensive....
George H. W. Bush, our 41st president, died last week. He was 94. He had an illustrious career. Although from a patrician family, at 18 he volunteered for the military to become a pilot during World War II. Later he served in the House of Representatives, ambassador, chief of the Central Intelligence Agency and vice president under Ronald Reagan. Then, he was elected president. Wednesday was a National Day of Mourning for him. Since his death, he has been widely lauded for his diplomacy, civility and kindness as well as for his internal...
Pet Peeves People who put studded tires on pickups, you don’t need them, cars do! Adults who gossip about children and judge their parents. Especially school employees Okeydokes The Cougs!...
Forgive my self-indulgence, but at the very start I need to point out that while I may not be young, I am immature. The immature part is familiar to anyone who knows me. But what's important here is that I'm old. So I freely admit that what I'm writing here comes with a bias: The Democrats are guilty of gross age discrimination and, might I add, hypocrisy. It is, after all, the same party that sanctimoniously pretends to oppose all "isms," but obviously that doesn't include ageism. I'm specifically talking about the ones who would fancy themsel...
It's roughly the one-month anniversary of CNN reporter Jim Acosta repeatedly telling President Donald Trump at a press conference that the migrant caravan is "hundreds and hundreds of miles away" and "not an invasion," and objecting to a campaign ad that showed migrants climbing border walls -- "they're not going to be doing that." Now, thousands of migrants from the caravan have arrived in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico, and hundreds of them stormed a border crossing, climbing the fence and throwing rocks. U.S. border agents used tear gas...
The newly released National Climate Assessment highlights the growing and extreme dangers of climate change in every region of the U.S. This week, a bipartisan bill – the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act - was introduced by three Republicans and three Democrats (Whitman County Gazette, 11/29/18.) The bill is a recognition that climate change is a human issue, no matter party or region, and that it’s critical to act now. The Act provides a template for the market itself to significantly bring down climate emissions while sti...
The Council on Aging & Human Services is pleased to report that in fiscal year 2017, 88 percent of all donations and grants entrusted to COAHS went directly to program services. The Finance Committee of the Board of Directors, Don Cox, Duane Gottschalk and myself have worked alongside our Executive Director, Paige Collins, and her talented staff, to ensure that each dollar given to COAHS is used efficiently. We are very proud of this financial metric and wanted to convey this to you, the people of Whitman County. During the upcoming season of...
In response to Mike Largent’s recent letter I’ll take the opportunity to explain Mike’s failure to fully explain circumstances of two (2) commissioner meetings. The first meeting regarding waste/trash, right-of-way encroachment, junk cars and failure to meet zoning requirements in Steptoe was on 4 Sept. 18. Steptoe was zoned in 1980 by commissioners Henning, Henley and Boone. The zoning was reviewed by the current commissioners in 2015. Discussion points were: Art Swannack stated he had discussed the problem with a number of Steptoe resid...
When Congress convenes next year lawmakers must focus on the cost and quality of health care. In November, voters made it clear, health care was on top of their minds. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation a third of voters said it was the “most important” issue. It ranked higher than the economy and jobs. What is driving Americans is their fear of losing health insurance, their home and savings to battle cancer or other life-threatening conditions. According to the Washington Post, our cou...
Something is going to happen about climate change. Just what and when is unknown. This week, a bipartisan bill was introduced in Congress. The prospects that it will be passed are not good, but this is the first bipartisan carbon tax bill in ten years to be considered. The bill will probably be introduced again next year in the House of Representatives. This comes on the heels of the defeat of I-1631 in Washington. That, too, was a carbon tax proposal. Much was wrong with it. In many important regards it was just too vague and too open to...
I'm always amazed that the Washington types I consider to be such jerks are completely different when I run into them at a dog park. They're actually pleasant to be around. Our canine kids certainly are a good influence. I find it interesting that President Donald Trump and his family don't have any puppies, not even the ones that most politicians trot out for warm and fuzzy photo ops or campaign ads. But not Trump, maybe because he doesn't do warm and fuzzy. Or perhaps it's because he's a major-league germaphobe and is worried about rabies....
Joe Biden is a gaffe-prone 75-year-old Washington veteran -- who is exactly what Democrats need. The suburbs have turned against Republicans, but Donald Trump's working-class base is still with him in a geographic and demographic stand-off that will -- absent a game-changer -- define the 2020 election. The play for Democrats should be obvious: Make a serious appeal to Trump's voters, take back the Blue Wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and win the presidency. In other words, go with Joe Biden or someone like him with a...
Pet Peeves Colfax gas prices not dropping. People who judge and gossip about other people’s children when their parents are doing their best. People who throw their cigarettes out the window. Quit smoking! If you can’t quit, don’t throw your cigarettes out the window!!! Okeydokes To the kind gentlemen who paid for two great-grandmothers' meals at Fonk’s on Friday....
While massive wildfires are historic, they are more dangerous today. As our population grows they are a greater threat to communities adjacent to wild lands This year, with nearly 4.8 million acres already burned in the U.S. and wildfires finally contained in California, is shaping up to continue a trend that has seen the 10 worst fire seasons since 1960 in terms of acres burned, U.S. News reports. AccuWeather predicts the total economic loss to California when everything is tabulated in 2018 wi...
Dear CNN, I watched your broadcasts protesting the revocation of Jim Acosta’s White House press pass. You have now turned to the courts in order to bolster your continued feud with President Trump. I will agree that the President is pompous, rude and undiplomatic. He certainly carries much of the blame for your conflict. You should, however, acknowledge that you are at least partly responsible. In the case of; Jim Acosta, you are just plain wrong. Your network, and to a degree the national press in general, have come to believe their First A...
It is here. As of Friday, the Christmas season officially starts. At least it used to. This Thursday, as in recent years, Thanksgiving Day is really the start. That is when the Black Friday sales kick off in earnest. Some even started weeks ago. If you eat fast and don’t go for an extra piece of pie, you could be one of the first in a store opening Thursday afternoon. Most stores, however, open early Friday, Black Friday, with buys meant to attract shoppers before they spend all their money elsewhere. Black Friday is a long held tradition. N...
Pet Peeves Lingering tree stumps on Main Street. Eyesores. Okeydokes Huber Action Freight for donating their time to support high school programs....
I've said this before, but my colleagues in media have either disagreed or simply ignored me. After Jim Acosta's confrontation with the president at a White House press conference and the subsequent retaliation, it's time for me to renew my call for all reporters who hold so-called hard passes to turn them in and abandon their post at the White House en masse. Yes, it would be a gesture of defiance to a president and administration that uses reporters as props. There is nothing in the First Amendment that guarantees freedom of the props....
Midterm losses typically humble a sitting president of the United States, but Donald Trump is beyond humbling. He is the most unbowed president ever to lose a house of Congress. Anyone who thought Trump would be taken down a notch, even by a more stinging electoral rebuke, doesn't know the man. He will remain the ringmaster of American politics until the day, presumably in January 2021 or 2025, when he gets on Marine One for the last time. He made the midterms about him, because, really, what else would he make them about? Trump will never lose...
Last week Gordon Forgey’s editorial commented on recent California fires that, as of Sunday, have left at least 76 dead and nearly 1,300 unaccounted for. Three years ago, Time Magazine published an article titled “Climate Change is the ‘Mother of all risks’ to National Security.” No definitive one-to-one link between climate change and any particular fire can be drawn. However, strong evidence does link climate change to changing weather patterns. Those patterns, in turn, drive drought conditions ideal for the recent extreme conflagrations in C...
Gordon Forgey, in your editorial ("Widespread Fear", Nov. 8) you discuss the Democrats vs. Republicans political divides in Washington DC. I wish the media (you included,) would stop perpetuating the myth of "both sides do it" equally. No, they don't. Among the many examples is the fact that Republican leaders and top donors decided (secretly) after Obama's election to oppose him on everything (re: PBS, Frontline, January 15, 2013). Case in point: Obama's last Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland. Republicans refused to even consider his...
As we honor our active duty military and veterans, what is the Trump administration doing for veterans? Not going to the WWI cemetery due to rain for those who died in that war is minor compared to other policies and actions this administration is pursuing that harm and dishonor our military. --Charlotte K. Omoto, Pullman...
