Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 2778 - 2802 of 3750
The long-awaited sequester is upon us. As of this writing, it appears that Congress and the President will let the long dreaded spending cuts go into effect. The administration is predicting dire consequences if the automatic national spending cuts of $65 billion take place, but has done little to avoid them. The Republicans are now saying that letting the sequester occur will not be as bad as previously thought. Sixty percent of the nation says that this is ridiculous and that compromise between the parties should have been reached. The cuts...
Incomplete data The St. John post office is being downsized based on incomplete data. The postal service has admitted to the error but refuses to correct it. Inquiries from our three District 9 state legislators, Senator Mark Schoesler, Representative Susan Fagan, and Representative Joe Schmick, as well as County Commissioner Art Swannack have fallen on deaf ears. Their efforts are to be commended. Now it is time for United States Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers to step in and demand that the USPS, a government agency, put a hold on the...
When Grand Coulee Dam was completed in 1942, it was called the “Eighth Wonder of the Modern World.” With its 151 mile-long reservoir and ability to produce 6,809 megawatts of electricity, no one could imagine a bigger or more powerful dam and no one realized the scope of economic development that low-cost, reliable hydropower would create. Actually someone did. China. This year, China completed its gargantuan Three Gorges hydroelectric project with triple the power generation of Grand Coulee. The controversial project is the largest dam in the...
When President Obama nominated Sally Jewell of Kent for Interior Secretary Feb. 6, you would think that he had located the real Wonder Woman. The 56-year-old CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) was “A Jewell of a Pick” for “the massive job that makes her, by and large, the landlord of the Western United States,” The Seattle Times gushed editorially. She was “an inspired choice,” echoed Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, longtime member of the House Appropriati...
Global warming is widely accepted as fact. Glacial snow packs are receding, and ocean levels are rising. Snowfall is diminishing. Dramatic weather events are becoming more frequent, be they blizzards or droughts. The seas are warming. According to Rutgers University, as reported by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press, average spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has shrunk by a million square miles in the last half century. Yet, in that same time, dramatic snowstorms have doubled. Call it what you will, but weather, by all...
From time to time, I like to leaf through my high-school yearbook, reflecting on the fact that the hair and clothing styles of the time made us all look like lunatics. In my own photo, my odd jacket and long, featureless haircut make it appear as if I’m hoping my class will elect me Bellhop of the Year. A friend of mine from high school recently visited, and we opened the yearbook to take stock of what we were like when we were young and clueless. “There,” my friend said, stabbing a picture with a finger. “You had a crush on her.” I didn’t ev... Full story
Destroying the USPS Postmaster General Patrick Donahue wants to destroy the USPS. He claims there is a “loophole” in the Congressional mandate requiring 6 day delivery. His suspension of Saturday delivery would have a significant negative effect on the Postal Service and millions of customers. This is just another misguided decision by the Postmaster General reflecting his policies of slash-and-shrink. This approach in dealing with the financial problems will doom the USPS to failure. He must continue working with Congress in removing the $5....
Washington missing out on tourist dollars When we moved from Montana to Olympia 35 years ago, we saw enticing television and magazine ads for our neighboring states, but none for Washington. Fast forward to 2013 and nothing has changed. It was puzzling then, but even more perplexing today, considering the money and jobs at stake. Tourism in our state is no small potatoes, it is big business. Visitors spent $16.4 billion in 2011 and accounted for 150,000 direct jobs, which is nearly twice Boeing’s workforce in our state. But our state invests n...
Marco Rubio’s bad deal In Washington, a new gang has been born. The Gang of Eight on immigration is here to tell us that we have succeeded in not enforcing the law so persistently and thoroughly that now we have to give up all pretense. The Gang of Eight, headlined by conservative star Marco Rubio, wants to amnesty the 11 million immigrants who are already here as a product of past nonenforcement in exchange for a promise of future enforcement. Supporters of comprehensive immigration reform resolutely refuse to say the word “amnesty.” They... Full story
There is a divide between the west side of Washington state and the east side, and it is more than just the Cascade Mountain Range. In fact, every so often, it is suggested that eastern Washington secede from the west side and form a new state of its own. That may never be taken seriously, but the two areas are without question different. The power and influence on the west side of the state rankles many in eastern Washington. The population numbers vastly outweigh the more rural east side. Politics are different, too. The west tends to be more...
Be thankful For the people in Whitman County: be thankful your post offices did not close completely as the one in Washtucna did. Bessie Allen, Washtucna Spending threat I read the letter to the Editor by Dean G. Ickes last week with alarm. Mr. Ickes must hate our kids and grandkids! Yes, our government can overspend! It is overspending —and it will greatly harm our kids and grandkids! It would be fantastic if our government only spent 80 percent of income as Mr. Ickes suggested that well run businesses and/or responsible individuals are doing....
Washington slips in best states ranking The famous baseball pitcher Satchel Paige used to say, “Don’t look back — something might be gaining on you.” With all due respect to Satchel, Washington should glance over its shoulder because something is gaining on us. Competing states are coming after Washington’s economic powerhouse: aerospace. One of those competitors recently received a big boost from Forbes magazine. For the third year in a row, Forbes ranked Utah the Best State for Business. Meanwhile, Washington slipped from seventh to 11th....
Washington vs. ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ In “Zero Dark Thirty,” CIA characters warn of congressmen coming after them for running the agency’s interrogation program. As it happens, they could have said the same thing about making a movie about the agency’s interrogation program. Washington is aghast at Kathryn Bigelow’s fantastically compelling new film. “Zero Dark Thirty” isn’t really about interrogation, although you could be forgiven for thinking so given all the debate over its scenes devoted to the agency’s harsh questioning of detainees after Sep...
The tragedies at Columbine and Sandy Hook are embossed on the nation’s psyche. Add to these the continuing but less notorious killings on school campuses, and there is little wonder that communities around the nation want their schools safer and more secure. Just last week, a school bus driver was killed, and one of his students was abducted. Reaction to the violence and danger has been strong and emotional. Many schools are reacting by hiring armed guards, and there is talk about arming school staffers. A young girl was recently suspended f...
Government spending I get so disgusted with all this talk about our government’s spending. A government can’t over spend. The government can spend on what we might not agree on, but the only way the economy can stay strong is spending. If you don’t agree ask any business person as to what happens when no customers show up to spend. Now if industry or individuals don’t spend, I would say up to 80 percent of what they take in, that’s the beginning of a monetary problem. When the money gets hidden from our economy we all are in trouble. The only...
W. Bruce Cameron Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2008. Once a year, I am proud to do my civic duty and take the time to go down to the courthouse to try to get out of jury service. Last week, I was not successful, however, even though I informed the judge that I couldn’t serve because I had very important, highly critical stuff to do that I couldn’t precisely identify. A day of jury service is divided into three parts: waiting for lunch, waiting for lunch to end and waiting for the end of the day. There is no be... Full story
California and Texas are like the two biggest kids on the block going toe-to-toe for bragging rights. Who’s the biggest? Who’s the best? Bravado aside, comparing the business climate in these two states reveals why one state is lagging while the other is thriving. California, once the most attractive business environment in the nation, is today caught in a downward economic spiral while Texas is on the upswing. Between 1960 and 1990, more than four million people moved to California, attracted by the state’s beauty, weather and booming econo...
For the left, this is what winning looks like. President Barack Obama gave a second inaugural address that just as easily could have been delivered by progressive darling Elizabeth Warren. If the president didn’t repeat the phrase that Republicans threw back at him so often during the 2012 campaign — “you didn’t build that” — the speech was a meditation on the same theme of the limits of individual action. The address was a paean to collectivism, swaddled in the rhetoric of individual liberty and of fidelity to the founding. He began and e...
This is real important news for Gazette readers, especially those readers with short arms. Starting next week, we will once again be printed at the Lewiston Tribune. Our return there will bring a few changes. First, we will go to a narrower page. This will be the same page size as we previously had. For those with shorter arms and those occasional Tyrannosaurus Rex readers, the reach from edge to edge will be more comfortable. Basically, we are dropping the seventh or extra column which we added for the wider sheet we have been printed on for... Full story
More on the Unifine mill Several weeks ago you carried an interesting article about the development at WSU of the Unifine process of milling flour, and some of its practitioners. While informative and enjoyable, the article’s startling omission of any mention of Oakesdale’s own Joseph Barron and the Unifine mill he operated in his retirement years leaves the story incomplete, as his contribution to this interesting history affected many of your readers. Plenty of others would be better qualified than I to profile the man and his wonderful ope...
Things to Do in Poland When You’re Undead Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2008. According to zombie legend, “undead” beings are slack, shambling creatures who stumble through life without motivation — sort of like a teenage boy asked to do household chores. I suppose the term “undead” can also be applied to all sorts of hideous creatures — vampires, Frankensteins, women who have had too many facelifts — but it probably came as a shock to a certain Polish person named Piotr Kucy when he, too, became undead. The fi... Full story
A Commitment to Our Veterans In the midst of seemingly endless partisan arguments in our nation’s capital about how to reduce unemployment, Wal-Mart, America’s largest retailer, announced its own plan to deal with the problem. William S. Simon, president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart U.S., announced that beginning on Memorial Day, the company will hire any recent veteran who wants a job. Any veteran honorably discharged within the last 12 months is welcome to apply. Company officials estimate that 100,000 of the company’s 1.4 million...
Ripoffs and Rotters OK. this is the last batch of ripoffs and rotters of 2012: March 27—Kitsap County sheriff’s officers investigating suspicious activities at Bethel Road property found two people trying to strip parts off cars. Neighbors called the cops who found a 26-year old woman and a 52-year old man standing inside a barn by two Hondas whose hoods were up. The pair said they had permission to take the parts but deputies found both cars had been stolen two weeks earlier and arrested them. April 11—Strangers donated a beautifully embro...
Monday was a pleasant respite. Although it was the official holiday for Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday, it was also inauguration day. The festivities pretty much equalled those of other presidential inaugurations. Some of the crowds were raucous and loud, especially when the President and First Lady left their limousine and walked part of the way from the Capitol to the White House. What was most noteworthy, however, was the quiet. Partisan bickering was virtually silenced. It was the first time in years that partisanship took a holiday. The...
Genuine concern I have a genuine concern about the young men and women of America. We have tens of thousands of young people in our state looking for work. However, the Washington State Patrol is facing a crisis because they can’t find enough good candidates to fill a class. They prefer to have 60 people in each class as that is the optimum size for their facilities and instructors. They recently advertized extensively, and they did not get enough candidates to fill a class. The Chief of the W.S.P. said in a recent interview that they had e...
