Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1909 - 1933 of 3749
The four lower Snake River dams are in the spotlight again. The push to dismantle them continues. Reportedly, one of the new reasons for breaching them is global warming. The warming of the atmosphere is predicted to adversely affect migratory fish habitats. The Snake, it is said by dam-breaching advocates, is one of the few habitats most likely to resist the climate changes. So, the argument goes, they must be returned to their natural state. Countering this argument is the fact that the dams generate power without any carbon releases. They...
Uncoupling state timber sales revenue from public school construction funding doesn’t make sense. It is akin to killing the goose laying the golden eggs. That idea came up during this year’s campaign for public lands commissioner. Democrat Hilary Franz, a Seattle environmental attorney, and Republican Steve McLaughlin, a retired Navy Commander, are the finalists. Franz stated her position in a candidate questionnaire, according to the business publication, Lens. She wrote the state mandate to use revenue from timber sales on public lands to...
Backs Pakootas The ballots will shortly be in the mail, and kindly cast your vote for Joe Pakootas for the U.S. Congress, House of Representatives. Joe is a true leader. He managed the bankrupt Colville Confederated Tribes as a new CEO and created a $10,000,000 turnaround in a short time. Joe is not a poser as our currently “do Nothing but Pose” representative does. Joe Pakootas desires to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and create greater opportunities for our agriculture industry. He will fight to strengthen Medicare and Veter... Full story
Donald Trump has stated repeatedly that his brand is all-important. Well, if what he says in that infamous recorded open-mic conversation with Billy Bush in 2005 about grabbing women's crotches uninvited is true, then his brand should be his prison number. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations for sexual-assault charges in California, where he confessed to that crime, apparently has run out. He didn't help himself at the second presidential debate with Hillary Clinton, which was as down and dirty as it could be. How's that for... Full story
Less than a month before the election, the Republican speaker of the House says he won't defend or campaign with his party's presidential nominee. The nominee has responded by slamming the speaker on Twitter, and his campaign manager is accusing some (unnamed) elected Republicans of sexual harassment against her. The Donald Trump campaign and the Republican Party show every sign of entering into an ugly death spiral. The revelation of the Trump "Access Hollywood" tape occasioned a historic rupture, with elected Republicans around the country...
This is not about politics. Yet, it is all about politics. We have had some rough and tumble presidential campaigns in the past. Dirty tricks, sly innuendos and dishonesty have marked previous races for the White House. This campaign has the same disagreeable elements, but it is also different. There is one thing missing in this election that may have defined some others. It is a simple thing. It is something that rarely takes the spotlight, and it is something that is not often discussed. This simple thing is common decency. Kurt Vonnegut,...
The cost to fight wildfires has risen so high that a pair of Montana’s senators suggest the U.S. Forest Service should be renamed “U.S. Fire Service.” Senators Jon Tester (D) and Steve Daines (R) told the Billings Gazette in late August the rising costs are crippling the agency’s essential non-fire related work. Fire suppression costs now consume more than half of the Forest Service budget compared to 16 percent 20 years ago. The lawmakers introduced legislation to appropriate $1.4 billion more to fight forest and range fires this year, b... Full story
We are in the midst of an epic media freakout. It is a subset of a larger liberal panic over Donald Trump's strength in the general election. The mood of the center-left is, "America, how dare you?" The outraged incomprehension is seeping into and, increasingly, driving the coverage of the race. The freakout began a few weeks ago when Donald Trump started to close the polling gap with Hillary Clinton, and picked up intensity as the race essentially became a tie. The media is going to be in a perpetual state of high anxiety and dudgeon until...
Here’s what I’m wondering: Was it Alicia Machado’s really mild sex video that caused Donald Trump to wake up with a start about 3:00 the other morning? What was he thinking about as he fired off that “unhinged” tweet about her recorded activities under the sheets? And, yes, conscientious journalist that I am, I forced myself to see the tape of her romp. Talk about boring — unless you are amused by how unexciting it really was. But apparently Donny found it far more interesting. Something got him going, whatever he was thinking, or maybe fanta...
When the historians look back at the 2016 presidential race, will they even want to? So bad, so depressing, so damaging. Or was it? This was a year when an unknown senator and a non-politician went much farther than predicted, while spending much less money than was assumed to be necessary. Bernie Sanders, who spent more than Trump, raised it from regular people, without a Super-PAC, with a famous average donation of $27. Trump's unconventional campaign was cheap, by current presidential standards. Both Sanders and Trump proved that if you run...
Fresh Air We would just like to commend the teachers, administrators, board members and other support staff in the Colfax School District. According to the Gazette a couple of weeks ago, contract negotiations were not only successful, but positive and unifying. We found it a breath of fresh air to know you are successfully and happily working together to educate our children. Kirby and Liza Dailey, Colfax Kudos to deputy At a time in this country when the discussion about the police is primarily negative I want to write about a local deputy...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce looked at the cost of regulations in America and found that excessive regulations are undercutting our economy and costing us jobs. Federal rules alone in the past few years have exploded and the Chamber finds it costs our nation $1.7 trillion. State labor and employment law resulted in the loss of 700,000 U.S. jobs. On the other hand, paring back state regulations which exceed federal standards alone would spawn 50,000 new businesses each year. The Chamber report is not an indictment on government regulations, per... Full story
The Charlotte rioters didn't know whether the controversial police shooting of Keith Scott was justified or not, and didn't care. They worked their mayhem – trashing businesses and injuring cops, with one protester killed in the disorder – before anything meaningful could be ascertained about the case except that the cops said Scott had a gun and his family said he didn't. Charlotte is the latest episode in the evidence-free Black Lives Matter movement that periodically erupts in violence after officer-involved shootings. The movement is beh...
What were they thinking? Although, the real question should be: Were they thinking? What could have possessed the Clinton and Trump advisers even to consider visits to Charlotte, N.C., while the city was under siege and caught up in a violently volatile reaction to the shooting death of still another black man by police. The mere consideration of the idea that they'd drop by was wrong on so many levels. First of all, it is near-certain that their presence would fan the flames that threaten to consume Charlotte. Secondly, as the mayor pleaded...
In case you missed the noise, the general election is November 8. That is just a month away. The country will be choosing its next president. This campaign season has been described as one of the most unorthodox and contentious of any in recent history. The charges and countercharges are unremitting. Each candidate has hardcore supporters who remain unwavering. Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, of course, are the two candidates from the two major parties. The third party candidates have gained little traction. Clinton and Trump are older than...
MARRIAGE LICENSES Cole Jacob Bryan, 29, and Jennifer Anne Jones, 24, both Pullman, Sept. 23. Paul Edward Jovanovich, 26, Pullman, and Maja Taylor Olson, 22, Viola, Idaho, Sept. 26. Bertram George Brehm III, 64, and Marta Lucille Coursey, 57, both Pullman, Sept. 26. Cameron Allen Adams, 25, and Courtney Alyssa Karis, 25, both Colton, Sept. 27. REAL ESTATE SALES Teresa Rudy, Pullman, to Ronald and Laura Lacy and Ronald and Tamara Marnell, Albion, house on Bella Vista Drive, Pullman, $226,000, July 26. Congcong Wang, Pullman, to Robert Kirschner,... Full story
Audra Sims has taken over management of 10 state parks. A new area manager is in place for the 10-park Blue Mountain State Parks area. Audra Sims began Sept. 1 after transferring from Alta Lake State Park near Chelan. She now oversees the operation of Sacajawea, Columbia Plateau Trail, Iron Horse/John Wayne Pioneer Trail (Lind to Idaho border), Lewis and Clark Trail, Camp Wooten, Lyons Ferry, Palouse Falls, Steptoe Butte, Steptoe Battlefield and Fields Spring State Parks. A staff of 14 report to...
The $15 minimum wage is an example of elected officials with tunnel vision passing sweeping legislation while ignoring the cumulative impacts of all of the other government mandates on employers. They only zero-in on the costs and benefits of a single issue, such as the $15 an hour wage, when they ought to focus on all of the taxes, fees, regulations and laws. Seattle’s ordinance took effect on April 1, 2015. It directs businesses with fewer than 500 employees to pay the $15 an hour wage starting in 2021. Employers with 500 or more employees (...
If you aren't seriously contemplating the biggest black swan event in American electoral history, you aren't paying attention. Fifteen months ago, Donald Trump was a reality-TV star with a spotty business record and a weird penchant for proclaiming that he was on the verge of running for president. Now, he's perhaps a few big breaks and a couple of sterling debate performances away from being elected 45th president of the United States. Trump has no experience in elected office and, unlike past nonpoliticians elected president, hasn't won a... Full story
I've always had a special kind of contempt for the malefactors who try to turn their evil behavior against those who are resisting. It can get Orwellian. A good example would be the oligarchs in this country who hoard the wealth they've accumulated by hook and crook, and then accuse those who resist of waging class warfare. Never mind that by bribing the politicians with their campaign contributions, they're the ones waging the class warfare. And so it is with Donald Trump, who has taken to saying that when Hillary Clinton calls out his... Full story
Throughout history, various members of the human race have robbed and cheated each other in a plethora of ways. Some have been romanticized and justified; Robin Hood stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Privateer as opposed to pirate. But mostly it has been one person or group of people taking something from another for gain and profit. Regardless of the reason, some of the lowest of these thieves have been those who steal from churches and places of learning. Institutions dedicated to the enhancement of other people. Ransacking a church... Full story
Unfortunately, discussion over our skyrocketing national debt is only a footnote in the testy presidential campaign this year. Hopefully, the upcoming debates will change that. The new president and Congress face a day of reckoning next March when the limit on the amount of money we can borrow reaches $20.1 trillion. Either both parties reach an agreement on funding our government or the president orders a shut down. That’s why voters should know where the candidates stand on handling our massive federal debt before they cast their ballots this...
Short sighted This letter is in response to the person (or persons) responsible for the short-sighted decision not to honor senior passes at local sporting events. Who do you think helped put Colfax schools on the map, both academically as well as athletically? Two old sayings come into play here: “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you” and “Don’t forget who brought you to the dance.” There has always been a strong supporting group regarding schools in this community, so don’t turn a cold shoulder to that support complex. The present track...
With the Clintons, mistrust always pays. A couple of weeks ago, Hillary was yukking it up with Jimmy Kimmel over the absurdity of rumors that she was hiding something about her health. Look, she can open a pickle jar! That feels so long ago now that her campaign has admitted that she was indeed hiding something about her health -- a pneumonia diagnosis. Some of the diagnoses from afar of Hillary's purported illnesses have been elaborate fantasies, and she might have really been fit as a fiddle when she opened the famous pickle jar. But through...
What a terrible weekend Hillary Clinton had! First she stepped into needless controversy, calling half of Donald Trump's supporters "deplorables." The next day, she gave a mealy-mouthed statement of "regret" -- not for using "deplorable," but for the "half" part. How dopey did that look? But it was the video of her stumbling or nearly fainting when she got overheated at the 9/11 ceremony in New York that looked nothing short of alarming. Let's face it. The "overheated" explanation of her campaign and assurances that she was just fine simply...
