Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 314 - 338 of 3749
Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material and the situation is likely to get much worse as the world shifts to electric vehicles. Everyday-green.com reports more than 86,000 tons of single-use alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, C, and D) are thrown away. They power electronic toys and games, portable audio equipment, and flashlights and makeup 20% of the household hazardous materials in our garbage dumps. Unlike composted waste,...
Mr. Ed Schweitzer, who founded and leads Pullman-based Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, recently pointed out how the new long-term care tax will have an extra-bitter taste for people who call Idaho home but work in our state, in border cities like Clarkston or Pullman. Those include a significant number of SEL's employee-owners, he wrote in a letter to Gov. Inslee, who will be forced to pay the tax but can never benefit from it if they don't reside in Washington. His letter also details...
The little reported information on the elected officials getting a 7% raise is astonishing. My friends in the road department stomached no cost-of-living raise for two years because of the pandemic with the supposed loss of revenue. Trying to be the team players that they are, they went along with it. Darren Alred, from the salary commission, suggested raises of 7-10% would help retain elected officials. I did not know we had to actively try to retain an elected official by throwing money at...
Time is short, but action is necessary! Gov. Jay Inslee and Democrats who control the state legislature need to postpone implementing the sweeping “Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program” to determine its future financial viability and find better alternatives for coverage. The new law, also known as the Washington Cares Act, is a mandatory, public, state-run long-term care insurance program. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, Washington employers must withhold a new payroll tax ($58 per $10...
Nicole is a 22-year-old and sits in a chair telling her dad on the phone how her boyfriend abandoned her. He stopped calling and texting her once she told him she has COVID. The young man doesn't seem to know he can't catch it through a cellphone. Her dad is several states away waiting for a store to unload his semi-truck, but he called her. An unvaccinated coworker at a juice bar brought it to work. Nicole and two others got sick. She lost the job. Nicole's alone and feeling rejected by...
Parents of public school students in the 9th Legislative district have had enough of coronavirus-related mandates from Olympia. Shutter schools, curtail sports, wear masks, limit field trips, and restrict access to graduation. The actions have not been embraced here. And neither has Gov. Jay Inslee’s renewed call for all public school students to remain masked for the upcoming 2021-22 school year. Area parents are pushing back. This week, led by a group from Fairfield, many parents are e...
In the free and open society of a constitutional republic, when you say something or do something, it is sometimes cheered or cursed, sometimes laughed at or applauded. But mostly and most beautifully folks just go their own way and mind their own affairs. However, in a socialist society, you are compelled to conform and do what the government tells you to do. So, take your “Fauci Ouchi,” also wear your Inslee mask, and don’t object or you will be canceled. Travis Brock Colfax...
Is it time yet to confront climate change? The weather we’ve experienced this summer foreshadows what we will experience more and more frequently in coming years. The situation isn’t hopeless: there’s still time to avert the most damaging effects of climate change, but it’s going to take a national commitment. Among the policies the Congress can enact this year is to place a price on carbon dioxide pollution. Multiple sources confirm that carbon pricing alone will reduce the US’s greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030. There are several w...
If there are any Americans out there who are still loyal to Donald Trump, listen up! Don’t be sidelined by “Trumpian talking heads.” Stay focused on Trump! He and Melania are both vaccinated, and Trump said, “I would recommend it and I would recommend it to a lot of people that don’t want to get it and a lot of those people voted for me, frankly.” Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, “It is a great vaccine. It is a safe vaccine and it is something that works.” He said, “It works incredibly well. 95%, maybe even more than that ... and it i...
As the Pelosi-led Jan. 6th Commission gets underway it has become obvious that Justice in America is now corrupt and politicized. On one hand, we saw over 500 large and destructive riots which occurred in Democrat-run cities all across the United States during the summer of 2020. These riots caused billions of dollars of property damage, destroyed lives, and laid waste to entire communities. On the other hand, we have a single, large protest supporting Republican President Donald J Trump, which...
During the 2021 legislative session, I spoke out against – and voted against – a slew of bills brought forward by the activist “Defund the Police movement. It was obvious at the time that these bills were vague, poorly written, and would have disastrous impacts on our local communities. I had hoped that the other side would take our amendments in committee or on the House floor, or work in a good-faith, bipartisan fashion to address the concerns of larger, urban areas without hampering our l...
The 2020 Toyko Olympics were billed as the “Hydrogen Olympics!” Then along came COVID and sporting events worldwide were put on hold. The summer games were delayed until 2021. Postponing the games cost Japan billions and thwarted its efforts to showcase the Japanese “Green Growth” strategies. Japan, like the United States, plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050. While countries like China are betting on lithium batteries, Japan’s centerpiece is hydrogen. As Japanese researchers develop n...
Over the last 40 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. The exception was last year when the COVID pandemic shutdown travel and beach lodging. Over the years, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sandcastles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones, and movies down loaded from t...
Everywhere I go, I start conversations about politics. In these conversations, people often ask me “What can I do to make a difference?” One elderly gentleman even told me, “I’m terrified about the fact I don’t get to vote again until 2024!” Friends, participation in politics isn’t limited to the four-year presidential race. There’s so much more that you can do. There’s so much more that you must do. Politics is an everyday sport. The short answer is “get involved and go to meetings.” Think of a...
The 2021 legislative session will go down in history as a precautionary tale of activist overreach and political capitulation as majority Democrats passed misguided, emotionally driven partisan bills that will put all of our communities in danger. While most would agree that addressing law enforcement training, tactics, and standards in a changing mental health landscape is necessary, the truth is, the pendulum swung much too far this session. Here's what needed to happen. Stakeholders,...
When the state Legislature convened for the 2020-21 session, the progressive left held a supermajority. The balance of power in the House was 57-41, and in the Senate was 27-20. The result was a massive onslaught of bills that were designed to completely destroy effective local law enforcement. The radical progressive folks of the Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) also known as the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest (CHOP), and supporting Seattle Democrats are imposing their disastrous and...
Washington citizens will soon see less money in their monthly paychecks unless they opt-out of mandatory long-term care insurance foisted upon them by Democrats in Olympia. No, this is not hyperbole. Not one House Republican voted for the legislation that passed in 2019 and goes into effect in January of 2022. Beginning Jan. 1, 2022, workers in Washington State will pay $0.58 per $100 of their earnings to fund the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program. Those who pay into the trust progra...
It’s shaping up to be the year for conspiracy fans. UFOs are confirmed by the U.S. military and now government censorship through social media platforms. “We are in regular touch with social media platforms … We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on July 15 during a press conference. She was speaking alongside Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about information provided about COVID, treatments, and vaccinations. Psaki outlined steps the White...
As a pharmacist and pharmacy researcher, I watch cutting-edge medicines save and improve patients' lives every day. And I am the father of a daughter with Ulcerative Colitis (UC), which is an autoimmune condition that causes severe bowel problems, and potentially life-threatening bleeds. I've seen firsthand why it's important for patients to have access to a wide variety of treatments. UC often requires trial and error to find the right medication that works for the patient. I shudder to think...
Last month, South Kitsap School Board member John Berg introduced a resolution to prohibit classroom teaching of theories that promote racial hatred. For that he was called a nut. District officials said they won't be teaching critical race theory in the Kitsap schools. The teachers' union said the poor fellow must be watching too much Fox News. The Tacoma News Tribune made him out to be a conspiracy theorist, allowing its reporter to make the astonishing assertion that "no K-12 district in the...
Over the last 16 months, each one of us has suffered through endless chaos and uncertainty of COVID-19 and the seemingly endless monarchical restrictions affecting every facet of our lives. We've all borne witness personally in some way - sick and dying loved ones (not just from COVID), economic insecurity, long-term isolation from family, friends, church, and helping each other in time of need, loss of personal freedom, watching individuals and families struggle with job loss or the collapse...
