Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 3121 - 3145 of 3750
Restoring confidence is job one Looking at the opinion polls, it’s easy to be depressed these days. Three out of four likely voters say America is on the wrong track, consumer confidence has tanked, investors are sitting on the sidelines and job growth has stalled. In short, this is not a recipe for optimism. In his most recent survey, Seattle pollster Stu Elway found that voter confidence has sunk to an all-time low, the worst he’s seen in 20 years. Elway writes: “Economic recovery is a little like the five-day weather forecast around here...
Hue and cry will not derail Obama’s second term USING THE EXCUSE of presenting a long promised jobs plan, President Barack Obama tried last week to launch a political comeback “amid the lowest approval rating of his presidency.” Plus “a growing sense of economic foreboding here and across the country among voters who are increasingly questioning their president’s skills and priorities.” So says the Wall Street Journal on the basis of a poll it jointly took with NBC News Aug. 27 -31 that found only 44 percent of Americans approve of the job he...
America came together Sunday to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The anniversary brought much of the nation together emotionally. Displays of patriotism were everywhere. Much of the patriotic fervor, however, was feel good patriotism. Patriotism is more than wearing red, white and blue and waving flags. It is more than shouting “USA” in a stadium or being silent during a rendition of the national anthem. It is more than speeches and rhetoric. Yet, for many, these are the the only expressions of pat...
Backs Didier Please welcome a new candidate for the mayor’s office in Colfax. Jeff Didier will bring a fresh, common sense approach to the office. Not only do Jeff and his family choose to make their home in Colfax, he also works in and helps manage a small business right here in town. Neither of the other two candidates can make that claim. I think it’s crucial that a mayor for Colfax have a clear understanding of how a business must operate inside Colfax. Jeff can create that positive connection between the business community and city hal...
The Palouse Empire Fair opens its four-day run today, Thursday. What food are you most looking forward to eating? Ken Ditzler, Spokane “Corn Dogs. Or those New York sausages if they have them. Really, any good barbecue when I can get it.” Dalton Doramus, Colfax “Ice Cream. Vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, I’ll take whatever they have.” Noah Groom, Colfax “Cotton Candy.” Blue or pink? “Blue.” Can you taste a difference? “Yeah. Blue tastes way better.” Shawn Staves, Colfax “Elephant Ears.” Do you worry about them going to your hips? “They have....
Told you so The Gazette’s featured article last week clearly shows what I’ve known all along — our County has partnered with a global corporation in opposition to local citizens and specifically Mr. Whitten’s current Appeals of the wind farm development. Why is our County trying so hard to stop a local resident from having his day in court? Could his arguments be legitimate and they don’t want them to see the light of day? If wind energy were so beneficial and cost effective, why would it have to be mandated (forced) upon utility companies and...
Marshall Doak of Salem, Ore., has been hired as executive director of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association, or SEWEDA, and the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization. Doak will take over the agency’s helm at its board meeting Tuesday, Sept. 13. He succeeds Duane Wollmuth of Walla Walla, who resigned from the post in May. Doak previously served as executive director of a community economic development organization in Sunnyside, and for both the Economic Development Council and Small Business Development C...
Obama administration turns to the private sector President Obama and the newly appointed Congressional federal debt reduction committee will need to look under every rock to find ways to save money and do things differently. Now, they’re getting some help from the private sector. In June, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded a four-year $77 million contract to Northrop Grumman to develop a detection system capable of stopping fraud before it happens. Based on systems used in the private sector to detect credit card f...
Getting enough sleep? There’s been another one of those sleep studies warning us once again that millions of Americans are sleep-deprived, thus making us vulnerable to heart attacks and strokes, dumbed down students and drowsy drivers. The latest is according to a study presented at the American Academy of Sleep’s annual meeting in June in Minneapolis and reported in USA Today last month. It shouldn’t surprise you to be told that men tend to be night owls, wanting to go to bed later and get up later, while women are more often morning peopl...
Sunday will mark the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks on America. On September 11, 2001, four commercial jetliners were commandeered by Muslim extremists. Two of the planes were flown into the Twin Towers in New York City. The towers collapsed as people were trying to escape them. Thousands died. A third plane was rammed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., where hundreds were killed. The fourth crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to retake the plane. All aboard perished. The nation was stunned and horrified. For those near...
The Best Dog Movie Ever The publication of my new novel, “Emory’s Gift,” gets me a meeting with a Hollywood producer who professes to be a “big fan” of my work, though in his email he confesses he hasn’t yet read any of it. He’s a man in his 30s with black hair so perfectly arranged on his head it would make a Ken doll jealous. His office is adorned with movie posters and photographs of him with famous actors and other people. I ask him what it was like to meet the governor of California, and he responds, “Well, but he’s back to being an actor...
Vote for Me! W. BRUCE CAMERON I am pleased to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America and will now open the floor for questions. Q: What are your qualifications for president? A: Well, first, I have to say I resent this sort of “gotcha” question that immediately puts me on the spot. Why not ask me the surface temperature of Mars, or whether I can find Canada on a map? It is an insult to my intelligence, and I refuse to dignify it with an answer. I didn’t come here to talk about anything from my past, I came to talk...
The country’s op-ed pages have been full of condemnations of the dysfunction of American politics, what with all the populist clamor and partisan disagreement. So, a thought experiment: What if we were governed by a sophisticated transnational elite that operated outside of normal political channels as much as possible and, sharing similar values, forged compromises relatively easily? What if the elite were high-minded and visionary? What if they succeeded in doing “big things”? In Europe the past couple of decades, this hasn’t been a fancifu...
Hurricane Irene slammed ashore in North Carolina last week. Predictions put it at a Force 4 storm with a northerly track over major cities, including New York. The predicted track was correct, although the storm’s ferocity diminished as it barreled up the coast. It was eventually down graded to a tropical storm. Every conceivable preparation for Irene was made. Cities, states and counties enforced mandatory evacuations. Airports, roads, subways, ferries and train service were closed. Irene was predicted to be the hurricane of a lifetime. The s...
Americans can learn from Poland’s past People don’t appreciate what they have until they lose it. For example, if your water line breaks and you go without showers for a couple of days, you have a whole new appreciation for the water company.Too often, Americans focus on what we don’t have, and we take the simple things in life for granted. But the freedoms and standard of living we’ve always known are not guaranteed. Just look at what has happened in other places around the world. For example, today Gdansk and Gdynia are vibrant port cities in...
Vwitter Me This! Silicon Valley, Calif. — Move over, Twitter, a new service promises to drastically improve on the 140-character text messaging software by adding video. Vwitter, a “video Twitter,” will be launching soon, says CEO W. Bruce Cameron. “Basically, users will be able to send 1.4-second ‘Vweets’ to one another,” he recently explained in an interview exclusive to this column. In the first Vweet to be Vweeted by Vwitter, intelligent apes battle with desperate cowboys and housekeepers in 1960s Mississippi. “It’s as action-packed as...
There's no more poignant symbol of American childhood than the lemonade stand, evocative of long, lazy summer days and pie-in-the-sky entrepreneurial dreams. It inevitably was a subject for a Norman Rockwell print, with a brassy kid confidently hawking cups for 5 cents each. If Rockwell were to update the image today, he might have to include an officer of the law nosing around the stand to ensure its compliance with all relevant ordinances. In various localities around the country this summer, cops have raided and shut down lemonade stands....
I HAVE TO ADMIT that my piece of the Berlin Wall doesn’t exactly reek with authenticity. Not like my piece of the original London Bridge. I bought that piece years ago when the bridge was sold to somebody in Arizona, torn down and reconstructed over a river there. My piece is about 2-by-3-by-5 inches and is gray and white granite with a hole in the top for matches since it has a little plaque on the end that reads “The Original Cigarette Lighter.” There’s another plaque on it that reads “Authentic piece of the London Bridge, Harold K. King,...
Tensions between the Arab world and Israel have captured the world’s attention for 63 years. That is two generations going on the third and not much less than the average life span of an American male. Over these six decades, the tensions have ebbed and flowed, but they have never been put to rest. War and armed conflict erupt at times. The peaceful periods are marked with only sporadic killings. Now, with the changes resulting from the “Arab Spring,” the role of Egypt is changing. Egypt has been a stabilizing influence for years in the regio...
THIS IS A HAMMER Fast Roof Patching Q: While organizing the attic, I noticed there was an area of the floor that looked like it had gotten wet recently. I looked at the roof above, but did not notice any holes. But there is a little water streak down the plywood. Is this a serious problem? — Carol H., New Bedford, Mass. A: If you address it quickly, it will not become a serious problem. Minor leaks in a roof can be patched fairly quickly. They’re often caused by damage to the shingles on top of the roof, which occurs over time due to debris str...
A Hidden Warning Sign for Heart Attack and Stroke Dear Savvy Senior, I started a walking program a few months ago to help me lose some weight but I’ve been having some problems with my legs hurting during my walk, although they feel better once I stop. I thought it was just the fact that I am 63, but my friend was telling me about a leg vein disease called PAD and thinks I may have it. What can you tell me? Hypertensive Helen Dear Helen, The health condition your friend is telling you about is known as peripheral arterial disease (PAD), and y...
Dog vs. Man W. Bruce Cameron Announcer: Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to today’s wrestling match between Tucker, a mixed-breed dog aged 10 months and weighing 22 pounds who must take a pill, and Bruce, an aging guy of Scottish extraction at 160 pounds. Commentator: That can’t be right. He’s heavier than that. Announcer: Well, that’s what it says on his driver’s license. Commentator: He’s a real oinker. A pork platter. Announcer: And Tucker is doing some bows and stretches, getting ready for today’s match. Commentator: Pretty small to be c...
Uncertainty keeps cash on the sidelines At the same time President Obama and Congress were locked in combat over raising the nation’s debt ceiling, leaders of state manufacturing associations from across America were meeting right here in Washington. Despite the 3,000-mile distance, our futures - and their problems - are intertwined. As the debt ceiling debate raged, our nation’s debt climbed to $14.3 trillion, the U.S. Treasury’s cash on hand dwindled to $74 billion and America teetered on the brink of insolvency. Meanwhile, Apple, the world...
Naysayer on D.B. Cooper countered by Goldsworthy SO DNA TAKEN from the necktie D.B. Cooper left in the plane he jumped from with $200,000 in 1971 doesn’t match that of a dead man claimed by his niece to be the long sought skyjacker. But the FBI isn’t quite ready to abandon the late Lynn Doyle Cooper as a suspect in the case, an FBI spokesman said. There were three different DNA samples on the tie and it was not clear where Cooper got it. He may have borrowed it. But if he was the skyjacker, how could he have put it on and removed it wit...
Everyone has experienced it. Suddenly an idea, a song, a new product or a statement is a surprise for its simplicity. Once shared it is almost self evident. “Why didn’t I think of that?” is the common response. Well, Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, has recently come up with such an idea, and it has nothing to do with coffee beans. He recently sent out letters to the CEOs of 3,000 public ally traded companies to introduce his idea. It is just this: Americans of all political persuasions should withhold their political contributions until...
