Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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The 2024 legislative session is now in the history books. After 60 days, in which 201 House bills and 180 Senate bills passed the Legislature, we can report a mix of great successes and disappointments. We fought hard for public hearings on all six citizens' initiatives to the Legislature. Closer to the end of the session, Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate reluctantly agreed to hear three of the measures but sent the other three initiatives to the November...
Several days ago, the Wall Street Journal issued a report about California’s “soaring electricity rates.” Average residential rates for investor-owned utility customers have surged by 72% to 127% over the past 10 years. About 2.5 million households in California are behind on their bills, averaging $733 in arrears. According to the Energy Information Administration, California has the second highest average retail price for electricity at $.22 per kilowatt hour. Fuel price...
“The possibility of a global environmental apocalypse has been dominating headlines and exercises a powerful hold on the imaginations of millions of people,” according to optimist and author Marion L. Tupy. Headlines of imminent catastrophe are resulting in public policy driving our nation and our state as well as many other western economies to the brink. The Clean Energy Transformation Act, passed in 2019, and the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) of 2021 form the arc...
On Tuesday, Rep. April Connors, R-Kennewick, and I introduced House Bill 2040, also known as the Carbon Auction Rebate program. The bill seeks to provide rebates to Washington motorists suffering from our state’s high gas prices. This past summer, for the first time, Washington surpassed California for the highest gasoline price in the nation. With the summer travel season behind us, our gasoline prices have fallen, but they are still much higher than our surrounding s...
Last month, I attended joint meetings for the National Association of State Conservation Agencies and the National Watershed Coalition in Salt Lake City, Utah, at the request of Washington state conservationist, Roylene Comes-At-Night. Just as in previous annual meeting in Spokane two year ago, this was an opportunity to build relationships with national U.S. Department of Agriculture leadership, understand programs and funding opportunities better, and to work together for...
In 1922, the Columbia Basin Irrigation League was formed. Just a year later, Congress passed a bill allowing an investigation of the irrigation project with appropriations of $100,000. This was the very beginning of the process that led to construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest dam in the world at the time, to help provide irrigation to the Columbia Basin, and power to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It was also the beginning of one of the largest irrigation...
Too many Puget Sound lawmakers never look beyond their grocery stores to understand the struggle of our farmers to keep those stores supplied. That’s why Sen. Mark Schoesler, Rep. Joe Schmick, and I work so hard in Olympia to advocate for our fellow farmers, educate those in power who have no clue about agriculture and we fight against policies potentially devastating to agriculture. We understand the importance of our state’s agricultural industry, the jobs they provide in...
There are some hard-core Western Washington groups that want you to believe that if we breach Snake River dams, it will boost our state's salmon population and we can save the Southern Resident Orcas from extinction. It's the old strategy of if you repeat something long enough, people will finally believe you. Even though dam removal would be devastating to our state's power grid, agriculture, and vital river navigation of wheat and other products. Here's what they won't tell...
9th Legislative District Concerns about heavy-handed regulations and their effect on small railroads led to legislation sponsored by Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy. House Bill 1136, which was signed into law by the governor May 8, tailors the emergency planning requirements for short-line railroads hauling cooking oil, and small quantities of other kinds of low volatile oils, from directives that apply to Bakken crude and other petroleum based oils. “Two years ago, the L...