Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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At first, I was shocked that anyone would compare people hooked on drugs to people who are prostitutes. Anyone with half a brain would not call this a victimless crime. Has he not heard about the sex trafficking? Young people who are kidnapped and sold into the sex trade. Young women, children; both boys and girls. Are you really so dumb that you think these children want to be sold and used night after night by multiple men in one night; being drugged, beaten into submission while their “pimp" gets all the money? The only p...
In 2012, state voters decided to go where no other state ever had — they legalized adult-use marijuana, reversing 70 years of policy that by most measures was a waste of time and money. The prohibition against marijuana consumption had virtually no effect on its price, avail-ability, or use. And yet, in that same time period, we taxpayers had to foot the bill for enforcement and incarceration. For many — like me the vote to legalize marijuana was not a vote to endorse its use. It was a vote to act in a pragmatic manner. Sim...
Sometimes being first isn’t good. Such is the case with legislation making Washington the only state to ban natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings. Thankfully, the legislators ended their session in Olympia and left that bad idea on the table. However, it is destined to come back next year. The issue is complicated and expensive. Earlier this year, Gov. Jay Inslee (D) unveiled it as part of a package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It included a phase out of nat...
It isn’t often we hear good news from Hanford, but the Deptartment of Energy recently announced nation’s first commercial advanced nuclear power reactor would be developed on the massive federal reservation north of Richland. Much of the news from Hanford focuses on radioactive waste cleanup and storing it safely. It has accumulated since the 1940s when nuclear reactors enriched uranium for nuclear weapons. While that tedious work will continue for years to come, Hanford sci...
The 2021 legislative session, which is scheduled to end April 25, will be remembered for several things – some good, some bad. The candidates for the “bad” column may include a variety of new or increased taxes and fees that will hit your pocketbook in different ways. For instance, a higher state gas tax and a new “cap and trade” tax that would hit motorists hard, and a higher cellphone tax. Also, before the Legislature wraps up its 105-day session, it’s likely to pass Senate...
As communities struggle to emerge from the ravages of COVID-19 and the consequent devastation wrought by widespread economic shut-downs, one structural policy continues to impede the desperately-needed innovation, investment and risk-taking that Washington state, and the country, need for long-term recovery. That major impediment is so-called "jackpot justice," the insidious practice of aggrieved parties using the courts to secure, not fair and impartial rulings in a...
The world is beginning to unfreeze after more than a year of physical and economic lockdowns. Many states have ended mask mandates, citing increasing vaccinations and decreasing cases. Others are allowing normal activities to resume. By and large, it seems as though America is ready to turn a corner and return to normal life. That is, unless you're in Washington. As our state Legislature moves closer and closer towards the conclusion of its 2021 session, the Capitol in...
Accessibility in the city With the election for mayor coming up (and I am saddened by Dennis Chamberlain's bowing out of that race), I'd like to say...Please, commit to placing a wheelchair/handicapped curb in front of Hometown Medical office on Main Street. Most of the Ritzville population is over the age of 60 and town needs to do more to accommodate that demographic. Paula Parmelee – Ritzville Editor's note: The city is planning to install ADA ramps soon, including one at both ends of the block on Main Street where H...
The Senate operating budget for 2021-23 was approved on April 1 by a 27-22 vote, with two Democrats joining all Republicans in opposition. It is fitting this plan (Senate Bill 5092) was passed on April Fools’ Day. The sharp spending increase found in this budget can be viewed as a bad joke on Washington taxpayers. Total spending in the Senate budget is $59.5 billion. It’s $7 billion more than the current budget, or equal to a 13% increase in spending. If the Senate plan is...
The poor are oppressed by the incompetent. It is a phrase that increasingly rings in my ears as I watch government bureaucracies and politicians provide false hope instead of tangible assistance. The people who pay for these failures are often those who can least afford it. The examples in my home state of Washington are numerous, but are not unique. My friend Kim Ngan came to the United States from Vietnam, and although she didn’t speak much English, she knew there was o...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A year into living with the ramifications of a global pandemic, it is clearer now than ever before how important science is to our decision-making – and how quickly it can get tossed to the side in lieu of more politically expedient "truths." When other countries join the fray to undermine our nation's stability, annoyance quickly gives way to alarm. China is leading the latest attack against America with one goal in mind: to undermine our nation's food supp...
Surprisingly, there is something U.S. Presidents agree upon — America’s economic and national security hinge upon maintaining our technology edge in semiconductors. Those tiny computer chips are the brains of modern electronics. They operate our laptops and smart phones and permeate every sector of our lives from farming and manufacturing to health care and public safety. They are embedded in our military’s most advanced equipment and give us a tactical edge. Semic...
Beware of what is happening in Washington, D.C. The so-called Equality Act is now in the Senate after passing the House and having President Biden's support. This act is supposedly an extension of the 1964 Civil Rights bill which was to help ethnic groups, not liberal/unconventional groups like the transgender/LGBT who think they're entitled to anything they want with little or no discrimination. This will affect all institutions; public, private, religious. The transgender restroom/locker room/shower theme is overriding the...
This will sound funny anywhere outside Olympia, but there is a question that for years has stumped half the Legislature. If an income tax is so good for the people of the state of Washington, why do they say no every time they are asked? Advocates of higher taxes and spending have tried just about everything. Big income taxes, little income taxes, income taxes dedicated to noble purposes and income taxes that are only supposed to hurt millionaires. Yet the people keep voting n...
Everybody associates March 17 with St. Patrick’s Day, that one holiday in which we are all encouraged to wear green. Around the Capitol last week, March 17 brought a different meaning of "green." That morning, the state Economic Revenue and Forecast Council announced the first state-revenue forecast for this year showed a surprisingly large increase of $3.3 billion through the 2021-23 budget cycle and $5.2 billion over the next four years. It is the largest positive q...
Last week, the Legislature got a terrific piece of news. State tax collections have rebounded despite one of the worst economic situations we’ve ever faced. The latest projection adds $3.3 billion, and we’re right back where we were before COVID-19-related shutdown orders. The strange thing about it was the reaction of our Democratic colleagues. They said they wouldn’t let this good news stand in the way of their effort to impose an income tax on the people of Washi...
America’s media is suffering from a truth deficit leaving many to wonder where to go for honest, reliable and accurate information. Unfortunately, it is not the mainstream or social media. Last month Forbes magazine found for the first time, fewer than half of all Americans acknowledge any kind of trust of major media. The information was captured in Edelman’s annual trust barometer. “Fifty-six percent of Americans, for example, said they agreed with the following state...
Harnack correct on HB 1356 The rewriting of history, not only of this country but others as well, has been going on for ages. Roger Harnack's editorial in the March 10 Journal with regard to politicians and legislation to implement political correctness is right on target. Some time ago, a group of us "old goats" were gathered together and just for the sport of it, took the NHL National Hockey League, the NFL and MLB to see just how many of the mascots of these leagues would survive today. You could literally find something...
It’s a solution in search of a problem. Lawmakers in Olympia appear to be fast-tracking House Bill 1356, which would ban the use of “racially derogatory or discriminatory” American Indian mascots, logos and team names in public schools in the state. Simply put, the bill is political theater, nonsense that kowtows to the politically correct crowd that’s bent on cancelling our culture, heritage and history. The bill is quickly moving through the Legislature even though I think...
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 14, daylight saving time for 2021 will begin, clocks will spring forward an hour, and Washingtonians will once again ask themselves how this annual ritual is even still a thing we all must do. The supposed reason for daylight saving time is for us to make better use of natural daylight during the spring and summer. However, the practice of shifting back and forth between daylight saving time and standard time has proved to be a dangerous and...
Some moments lend themselves to hyperbole. That amazing fishing trip from seven years ago; the winning free throw at a high school basketball game; the marriage proposal when time stood still. Or 2020, when Washington agriculture was fighting for its life after a court ruling forced the dairy sector to begin paying time-and-a-half and left the specter of retroactive pay lingering in the background like an unwanted flu just before vacation. In our state, we are waging a war...