Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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Remember last summer when the state was acting like Oprah and giving away prizes to people for getting vaccines? “You get a game system!” “You get tuition!” “You win the lottery!” My teenage boys were disappointed it didn’t work out for me. It did for others. Washington state gave away more than $2 million in prizes as incentives for Washingtonians to get COVID-19 vaccines before the state’s “reopening.” It included a $1 million grand prize called the “Shot of a lifetime...
Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that he will finally end governing under an emergency order — after more than 900 days —on Monday, Oct. 31. When the Legislature next convenes, it should ensure that this type of ongoing emergency governance without affirmative legislative approval never happens again. Whether or not you agree or disagree with every decision the governor made for the last 900-plus days, the fact remains these decisions with vast impact on individuals and...
In Washington, this year we’re fortunate to have escaped the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River basin water system has been at normal levels which is good for our agriculture, hydropower generation, barging, local water supplies, and fish and wildlife. However, 20 years ago we faced the same severe drought that is afflicting the world’s major river drainages including the Colorado, Rhine, and Yangtze. That water scarcity is forcing factorie...
I recently had the opportunity to review all 50 state constitutions and confirmed an important fact for the current capital gains income tax litigation in Washington. Although most state constitutions mention how real, personal, tangible or intangible property should be taxed, the vast majority don’t define those terms. Of those that define property, Washington’s constitution has the broadest definition. This is why our state supreme court has repeatedly ruled that in ord...
My husband and I recently got into a discussion about the differences in the labeling of chicken. He saw a post on social media outlining the supposed differences between “pasture raised,” “cage raised,” “cage free,” and “free range.” It is easy to get caught up in the virtuous marketing of “pasture raised,” “cage free,” and “free range” versus “cage raised.” It is easy to imagine flocks of chickens strutting through pristine green fields and foraging for their food, but to...
The local news coverage of the celebration for units returning from Iraq and Afghanistan left me with mixed emotions. I was delighted that our fighting men and women were being embraced by our community. At the same time, however, I couldn't help feeling an emptiness as I recalled the lack of welcome for those of us who returned from Viet Nam. We came home to an ungrateful, and sometimes hostile, nation. In some extreme cases, we were spit on as we got off the plane. Some of...
Implausible as it may seem, gasoline powered vehicles can be part of reducing carbon emissions. They need to be part of the solution and not brushed aside. Take for example, Glacier National Park in northwest Montana, there is a fleet of 33 tour buses powered by gasoline engines. Each year, they transport 60,000 visitors mainly across Logan Pass---the park’s famed “Going to the Sun Highway.” Without them, congestion would be much worse and fewer people would enjoy Glaci...
Next year, one of the state’s newly adopted climate policies, the low-carbon fuel standard, will take effect in our state. The legislation requires companies to blend biofuels or fund charging stations for electric vehicles. Although it has increased gas prices in California and Oregon, the governor and environmental activists claim it would cost Washington drivers nothing, while the prime sponsor testified it would cost no more than 2 cents per gallon. “Don’t let anyon...
A report released last week by the Washington State Hospital Association indicates that virtually every hospital in the state is in financial trouble. (here) A recent survey revealed that hospital revenues were up five percent from 2021 to 2022, yet expenses rose 11 percent over the same time period. This is unsustainable. Several, if not many, hospitals are at risk of closing if these losses continue for another year. This includes both rural and urban facilities. Executives give a number of reasons for the financial...
Surprisingly, recent U.S. Presidents and congressional Democrats and Republicans agree America’s economic and national security hinge upon tiny, yet powerful semiconductors. Semiconductor computer chips are the brains of modern electronics that operate our laptop computers, vehicles, and smart phones. They permeate every sector of our lives from farming and manufacturing to health care and public safety. They are embedded in our most advanced military equipment and weapons. So...
For the people living in the Lewis-Clark Valley on the Snake River, Gov. Jay Inslee’s report on destroying four dams tries to offer some solace. After a “thorough review of relevant economic reports and conversations with experts,” the report’s authors have some ideas about how to offset the serious harm that would be done to the community. Reading the vague assurances from the report reminded me of another community hit by the harmful economic impacts of environ...
Governor Inslee has repeatedly made it clear that he believes his spending priorities exceed any need to provide tax relief to help families deal with the impact of record inflation. On the same day Inslee declined President Biden’s call for states to provide some type of tax relief, the Democratic Governor of Minnesota was instead begging his legislature to act. As reported by the Minnesota Reformer: “Gov. Tim Walz called on Republicans to return to the Capitol to sign off on sending $1,000 checks to Minnesotans as the ris...
The next steps on whether Washington will remain income tax free will be in the courts, as the I-1929 ballot campaign to repeal the capital gains income tax has suspended its activities. Earlier this year an Inslee-appointed judge ruled that the capital gains income tax is unconstitutional. The Attorney General is asking the state Supreme Court to take the case on direct review. The Everett Herald reported on Friday that the I-1929 ballot campaign was not moving forward: “Spon...
Regenerating millions of western forested acres scorched by large wildfires is a herculean task costing hundreds of billions. However, healthy growing woodlands are essential to reducing atmospheric CO2 and providing abundant clean air and fresh water for people, crops, fish, and wildlife. According to the National Interagency Fire Center nearly 3 million acres have already burned this year in the U.S. mostly in Arizona, New Mexico and Alaska. By year’s end, that total may e...
The message from voters was crystal clear, but elected officials apparently don’t want to hear it. In 2019, nearly 80% of voters in the city of Spokane approved an amendment to the city charter – in essence, a local constitutional amendment – requiring collective bargaining talks between the city government and city unions be open and transparent. It’s a simple concept – since the salaries of government workers make up such a large portion of the city’s budget, taxpayers have a right to know how the single-larg...
Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats, issued a draft report which estimates that breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their electricity and other benefits would cost between $10 and $27 billion. Meanwhile, the lone Idaho Republican, Congressman Mike Simpson, supporting dam removal---impoundments located in a neighboring state--is willing to pony up $33 billion tax dollars. That’s a lot of taxpayer money even today when President Biden and C...
Last week, the deputy secretary of the state Department of Corrections sent a mass email to all staff, incarcerated inmates and interested parties — including me — informing everyone Corrections had revised its COVID protocols for inmates. Minutes after reading the DOC email, I sent an email to a DOC official and wrote: “It is my understanding that all DOC employees must be vaccinated. Further is it true all inmates do not have to be vaccinated? At this time what perce...
Prior to the corona virus outbreak, economies in the industrial world were moving along fairly smoothly — reliable supply chains with “just in time” component arrivals, predictable product deliveries, low interest rates, little inflation, abundant reasonably priced energy, and an adequate workforce in seemingly peaceful world. It was a set up for a perfect storm! That cataclysmic eruption two years ago slammed countries worldwide just like happened with World War I and the S...
Administrators of Washington state’s long-term-care law are hitting news outlets and providing health care writers with messages of hope about a social program they say will provide “peace of mind,” even though it does nothing of the sort. The government website selling the WA Cares program says, “By contributing a small amount from each paycheck while we’re working, we can all pay for long-term care when we need it.” But that’s far from the case. Washingtonians who move out...
Many of you are aware that public safety in our state took a major hit last year when Democrats in the Legislature passed a “police reform” law that prevented law enforcement officers from pursuing criminal suspects in most situations. Since this bad law went into effect, police and other law enforcement officers typically have had to watch suspects drive off, sometimes in vehicles that they had stolen, instead of giving chase in hopes of apprehending and arresting them. One o...
Since 2017, Sound Transit’s full system expansion went from costing taxpayers $92 billion to an incredible $142 billion, and project completion was stretched from 2041 to 2046. That’s $50 billion in unanticipated expenses to deliver a project later than expected. For perspective, that’s like adding a second Sound Transit 3 (ST3) tax to the plan. In 2016, voters were told ST3 would cost $54 billion but now it has become clear that the actual costs are far greater. Anticipated tax revenue (which includes sales and use tax,...
Before the COVID-19 pandemic rocked the world, factory workers were humming along assembling products just after components were delivered. It was called “just-in-time” production. It was efficient, predictable and cost effective. Today, companies are scrambling just to find parts, lock in purchases (and hopefully prices) and work around estimated delivery schedules. It is a vastly different world. For example, three years ago people touring the Boeing 737 plant in Renton saw...
As a young lady in her infancy of writing news, and in the process of enlisting in the U.S. Army, my experience while flying with the Thunderbirds last Thursday in advance of Skyfest was unimaginable. A caravan of press arrived at Fairchild Air Force Base on Thursday, May 12. The 0700 - that's 7 a.m. in military time - arrival riddled me with excitement, despite the lack of coffee fueling my usual caffeine addiction. I shook with excitement and chill as the wind blew past all...
Gov. Jay Inslee and Senator Patty Murray have their priorities backward when it comes to rebuilding Snake River salmon and steelhead runs. Instead of focusing on ripping out dams with fish passages and navigation locks, they should find ways to reopen traditional spawning areas up river which are blocked by dams without fish ladders. Breaching Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose and Lower Granite dams is costly and counterproductive. Over the last 30 years, northwest...
Proponents of the unconstitutional capital gains income tax are working overtime to prevent voters from weighing in. First, there was the game last year with the emergency clause to prevent a referendum. Now capital gains income tax supporters are gearing up to counter a potential I-1929 signature gathering campaign by setting up a surveillance system to report any ballot petition signing locations. As reported by the Everett Herald: “Should I-1929 petitions get circulated, o...
