Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 115
Too often, elected officials overlook the cumulative costs of regulations, taxes, and fees on taxpayers. However, those added costs come back to bite them hard when people pack up and move, businesses close, or take matters into their own hands and pass an initiative or referendum. Consider what has happened in high tax and cost of living states, such as California, New York, Illinois, and Connecticut. In 2023, the National Association of Realtors broke down migration data...
Before the Columbia River flood control system, spring blooms often coincided with large muddy floods inundating communities and farms. While the Midwest still faces threats from swollen rivers due to heavy rain and rapid snowmelt, the Columbia River basin does not. Our abatement efforts started with the completion of Grand Coulee Dam in 1942. Although flood control was its primary purpose, Grand Coulee Dam also provides water to irrigate 670,000 acres of farmland....
Washingtonians recall Ralph Munro’s distinctive political advertisements, which featured 30 seconds of bagpipe music followed by a brief tagline stating, “This interlude brought to you by the Munro campaign.” As unusual and refreshing as the ads were, they worked. They spared voters from the merciless pounding dished out by sparing politicians and their band of campaign hacks. As usual and refreshing as they were, they worked! They spared voters from the unmerciful candi...
As lawmakers meeting in Olympia wind up the 2025 session, they face a whopping $15 billion budget deficit—a situation they must address before adjourning and going home. Unlike Congress, state legislators and Gov. Bob Ferguson cannot authorize deficit spending or borrowing to the fund state government. They either raise taxes and fees; or cut costs programs and people. Washington is primarily funded by sales, property, specialized taxes (such as unemployment, workers compensat...
Dusts ups with our North American trading partners pop up periodically especially when there is global financial trouble. They can be acrimonious and strain relationships as President Donald Trump is learning. Trump, faced with excessive federal spending and our skyrocketing national debt ($36.6 trillion), re-launched his “Make America Great Again” initiative. It is a blueprint to stimulate job creation in America’s private sector and government efficiency. He wants inves...
In August 2002 during one of the worst fire seasons to that point in recent history, President George W. Bush launched the Healthy Forests Initiative aimed at reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. It was a solid, common-sense plan intended to remove wood debris which fuels infernos and rehabilitate diseased, dying, and dead forests. It would generate revenue from wood sales which would be used to pay for healthier timberlands. The impetus came from the severe wildland...
Any battle over tariffs between the United States and Canada, China, and Mexico is worrisome, but if it escalates, it will hit Washington farmers particularly hard. Avoiding that possibility should be a primary goal. Tariffs could trigger new trade wars. The last retaliation in tariffs eight years ago hurt agriculture. "A trade war with economic partners is the last thing our farmers and ranchers need," said Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA4), whose family owns and operates an 8...
In his first month as President, Donald Trump has shaken our federal government to the core. Many argue that his “meat ax” approach to cutting government waste, abuse and spending is as harmful to our country as the current “runaway “spending and borrowing. Regardless, America needs a strong wakeup call. The question is where to go from here. Is there a better way? In short, we need good comprehensive audits of current programs to determine how and where our tax dollars...
During the 1992 presidential campaign, then-candidate Bill Clinton famously intoned, “I feel your pain,” reassuring voters he understood what they were going through. Since then, similar statements of empathy have become a staple for politicians; however, it does not always ring true with every constituent. Take small business owners, for example. Most elected officials have no idea what it is like to risk everything you have or to struggle to meet payroll for your emp...
In 2025, big investment money is going to nuclear power to offset the loss of reliable electricity from coal and natural gas-fired power plants. Those plants are closing to curb "greenhouse gas" emissions at a time when demand is skyrocketing. The Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee cites the rapid expansion of data centers as a driver in increased electricity use. Large data centers, an increase in high-tech manufacturing and growing electrification in homes, bui...
In the aftermath of the catastrophic fire which gutted Paris’ Cathedral of Notre Dame in 2019, President Emmanuel Macron announced it would be rebuilt within five years and promised it would be “more beautiful than before!” Macron, who remains head of a divided French government, saw restoration of the 13th Century church as a way to restore national pride and unite fellow French citizens. When interviewed just before Notre Dame’s massive doors re-opened on Dec. 7, Macron...
After years of odious political behavior, it is time for elected officials to focus on governing with civility and respect. It is time to go back to acting for the common good. Our country needs leaders, irrespective of party affiliation, to set aside differences and unite. America is weakened by the continual onslaught of character assassinations, false accusations, misinformation and bitterness, which has been pervasive over the last dozen years. We do not know who to trust...
Washington’s agriculture is a $12.8 billion business with 33,000 farms — and it runs on gasoline, diesel, and natural gas. The hundreds of big rigs hauling crops and food products are not electric. Even though new trucks have reduced CO2 and other pollutants, some politicians are hastily charging ahead to replace fossil-fueled trucks with unproven technology. According to 2021 Environmental Protection Agency data, transportation was responsible for 30 percent of gre...
When President Biden warned FEMA does not have enough money to finish the hurricane season let alone the entire year, it was surprising. Suddenly, we discovered federal disaster relief money may be insufficient for future hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes relief. The frequency of major hurricanes and massive wildfires is draining federal accounts, and replacement funds only add to our soaring national debt. That debt is weighing on our ability to operate our national...
America needs a statesperson of the stature, capability, and perspective of Daniel J. Evans as our next President. Dan Evans died on September 20 at the age of 98 after serving as our state’s three term governor, two term U.S. Senator, a state legislator and in many prominent civic and public positions beginning in the late 1950s. He was political and partisan, but Evans was pragmatic, tough and a problem-solver. He was a visionary who was not afraid to take a risk even if it...
Whether you call it a ban or a significant deterrent to future natural gas consumption, voter approval of Initiative 2066 (I-2066) in Washington may be only the first giant pothole to fill. The next one in the road ahead may be a hefty tax on natural gas. In 2019, Berkeley, Calif., became the first city to prohibit natural gas connections in new buildings. San Jose, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and others followed. However, last year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal...
Most down ballot elections draw little attention, but not this year when it comes to Washington’s Public Lands Commissioner. Heading into the November balloting, former Congresswoman Jaimie Herrera-Beutler, a Republican from southwest Washington, faces Democrat King County Council member Dave Upthegrove, who in the last primary election recount, had a razor-thin edge (51 votes) over Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson. It has been the closest statewide Washington election in two d...
Kelly Ortberg’s appointment as new Boeing CEO and the company returning its headquarters to Seattle are promising steps toward rehabilitating the aerospace giant started over a century ago. The Seattle Times editorial summarized it best: “Dare we hope?” Ortberg has a sterling reputation, vast aerospace experience, and a record of accomplishment. Hopefully, his experience and success pave the way for Boeing to re-emerge as the pinnacle of aerospace---where it was before the C...
Our national debt is spreading out of control like a raging wildfire. Among other things, that added liability impacts our ability to fight those fires and reforest those scorched woods and range lands. Replanting trees is necessary to prevent erosion, provide clean drinking water, reduce CO2, protect fish and wildlife habitat, and rehabilitate public open spaces. It is very costly and under current funding schemes, the money is not available. Our national debt just surpassed...
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce looked at the cost of regulations in America and found that excessive protocols are undercutting our economy and costing us jobs. Federal rules alone have exploded, and the Chamber says they cost $1.7 trillion. Unwarranted state labor and employment mandates resulted in a 700,000-job loss. On the other hand, paring back state regulations which exceed federal standards now spawns 50,000 new businesses each year. The Chamber report does not indict...
One of the most vexing problems with our nation’s health care system is getting a timely doctor’s appointment. Our primary care network is overwhelmed. More than 100 million Americans lack a primary care provider. A quarter of those are children and the problem is worsening, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. Our country has a growing and aging population that will need more care. Combined with an aging workforce of physicians nearing ret...
Who would have thought that a small Oregon natural grain mill owner’s death would make national news or be the subject of a lengthy feature article in the New York Times? However, 94-year-old Bob Moore’s passing in February did. The Times is published just off Broadway in the heart of Big Apple’s network television and theater district. Moore, with his white beard, wire-rim eyeglasses, newsie cap and bolo tie became a “food poster person” approaching the notoriety of KFC’s...
It is the time of year to proudly fly our American flags. It began with Memorial Day (May 27) followed by Flag Day (June 14) and ends with the “Grand Finale” on July 4. The common thread is “Old Glory” waving in the breeze. In our country there are no symbols more synonymous with Independence Day than our American flag. It is a powerful emblem of our unity, resilience, and patriotism. It is the time-tested bond which binds citizens from all levels of society, ethnic backgro...
Recently, President Biden launched the second phase of his attack on domestic oil and gas production by effectively blocking leases in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. That follows last year’s reimposed ban on exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Both actions are ill-advised. In the Wall Street Journal, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, quipped: “the Biden Administration has imposed more sanctions on Alaska than it has on Iran.” The Interior Departm...
Too many pragmatic Democrats and Republicans in Congress are retiring at a time when we need them most. Two are from Washington: Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Olympic Peninsula, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers R-Spokane. McMorris Rodgers and Kilmer cut their political teeth in the state Legislature. While they faithfully followed their parties, they found ways to come together on issues vital to our state. McMorris Rodgers was elected to Congress in 2004 and Kilmer in 2012. Recently,...
