Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 601 - 625 of 1893
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...
In the past 22 years, by working together with our thousands of heroic supporters, we’ve qualified 17 statewide initiatives for a public vote. They all limited the government’s power over us and saved taxpayers $46.9 billion (see https://permanentoffense.com/about-us/). Our four 2/3-vote-to-raise-taxes initiatives have also saved taxpayers billions more by stopping and deterring tax increases. While other initiatives spend $1.2 million to qualify, we averaged $672,000, bec...
Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson’s $33 billion plan to remove the lower Snake River dams is unwise. However, if he pushes it, he needs include the impact of breaching dams in his home state which completely shutoff salmon and steelhead migration. Simpson, a Republican representing eastern Idaho, announced he wants to rupture the four lower Snake River dams— Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite—-all in southeast Washington. Those impoundments have fish...
We are fast approaching the halfway point of the 2021 legislative session. There have been some challenges conducting business as usual for the Legislature during this unusual time in our lives. The governor’s decision to close off a large portion of the Capitol grounds to the public is concerning, as are his ever-changing metrics and policies when it comes to reopening our state. I’m very pleased that all parts of our state have been able to move to Phase 2 of the latest reop...
Have you bought into Gov. Jay Inslee’s newest coronavirus recovery scheme, his “Healthy Washington-Roadmap to Recovery?” If you haven’t, you’re not alone. In fact, many people around the state are objecting to it. From Whitman County on the Idaho border to Whatcom County in Northwest Washington, county commissioners and local health officials are standing up and objecting to the governor’s attempt to strip local health care authority and give it to those he would appoint in...
The meltdown at the state Department of Employment Security ought to teach us a lesson. It's easy for government to create problems, not so easy for the Legislature to come back in and clean up the mess. We ought to keep this in mind as the Legislature debates some of the big, bold ideas our liberal colleagues are bringing to the table this year - for an income tax, big increases in gas prices, greater government control of industry, and many, many more. Many of these...
Interesting fact: In the last Legislative Session, a bill was passed creating the “Washington State Office of Equity Task Force.” This task force was given the responsibility to create a vision to establish and fund a permanent “Office of Equity.” The legislature specifically designated who would sit on this task force. It included 4 legislators and a representative of a myriad of groups including the LGBTQ community, the Governor’s Office and the Commission on African A...
A new proposed law smells like tyranny. House Bill 1283 would make it illegal for three people or more to open-carry firearms if someone else “feels threatened.” It would be a gross misdemeanor. If a person in “any way participates” in threats or the use of “such force” against a person or property while open-carrying a gun in a group of three or more, then they face a Class C felony. That means the state strips them of their right to own firearms as a convicted felon. The bill seems to be targeting the groups of legal firea...
For a young man, Conner Mertens has had quite an impactful life. Most people know Conner as the brave, vocal activist who made headlines by being the first openly LGBTQ college-football player as a freshman kicker at Willamette University in Oregon. But I came to know the Tri-Cities native when he showed up at my door with an idea for saving the lives of students at risk of suicide, bullying and various other forms of school violence. That idea - a tip line and mobile app to...
The Record supports the passage of all three levies, two proposed by the Odessa School District and one by Lincoln County Hospital District #1 (which is the Odessa Memorial Healthcare Center). Voters in the Odessa area have received their ballots requesting approval of three different levies supporting the local school and the local hospital district. Odessa’s school and medical facilities are important to those living here or thinking about living here. The Educational Programs and Operations levy requested by the Odessa S...
The culture, heritage and history of Eastern Washington — indeed all of Washington and Oregon history — is under fire again in Olympia. I’m talking about an effort this year in the House to erase Marcus Whitman’s significance from the halls of the Capitol building in Olympia and the national statuary in Washington, D.C. Pushed by lawmakers, who obviously lack a full understanding of Whitman’s significance, House Bill 1372 seeks to replace the bronze Marcus Whitman statues w...
DAVENPORT – Your Lions Club has been as active as possible in these restricted times through virtual means, social media activities or small group meetings within the restrictions. We were unable to have our major fundraiser, Turkey Bingo, which is not only a financial resource for the club, but also a time for the community to get together for a fun filled evening for a chance at prizes, turkeys, hams, potatoes and pies. While the active bingo could not be held, the raffle ticket sales conducted was as successful as possible...
British historian Thomas Macaulay famously said, "The best government is one that desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy." That standard is clearly not what people are experiencing in Washington state. For years, leaders in state government have been increasing the tax burden and imposing ever-tighter regulations that limit personal opportunity, lower household incomes and fall hardest on working people, middle-class families and small business...
British historian Thomas Macaulay famously said, “The best government is one that desires to make the people happy, and knows how to make them happy.” That standard is clearly not what people are experiencing in Washington state. For years, leaders in state government have been increasing the tax burden and imposing ever-tighter regulations that limit personal opportunity, lower household incomes and fall hardest on working people, middle-class families and small business own...
Protests are nothing new in Olympia. Each year, thousands of protesters converge on legislative sessions to rally for special causes, object to government activities and generally just remind lawmakers who they work for. I cannot recall a time that the Capitol Building, other legislative office buildings and the state library weren’t available for public access. Indeed, each year I wander the Capitol campus during session to personally deliver a newspaper to those who r...
There’s an old story about Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of the Philadelphia mayor, asking Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Ben Franklin supposedly answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This legislative session, which started on Jan. 11, will require you as a citizen to work harder than ever to keep our representative democracy…well…representative. Access to democracy is a majo...
School Board Recognition By proclamation of the governor, January is School Board Recognition Month. It’s a great time to recognize our elected community members who selflessly give their time and energy in support of high-quality public schooling for our youth. School boards are charged with making decisions that can sometimes be quite difficult, or require sifting through a great deal of information. They also bear responsibility for developing a vision that will guide the school district for years to come. Through c...
With COVID-19 vaccines being widely dispensed, will an end to this pandemic halt “work from home?” Will workers return to downtown offices at pre-pandemic levels? Not likely! However, it is not an either/or question, said Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom, who is co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship program. “Working from home will be very much a part of our post-COVID economy,” he added, “so, the sooner poli...
There’s an old story about Elizabeth Willing Powel, the wife of the Philadelphia mayor, asking Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention, “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” To which Ben Franklin supposedly answered: “A republic, if you can keep it.” This legislative session, which started on Jan. 11, will require you as a citizen to work harder than ever to keep our representative democracy…well…representative. Access to democracy is a majo...
Protests are nothing new in Olympia. Each year, thousands of protesters converge on legislative sessions to rally for special causes, object to government activities and generally just remind lawmakers who they work for. I cannot recall a time that the Capitol Building, other legislative office buildings and the state library weren’t available for public access. Indeed, each year I wander the Capitol campus during session to personally deliver a newspaper to those who r...
Key findings include: 1. Farmers and ranchers have been negatively affected by the lockdowns, despite being deemed essential services. Median farm households in Washington lost $821 in 2019. 2. Washington farms generate $10.2 billion for our economy. 3. To earn a 20 percent profit margin, farms must earn more than $5 million annually. Only 324 farms in Washington did that in 2017. 4. When lawmakers increase taxes on farmers and ranchers, the immediate effect is a reduction in...
Now that vaccines are available, we hope our lives will return to the way they were before the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the globe. That is not likely to occur. Last March our booming economy was clobbered by COVID-19. A worldwide pandemic ensued. There was no vaccine to counter it and even though vaccines were developed at “warp speed” lots of things changed and have become imbedded in our daily lives. Futurist Bernard Marr, columnist in Forbes, believes employers qui...
