Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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As we celebrate our nation’s 250th birthday, soccer fans from around the globe are flocking to the USA for the World Cup. They marvel at what our America has to offer. Meanwhile, socialists focused on government control have hijacked the Democrat Party and are gaining a foothold in national and local elections. It is like America has trains heading in opposite directions on the same track racing toward a head-on collision. Today, people who risk their homes, savings and reputations are viewed by critics as the “evil inc...
Imagine being told you have to leave your home, perhaps forever. You only have a couple of hours to pack, and you can only take what fits in your car. Calista Christiansen, a seventh-grader from the Columbia River Gorge community of Lyle, didn't have to imagine. That's what happened to her, her family and her neighbors last summer when the Burdoin Fire burned through the community, destroying 14 homes and threatening more than 250 others, including her own. Christiansen spoke...
Our Christian Heritage Should Not Be Forgotten As we approach the 250th anniversary of the United States, our communities are entering a historic season of reflection. Puyallup will host "Voices of Valor," a program exploring the diverse stories of those who built and shaped our early nation. Simultaneously, across the Cascades in Walla Walla, citizens will gather to honor that region's legacy as the "Cradle of the Northwest." From the shores of Puget Sound to the rolling hills of the Palouse, I encourage all Washingtonians t...
Summer in Eastern Washington is a beautiful thing. The sun is shining. The lakes are calling. Campers are dusting off trailers. Kids are riding bikes until dark. Someone, somewhere, is already standing in line for ice cream. It’s a season we’ve all been waiting for. It’s also the season when common sense quietly packs its bags and takes a vacation. Every year, it happens. A person who wouldn’t dream of jumping off their roof decides it’s perfectly reasonable to ride an inner...
In Washington, this year we will again deal with water shortages because of insufficient mountain snowpack while escaping the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River system has not flowed at normal levels in recent years, which is problematic for agriculture, hydropower generation, barging, local water supplies, fish and wildlife. However, 20 years ago we faced the same severe drought. That water scarcity forced factories to close, farmland to...
The tassels have been flipped, the diplomas handed out and another class of graduates has crossed the stage. Over the coming weeks, many of these young adults will leave home for college, enroll in trade schools or step directly into the workforce. For the first time, they will begin making decisions with real consequences. They will sign leases they are legally bound to honor. They will open credit cards. Some will take on tens of thousands of dollars in debt before they are...
A messy redistricting battle is breaking out all across the country. In states like Mississippi, Virginia, and Missouri, political maps are trapped in an endless loop of court fights and mid-cycle changes. Political parties are treating voting boundaries like a game of tug-of-war. They adjust the lines constantly to guarantee a specific political outcome, leaving voters feeling disconnected and ignored. For decades, Washington state avoided this kind of chaos. Our state...
This year's legislative session featured proposals to "modernize" agriculture through the forced creation of collective bargaining units. Many activists and legislative advocates persistently implied farmers and ranchers were backward and uneducated, going so far as to cast food producers as "plantation owners." These aspersions are beneath the open-minded, liberated state Washington believes itself to be. Home to tree fruit orchards, grain growing operations, hop farms,...
It's time to think about potential summer hazards for our livestock and pets. It is quite common for me to get inquiries about algae poisoning during the warmer months. Here's some practical guidance for keeping animals safe: Summer risk and causes Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) thrive when water is warm, calm, and high in nitrogen and phosphorus - conditions common in late spring through early fall. Hot weather, longer stratified seasons and inputs from fertilizer, manure...
Retired Washington firefighters and police officers are suing the state to stop one of the most dangerous pension raids in American history. They should win, and the courts should not have to work hard to get there. House Bill 2034, passed during the 2026 legislative session, strips billions of dollars out of the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Plan 1 (LEOFF 1) pension fund and redirects that money to unrelated state spending. The state calls the maneuver a “te...
More than six years ago, the world came to a standstill. Schools closed. Churches went quiet. Restaurants darkened their dining rooms. Streets emptied. Families stayed home and waited for life to return to normal. At the time, Americans were told the sacrifices would be temporary. Flatten the curve. Wait a few weeks. Give it time. But somewhere along the way, temporary changes became permanent realities. Even now, half a decade later, it still feels as though much of the...
In Washington, this year we will again deal with water shortages because of insufficient mountain snowpack while escaping the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River water system has not flowed at normal levels in recent years, which is problematic for our agriculture, hydropower generation, barging, local water supplies, fish and wildlife. However, 20 years ago we faced the same severe drought that is afflicting the world’s major river d...
Anthropic’s newest artificial intelligence model “Mythos” is already making waves. Anthropic claims the model has found thousands of severe vulnerabilities in major software and operating systems, prompting a partnership with major companies to work on a major cybersecurity initiative dubbed Glasswing. In the digital age, there are potential gaps in all security infrastructure. This underscores the critical importance of new data center development, which will be needed for t...
In 2024, then-governor Jay Inslee warned that "We have this epidemic of asthma in our state," saying that funding from the state's CO2 tax would help fund projects to reduce air pollution. The next year, the Department of Ecology distributed $8.5 million in grants to improve air quality in "overburdened communities" and improve "health disparities." An examination of the 21 projects they funded shows that only one is likely to reduce air pollution. Most of the funding went to...
I was asked the other day if I was concerned about the recent bill in Olympia giving a citizen committee the right to remove an elected sheriff from office. This bill (Senate Bill 5974) was passed by both the House and Senate and recently signed into law by the governor. Am I concerned? Yes. I've been concerned about this bill for several years since it was first introduced, but not for the reasons some may think. My concerns are not about the job I currently hold, but rather...
Imagine standing at a gas pump in Lakewood, Vancouver or Spokane, watching the numbers climb with agonizing speed, and knowing that thousands of miles away, the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most important oil transit point—is once again a geopolitical tinderbox. When tensions flare in the Middle East, the entire world feels the squeeze. But there is a bitter irony for those of us in the Pacific Northwest. While the global market sets the base price of energy, the “Olym...
When we talk about public safety in Washington, the conversation rightly begins with the men and women in blue. The crisis in recruitment and retention of law-enforcement officers remains a paramount concern; we cannot have safety without a proactive presence on our streets. However, a mission isn’t completed just because the first phase is successful. If an officer makes an arrest but the case languishes in a broken system, we haven’t achieved justice—we’ve only created...
For many people in our state, especially in Eastern Washington, hunting is a popular and beloved activity. Every fall, we go out in search of deer, elk, bear, pheasant or other game. Some of my best memories come from hunting deer and elk with friends. If the hunt is successful, I have large amounts of meat and sausage to enjoy or share with family and friends for months to come. However, hunting season next fall might be much more difficult for many, thanks to the state. I...
I’m jealous of Idaho. Lawmakers there passed a bill that would stop public school employers from collecting union dues through government payroll systems. Idaho Republican Gov. Brad Little had the choice to sign it, veto it or let it become law without his signature, joining six other states with full or partial bans on dues collection by public employers. When it comes to protecting the rights of public employees, Idaho is moving in the right direction. Washington state is no...
A lawsuit was filed April 9 in Klickitat County Superior Court challenging the unconstitutional income tax adopted in Washington. The lead attorneys are former state attorney General Rob McKenna, a former Democratic state lawmaker and Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, and Jackson Maynard of the Citizen Action Defense Fund. Discussing the lawsuit, Rob McKenna said: "For nearly a century, Washington courts have been clear: income is property, and property taxes must be unifor...
Washingtonians are living through a relentless affordability crisis. From the grocery aisle to the gas pump, the cost of living has moved from "concerning" to "unsustainable." Our state consistently ranks among the top three most expensive for gas, often a full dollar above the national average. Meanwhile, the average household income is roughly half of what is required to qualify for a median-priced home. In this environment, every policy coming out of Olympia should be able...
Easter Lilies are now appearing in churches just as poinsettias do at Christmas. Both adorn the altars and pulpits during Christianity’s two most important holidays. Over the years, both continue to be the centerpieces of seasonal decorations. They are unique potted plants which aren’t suited for cut-flower arrangements and disappear when churches move back to ordinary times. While both are the icons, poinsettias have a longer self-life---Thanksgiving to Christmas. Easter Lil...
It’s basketball season, so I’ll borrow a term from that sport to describe how one of the most important bills of this year’s session for the Spokane area ended up winning approval from the Legislature: The supporters put on a full court press. The law created by House Bill 2416 exempts Spokane’s Waste-to-Energy plant from complying with emission-reduction targets created by the state’s Climate Commitment Act and gives the plant a longer period of time to reduce pollution...
Before the new state income tax passed by Democrats was even proposed as legislation, many of us who oppose such a tax predicted the supporters would engage in a game of bait-and-switch. They'd market an income tax as applying only to the wealthy, knowing all along the real goal would be to have everyone pay. Do they think the people of Washington are fools, I asked – and now that the income tax is through the Legislature and awaiting Governor Ferguson's formal endorsement, i...
Washington state received troubling news from a recently published economic report. The 2026 Competitiveness Redbook, a study conducted by Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, found that the state's business climate is in alarmingly poor shape. The Redbook examines 61 different economic indicators to take the pulse on the health of Washington's economy. This includes various data such as electricity prices, unemployment insurance payments, minimum wage, taxes and...
