Opinion / Guest Column
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Rethinking legislative natural gas bans
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 legi... — Updated 4/29/2021
Pragmatic approach to prostitution
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... — Updated 4/29/2021
Good news from Hanford scientists
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... — Updated 4/22/2021
Verge of raising taxes, weakening public safety
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... — Updated 4/22/2021
Why is the state Legislature still locked down?
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... — Updated 4/15/2021
Businesses need liability reform
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... — Updated 4/15/2021
Senate operating budget is proof Democrats can't resist higher spending
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... — Updated 4/8/2021
Union's back-door effort to kill popular charter school bill is telling
Lawmakers are rightly showing great concern about improving the quality, graduation rates, equal treatment and fairness in public schools. Some even say the traditional public... — Updated 4/8/2021
Learn the lessons 2020 taught us
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... — Updated 4/1/2021
Dodging the public capital gains vote reveals elitism
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 W... — Updated 4/1/2021
Starter income tax is bad enough
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... — Updated 3/25/2021
Keeping America's semiconductor edge is paramount
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... — Updated 3/25/2021
Still time for lawmakers to act on emergency powers reform
We are now more than halfway thru the 2021 Legislative Session and have passed the important House of Origin cutoff. This is technically when bills start to die. Among the bills... — Updated 3/18/2021
TVW, an antidote for dwindling trust in media
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... — Updated 3/18/2021
Why is daylight saving still a thing?
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... — Updated 3/11/2021
Austin's tax incentives, friendliness is working
These days the mere mention of tax incentives for factories touches off a major firestorm in Seattle and you’d better be looking for an expeditious way out of town. Not so in... — Updated 3/11/2021
Eyman vows to appeal First Amendment restrictions
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... — Updated 2/25/2021
Removing Snake River dams is unwise
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... — Updated 2/25/2021
Helping rural communities access affordable housing investments
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... — Updated 2/17/2021
U-Haul's yearly move-out report shows a surge leaving Washington state
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... — Updated 1/27/2021
'Work from home' to continue post-pandemic
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!... — Updated 1/21/2021
Access to democracy in the 2021 session
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... — Updated 1/21/2021
