Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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Two years ago, Washington State Parks bureaucrats in Tumwater hatched a plan to address so-called “overcrowding” at Palouse Falls. The plan was to close and relocate the campground to Lyons Ferry, require permits to visit Upper Palouse Falls and to end hiking and exploring in and around the main Palouse Falls basin. The effort also eliminated kayaking access on the upper Palouse River. And to make the effort sound legitimate, those city-dwelling bureaucrats called Palouse Fal...
Merry Christmas! There. I said it. Not happy holidays, but Merry Christmas. It’s Christmas time here and around the world. Throughout our region, families are shopping for festive meals and gifts, decorating, and anxiously awaiting the moment they see “long-lost” family and friends. It’s a time where children and adults express wishes, not just for gifts from Santa Claus, but also for happiness and prosperity for friends, family, and sometimes even mankind. And while Christm...
Under the guise of water conservation, the state Department of Ecology is once again moving to take water rights from farmers, ranchers and other private holders. Last month, the agency announced plans to fund creation of local “water banks,” in addition to the state “water bank” already in existence. The agency says the program helps municipalities buy water rights from private owners. It has set $14 million aside for the program. The goal, agency spokesman Jimmy Norris...
The last 20 months have been exceedingly difficult for most Americans. Across the country there have been coronavirus mandates, riots, increasing taxes, job losses and more. The crime rate in many areas is skyrocketing. Many stores have empty shelves. And mental health problems are out of control. The stress we feel is exacerbated by television news and social media. But rather than dwell on the negatives we are bombarded with daily, take this week to focus on the positives....
The last week has not been good for small businesses in our part of the state. The U.S. Postal Service began slowing “snail mail” services. Stores were ordered to stop using plastic bags and required to make their paying customers pay for a paper bag. And the state announced the minimum wage would jump to $14.49 per hour Jan. 1. If you don’t own or manage a business, this may seem overly dramatic. Who cares if it takes an extra day for your mail to arrive, right? It’s only 8...
Parents of public school students in the 9th Legislative district have had enough of coronavirus-related mandates from Olympia. Shutter schools, curtail sports, wear masks, limit field trips and restrict access to graduation. Those actions have not been embraced here. And neither has Gov. Jay Inslee’s renewed call for all public school students to remain masked for the upcoming 2021-22 school year. Area parents are pushing back. This week, led by a group from Fairfield, many p...
One regional utility alone – Avista – had brownouts that affected 15,307 ratepayers last Monday, 6,793 last Tuesday and another 602 last Wednesday. Other utilities, too, had brownouts. I know we’ve had a day or two of record-setting high temperatures. But that’s not an excuse to shut down power to residents and businesses here in Eastern Washington. Columbia River basin dams generate roughly 44% of electricity in the entire United States. Our dams provide power to much of...
There’s a lot of talk about endangered species. But the most important endangered species in America, may not be a plant or a wild animal. The most endangered species may actually be in your home, a friend’s home or next door. The endangered species I’m talking about is the American Dad. This coming Sunday is Father’s Day, the one day set aside each year to honor the American Dad. Honoring and thanking the fathers in your life should be your highest priority this weekend...
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...
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...
