Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1786
Olympia’s majority party has already made it hard for Washington families to make ends meet through policies like raising the price of gas and home energy and shrinking paychecks. Now it’s pushing the largest tax increase in state history, which would make living in our beautiful state even less affordable. At the start of our 2025 legislative session, Republicans and Democrats agreed there would be a budget gap to resolve. Knowing the state is already expecting to take in...
Since taking office just over 100 days ago, I’ve cast 100 votes–focused on securing our borders, combating fentanyl, strengthening national security, and supporting a responsible federal budget to keep our government open while we start to tackle the challenge of our national debt. I’ve introduced four bills, co-sponsored more than 50, and become the first freshman in Congress to pass a bill through the House. I’ve held seven town halls, and met with hundreds of constit...
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....
For 2025, Lincoln County will be paying over $1,700,000 in risk insurance premiums. This represents a drastic increase of over $1,000,000 just in the last 4 years. And… these rates are expected to escalate next year as well, with no end in sight. Next to wages and benefits, risk insurance represents the 2nd largest expense for the county. One might wonder why such dramatic increases are happening. There are multiple factors at play, such as the state legislature passing laws t...
“Property taxes are skyrocketing in Washington!” “We need to defuse the property tax time bomb!” These were the rally cries of Tim Eyman, author of Initiative 747, which passed voter approval back in 2001. I-747 was designed to limit property tax increases to 1% more tax collected than in the previous year. This sounded great, right? The government has gotten out of control! They’re wasting all of our tax money! This certainly may have been the case in many instances...
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...
In last week’s article I touched on providing a more in-depth understanding of how local governments are funded. And why money gets spent on certain projects and certain county departments while other basic services remain underfunded. It’s all tax dollars, though. Correct. But those dollars for each district have different statutory restrictions on what they can be spent on. Sure, when you pay your property taxes, the check gets made out to the County Treasurer. But that doe...
Michael Baumgartner is, figuratively speaking, “all-over-the-map” about Ukraine—but effectively supporting Russia. He agrees that Russia clearly started the war and was/is the aggressor, and he’s assured Thrive International Ukrainian refugees that he opposes their deportation. But he completely undercuts that by his Ritzville Town Hall statement, “I don’t think [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelenskyy is doing a great job”, and by his outlandish calls for Zelenskyy to resign after President Donald Trump humiliated Ze...
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...
Democrat legislators claim there's a state-government budget shortfall of $12 to $15 billion, yet several of my colleagues in the state Senate just filed legislation to take much more than that through new and higher taxes -- nearly $20 billion. Only in Olympia would anyone think that makes sense. But as Republican leader on the Senate Ways and Means Committee, I can tell you how unnecessary and wrong their tax scheme is. This would be the largest tax increase in state...
When the Democrat-led Legislature passed the Climate Commitment Act (other opponents and I prefer to call it “cap-and-tax”) a few years ago, one of the promises made by Democrats was that the state’s agriculture, shipping and aviation industries would be exempt from the fuel tax created under the law. However, as farmers in the 9th District can tell you, that promise has not been kept. Despite numerous meetings and repeated requests by me and other Eastern Washington legis...
Diogenes was a Greek philosopher known for wandering public places during the day while carrying a lantern. His goal was to find and shine a light on an “honest man” with an honest answer. Like Diogenes, today’s print journalists and many residents are searching for honesty — honesty in their public officials and from public agencies. That honesty can only be verified through open and accessible public meetings and records. This week, March 16-22, is Sunshine Week, a week dedi...
Senate Republicans have put forward a responsible, pragmatic solution to Washington's budget challenges. The Save Washington budget plan prioritizes public safety, education, and essential services - without raising taxes or raiding the state's rainy-day fund. Unlike the false choice presented by majority Democrats - either massive tax hikes or catastrophic cuts - we've proven a third way exists: a balanced, efficient, and fair budget that serves all Washingtonians. The facts...
The state’s agriculture has long been a cornerstone of American farming. As our nation’s number one producer of apples, blueberries, hops, and sweet cherries, our agricultural industry makes vital contributions to our economy and food security. Despite these achievements, our farmers are in jeopardy. Over the past five years, Washington has seen a 10 percent decrease in the number of farms and a 6 percent reduction in farmland. These alarming trends point to an industry under...
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...
The tide may be turning in the right direction for the four lower Snake River dams. I realize I’m applying a saltwater expression to a freshwater situation, but as the salmon at the heart of the dam conversation spend time in both saltwater and freshwater, let’s go with it. Those who believe salmon recovery depends on dam breaching have not gone away. But halfway through the 2025 legislative session, I’m sensing the leadership changes in Washington, D.C. and Olympia have...
Has U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, no nation-wide condemnation and world apology for how President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance humiliated Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Feb. 28? Baumgartner’s subsequent call for Zelenskyy’s resignation makes no sense, given his statement that Russia clearly started the war and has been the aggressor. On second thought, it makes great sense considering his already evident cowardice in standing up to Trump, Vance and Elon Musk. Baumgartner certainly lacks the spine of P...
I was absolutely appalled to see a smiling Rep. Michael Baumgartner post about his “good week” on social media just days after voting to approve a budget resolution that would cut $880 billion from Medicaid- a program that 54% of children in Washington’s 5th congressional district rely on for healthcare. The budget also increases spending for immigration enforcement, increases the debt ceiling, and directs budget cuts for the education and workforce, agriculture, and transportation and infrastructure committees. It looks...
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...
Crime continues to be a growing problem throughout our state. In fact, Washington ranks in the Top 5 in the overall crime rate among states. Washington ranks among the worst states in several categories, including murders, auto theft and retail theft. A key reason is that we also rank 51st nationally – dead last – for the number of law-enforcement officers per capita. This chronic shortage of officers in our state has created major consequences for public safety, such as reduc...
A foundational element in our Democratic Republic is the idea that everyone has a voice. The voters of a particular area or legislative district elect a person to represent their collective values, principles and priorities. Do voters agree with every decision or vote their elected officials make? Impossible. But through our election process voters choose someone to propose bills and amendments, vote for and against legislation, and advocate for or against other proposals...
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...
Gray wolves are here to stay. Changing how we manage the population will improve relationships between agencies, ranchers and activists. House Bill 1442 proposes a new approach that gives counties in which gray wolves are recovered the flexibility to begin developing localized approaches to depredation response, poaching, impacts to ungulate habitats and more. At last count, there were at least 260 gray wolves in the state in 42 recognized packs. That’s a 20% increase in year-...
Our state Legislature is philosophically divided when it comes to reducing violent crimes and so-called "gun violence." Republicans believe it's possible to do both without undermining Second Amendment rights and the even stronger language in the Washington Constitution – which declares the right to own and bear a firearm "shall not be impaired." When our colleagues across the political aisle fail to win through the court system, they resort to chipping away through legislatio...
