Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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New data reported by the State Board of Education reveals that private school enrollment in Washington state has jumped by 25 percent in three years. In 2019-20, total K-12 private school enrollment was 65,270 students. In 2022-23, this number rose to 81,434 students, an increase of 25 percent. The number of homeschooled students has also grown, from 20,844 in 2019-20 to 29,798 in 2022-23, an increase of 42 percent. Over 110,000 parents in Washington state have decided that...
School choice is on the rise across the nation. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, just announced his support for Lifeline scholarships, a state voucher program that will allow students to use public funds to attend a private school of their choice. If enacted, his bill will help families assigned by local officials to the lowest-performing public schools because these families will be able to choose a better alternative for their children. Shapiro’s bold i...
Like most Americans, I enjoy watching – and lighting – fireworks on Independence Day. America’s “birthday” should stand out among all national holidays. And the colorful, aerial explosions showcase the freedom and independence for which the U.S. stands. But why then do only tribes have the ability to sell and use the “good” fireworks – you know: firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, mortars and more. There’s nothing magical about the imaginary line on a map suggesting...
By virtually all key metrics, Washington’s environmental policies are failing. And yet, when was the last time politicians, environmental activists or the media expressed concern about policy failures? Speeches and news stories are filled with demands that we save the planet, describing threats to salmon, orca, forests and the climate. And yet, there is a remarkable lack of curiosity when real-world efforts fail to address those problems. One common thread is that environmental policy generally, and climate policy in p...
Hydropower is an important source of reliable and clean energy for everyone in the. However, with the recent debate surrounding the Snake River dams concentrated on the benefits for and support in Washington state, we want to emphasize just how significant an effect these dams have on Idaho and why we must continue to protect them. As a U.S. Senator and the leader of an independent free-market research organization, we are unified in our effort to protect the Snake River dams...
“It’s not an election year.” A common remark used conversationally in both a serious and satirical matter, including, admittedly, by yours truly. Why was the Pioneer Days Parade smaller than last year? “It’s not an election year.” Why don’t we currently seem to see politicians catering to whatever seems to be the popular groupthink at the time as much as we did, in say, 2020? “It’s not an election year.” But while we may not be casting our votes for President of the Un...
The good news is this state’s cherry crop looks good—a marked improvement over 2022. It is sweetening our farm economy especially for cherry growers who have struggled over the last five years. “Last year’s cold, wet April brought down the cherry crop,” Wenatchee World writer Gabriel Garcia recently reported. “But this year, the Washington state cherry harvest is in full swing, and the industry is optimistic about it.” Washington’s cherry growers expect to pick 21 million...
Until President Biden signed the Chips and Science Act (CSA) last year, companies, such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. looked elsewhere to build plants costing well over $20 billion each. Biden’s pitch to taxpayers was ultramodern manufacturers of miniature computer chips used in our sophisticated weapons, advanced manufacturing, cars and trucks, and high-tech equipment needed to move back to the U.S A. Congress responded and passed CSA supplying a $280 b...
Let’s Go Washington is taking aim at the WA Cares Fund and a payroll tax that workers started paying this month with an initiative campaign. Initiative 2124, an Initiative to the Legislature, would make participation in WA Cares optional instead of mandatory and allow workers a way out of the state-imposed, insurance-like program at any time. That would be welcome news to many people who have other life needs that demand the attention of their monthly incomes. This should be i...
A short three years ago, motorists in Eastern Washington could buy regular unleaded gasoline for as little as $1.97 per gallon in several areas – George, Pasco, Quincy, to name a few. Diesel didn’t cost much more. Farmers could afford to fill their fuel tanks and shipping companies could keep their trucks moving at a reasonable price. And you and I could afford to drive personal vehicles – a necessity when you live and work in Eastern Washington. As a result, rural resid...
I had the great privilege of completing a summer internship in the now historic Hull-House in Chicago in the early 1960’s, more than 50 years ago. During that time, the Hull House was gradually closing, as the neighborhood it served had moved. I was astonished to learn that in “the olden days” (think 1920’s) the settlement house served immigrant families whose children worked in factories, and often did not attend school. Frequently, little children were tied to furniture all day, while their parents worked. We have come a...
The myths surrounding algal poisoning I was thinking that with summer upon us its probably a good time to talk about water quality. Water is the most important nutrient we provide for our animals (and humans; we won’t last long without water). Water gives life to animals and plants, but under certain conditions can be the bearer of some not so wholesome constituents that we should be concerned about (for example vectors of disease like biting midges (Culicoides gnats; n...
In 1922, the Columbia Basin Irrigation League was formed. Just a year later, Congress passed a bill allowing an investigation of the irrigation project with appropriations of $100,000. This was the very beginning of the process that led to construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest dam in the world at the time, to help provide irrigation to the Columbia Basin, and power to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It was also the beginning of one of the largest irrigation...
China’s growing dominance of critical metals production and stockpiles is setting off global alarms. It has American manufacturers in a bind as they ramp up domestic electric vehicle (EV) battery production. Ores containing these elements are in deposits across our planet; however, the technology to process them is largely in China. As the China Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping exerts its leverage, America and its allies are facing global economic and military c...
From cars to bigfoot to high-speed sprint boats, you don’t have to look very far to find something to do this weekend. But dad won’t care if you take him somewhere or just spend time with him. For dad, Father’s Day isn’t about spending money, it’s about time – time to connect, reflect and enjoy each other’s company. Dads spend a lifetime taking care of the needs of their children. Through their children’s formative years into college, fathers bring structure, discipline, log...
Sometimes, to better inform the future, we need to learn from the past. And a newspaper tends to be a rural county’s historical record, so turning to the newspaper for that past is a logical step. Plus, we received many requests to bring back our “Looking Back” section, and the Lincoln County Historical Society recently reached out with several interested writers hoping to contribute historical articles covering our area. So, this summer and starting this issue, we’ll have a...
When Oregon enacted the nation’s first bottle bill in 1971, it was intended to reduce litter on the state’s beaches, along roads, and in parks. It was a cleanup, not a recycling program. Today, the focus is recycling empty beer, pop, juice, and water containers and it is working very well in large part because it pays people to recycle. Collect the “empties” and earn a dime for each plastic bottle or aluminum can. It adds up and often is enough money to supplement purchas...
Relying on increased wind and solar is likely to increase electricity costs for residents in Washington and Idaho, and make electricity less reliable. Advocates of wind and solar frequently point to is the claim that the fuel is “free.” That claim ignores the extremely high up-front cost of those energy sources. To account for that, energy analysts create a “levelized cost of energy” to compare between energy that has low costs up-front but has ongoing costs for the fuel ...
The deal reached between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to increase our nation’s debt limit was a welcome compromise. It appears to avert our nation’s defaulting on our financial responsibilities and is a step toward bringing government spending under control. However, it is just a start; and the hurdles ahead are much higher. While the federal government operates differently than a family or business, people are starting to realize that if our nation def...
In a victory for private property owners, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the “significant nexus” test in its Sackett v EPA ruling. The ruling changes how “waters of the United States” can be applied by leaving wetlands that are not directly flowing into “rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that flow across or form a part of State boundaries” out of consideration as WOTUS. The “significant nexus” test was established in Rapanos v United States. The “significant ne...
Have you ever swum in Sewer Lake? Ya, me neither. But I've always heard of the most talked about event that the Reardan Mule Days Association has ever put on, and that has to be the homemade Raft Races on Sewer Lake in the 70's. The event, which is the first weekend of June every year, is epic and legendary around here. Every year as Mule Days gets closer, you still hear locals talk about it. Sewer Lake was also the site of Snowmobile Races during Mule Days, which is always...
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half-a-world apart, they have lots in common---beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes, and vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel) in vehicles, home heating and electric-power generation. New Zealand and Washington share a common goal to be c...
Is media lying about Ukraine? The news is we are going to start training the Ukrainians on F16’s yet in the news it is reported that the Ukrainians have mastered the F16 in 4 months. Years ago I was going to the Nevada Nuclear test site during star wars research. I became acquainted with one of the researchers, a former intelligence officer and we had a conversation about the Iran/ Iraq war and how it was going. I learned then not to trust anything the government tells us . I was young and stupid then, what’s the med...
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee is busy signing bills. I think he should start putting his John Hancock on apology letters to former state workers who were terminated because of his vaccine mandate. I doubt he will. In a press release about the move, the Inslee administration says that the end of the employment requirement “aligns with the end of the federal public health emergency and the lifting of vaccination requirements for federal employees and contractors on May 11. La...
With everybody’s property taxes in Lincoln County due recently, I can imagine we are all in a bit of a shock. We put our house in Davenport up for sale last year and the very next day, a new assessment of the property was mailed. Coincidence? Maybe. No dollar amount was listed, just the new assessed amount. I called and asked for an approximate amount of our new tax bill but was not given an answer. I guess I was supposed to feel better when I was told homes were reassessed only every six years in Davenport. There was an i...
