Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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It’s clear: Parents in Washington are sick of their children being used as pawns by radicals in power who wish to destroy family, children and faith. Widespread protests against mask mandates at school and vaccine mandates at work have erupted statewide, with many calling out Gov. Jay Inslee for his aggressive misuses and abuses of emergency powers. This has largely been a fight for religious freedom and individual liberty, but it is creeping onto another deeply disturbing frontier — the fight for parental rights. The see...
The masking at schools and inside public places, regardless of vaccination status, is very questionable. The “one-size-fits-all” approach (typical government) should not apply to us in rural, sparsely populated areas, especially those with small numbers of students, small class sizes. Again, the medical people (CDC, National Institutes of Health, etc. are being overly cautious and unrealistic. Supposedly, some 600,000 have died from Covid in the U.S. With some 320 million people, this is only 0.18 percent of the pop...
Having lived in three developing countries for 17 years, I met very fine Americans, as well as arrogant and ignorant Americans. Representatives from the U.S. Embassy, USAID, Peace Corps, U.S. Military, UNICEf and UNESCO and missionaries are among those I encountered. Many stayed briefly, never getting to know the culture. Not fitting into any of those categories gave me special insight – into others and myself. Most Americans, including me, travel with American glasses on and don’t often see what is happening right bef...
On the evening of Aug. 29, several people smelled what they thought must be a natural-gas leak at the corner of First Avenue and Division Street in downtown Odessa. As calls went out to various Odessa governmental and emergency responders, as well as Avista, the natural-gas supplier for Odessa, the only immediate agency response came from Odessa Police Chief Les Jimerson. He came with lights flashing, cleared and blocked off the immediate area and then waited. And waited. And waited. Three hours or so later, an Avista truck a...
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics were billed as the “Hydrogen Olympics” Then along came COVID and sporting events worldwide were put on hold. The summer games were delayed until 2021. Postponing the games cost Japan billions and thwarted its efforts to showcase the Japanese “Green Growth” strategies. Japan, like the U.S., plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050. While countries like China are betting on lithium batteries, Japan’s centerpiece is hydrogen. As Japanese researche...
On Monday, the governor announced COVID vaccine mandates for most state employees and health care workers or they could lose their jobs. While employees will be able to apply for religious or medical exemptions, I believe this is heavy-handed and unnecessary. Many of you know I contracted COVID, but I have since been vaccinated, given experience I had and the seriousness of this virus. I would add, the most important part of my job as your state representative is being able...
Liberals in Congress are actively campaigning to force price controls on drug manufacturers. The House has already passed bills that would limit the amount of money pharmaceutical companies can charge for drugs. The fate of this proposed legislation is uncertain in the U.S. Senate. At the same time, the Biden Administration and others on the political left are attacking the companies that have made the COVID-19 vaccines. They seek a waiver to the 1994 TRIPS Act, which was...
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...
Massive forest fires in western parts of our country are not only choking us with layers of thick smoke but are leaving behind millions of acres of scorched hillsides, ridges, and valleys. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, record wildfire seasons in recent years have destroyed millions of trees. Many forests have burned so severely that natural regeneration isn’t possible, making replanting necessary. Unfortunately, much of the U.S. Forest Service budget is diverted to f...
There was some good news recently coming out of a meeting concerning a 2019 law creating a state-run, long-term-care program to be funded through workers’ paychecks starting in January. In case you’re not in the loop, a payroll tax of 58 cents per $100, with no income cap, begins Jan. 1 to fund the Washington Cares Fund. Statutory employees earning $50,000 a year will pay $290 annually, those who make $100,000 will contribute $580 each year, and so on. Some workers who pay...
Response to a Trump presidency In response to “If Trump is president again, then what” (see letter to editor in July 15, 2021 issue of The Record), first of all he would make our country energy independent again by: 1. Completing the Keystone pipeline (lowering gas prices for the lower-income, hard-working American citizens). 2. Bringing the natural-gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada to millions of American citizens’ homes (cutting their utility bills and dealing with some of the concerns about “clean green energy...
Massive forest fires in the western parts of our country are not only choking us with layers of thick smoke, but are leaving behind millions of acres of scorched hillsides, ridges and valleys. Simply, there are not enough trees to absorb CO2 and prevent erosion. According to the Arbor Day Foundation, record wildfire seasons in recent years have destroyed millions of trees. Many forests have burned so severely that natural regeneration is not possible, which makes replanting...
The Battle Ground City Council this week unanimously adopted Resolution No. 21-07 opposing a local income tax. That brings the number of cities officially going on record against a local income tax to four with Battle Ground joining Spokane, Granger and Spokane Valley. The Mayor of Yakima also recently indicated she plans to ask her city council to forward a local income tax ban charter amendment to the ballot for voters to consider like occurred in Spokane in 2019. Here is...
After a long five-year hiatus, the world’s greatest athletes have converged for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. When I haven’t been busy putting together this week’s paper, I’ve been watching these athletes compete in a bevy of sports while feeling insecure about my athletic shortcomings compared with the unbelievable feats achieved by the competitors. It’s an American tradition to sit on our couches and watch TV for six hours while wondering why we aren’t as athletic as...
Last week, the largest teacher’s union in the country announced that it will conduct opposition research with regard to the growing grassroots campaign to stop Critical Race Theory from being forced on schoolchildren. This very demographically diverse group of angry activists, mostly composed of concerned parents, showed up vocally, passionately and totally unexpected at local school boards nationwide. They shocked the professional liberal elite and National Education Association leaders all across the nation. Clearly, p...
It’s shaping up to be the year for conspiracy fans. UFOs are confirmed by the U.S. military and now government censorship through social media platforms is acknowledged. “We are in regular touch with social media platforms … We’re flagging problematic posts for Facebook,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said during a July 15 press conference. She was speaking alongside Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy about information provided about COVID, treatments and vaccinations. Psaki outlined steps the Biden Administr...
Over the last 16 months, each one of us has suffered through endless chaos and uncertainty of COVID-19 and the seemingly endless monarchical restrictions affecting every facet of our lives. We’ve all borne witness personally in some way — sick and dying loved ones (not just from COVID); economic insecurity; long-term isolation from family, friends, church and helping each other in time of need; loss of personal freedom; watching individuals and families struggle with job los...
If Trump is president again, then what It occurred to me that in an attempt to communicate, it might be more productive to concede “in theory” that MAGA and Trump have prevailed. Republicans control the U.S. government. “The dog’s finally caught the car!” So now what? At the beginning of each day we join Trump in pledging allegiance to the flag with “liberty and justice” for all white males, as the founders intended. Well established “social” programs will stop. Trump ends paying into “social” security. No government taxatio...
Last month, South Kitsap School Board member John Berg introduced a resolution to prohibit classroom teaching of theories that promote racial hatred. For that he was called a nut. District officials said they won’t be teaching critical race theory in Kitsap schools. The teachers’ union said the poor fellow must be watching too much TV news. The Tacoma newspaper made him out to be a conspiracy theorist, allowing its reporter to make the astonishing assertion that “no K-12 district in the country has critical race theory in th...
A friend of mine, let’s call her Mary, began college at the University of Washington in 1967 and graduated with an undergraduate degree in 1971. According to the university’s records, she paid $3,160 (in 2020 dollars) for her final year of in-state tuition. Mary’s granddaughter, Emma, graduated after four years from the University of Washington in 2020 and paid $10,630 for her final year of in-state tuition. Essentially, school administrators more than tripled tuition at the s...
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...
It’s very hot and dry. Have you noticed? As a result, fire districts and authorities in Lincoln County and throughout Eastern Washington are asking that residents refrain from lighting fireworks as part of their Independence Day celebrations this weekend. It’s not the news we wanted to hear (especially for resident pyrotechnics inclined to drop $1,000-plus on patriotic explosions), but this year, it’s the right call. Fireworks, dry climates and poor decisions don’t mix. I’ve s...
Congress will soon have an opportunity to vote on the INVEST in America Act, a $547 billion surface transportation reauthorization bill from the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, led by Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio. One of the major elements of the bill is a substantial increase in the percentage of money dedicated to public transit. For the last 40 years, the Highway Trust Fund, funded by an 18.4 cent/gallon gas tax and 24.4 cent/gallon diesel fuel tax, spent 80 percent of the funding on roads, and...
This Sunday, our nation celebrates Independence Day. And on this 245th birthday of our United States, it’s important to take time to remember why we mark July 4. Sure we celebrate the holiday with barbecues and fireworks, parades and apple pie. But that’s not what it is about. Independence Day is about freedom from tyranny. It’s about being able to own property, speak your mind, worship how you want, gather together, be protected from government corruption and overreach and, when necessary, defend yourself not just from...
Contrary to recent claims that Snake River Spring Chinook runs are on the path to extinction, returns increased for the second year in a row, continuing the recovery from the recent low point in the population cycle. The Spring Chinook salmon run for the Snake River concluded yesterday, with more than 29,634 salmon passing the Lower Granite Dam. This is a 27 percent increase from 2020 levels and 55 percent larger than 2019 returns. That number is also only 495 Chinook short...
