Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
Serving Lincoln County for more than a century!
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When Sen. Karen Keiser, D-Des Moines, opened a recent work session for the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee, she said that the state’s law on long-term care was passed by the Legislature on a “bipartisan basis.” As Inigo Montoya said in “The Princess Bride,” “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The law that created WA Cares, proposed in House Bill 1087, cannot be described as bipartisan legislation. By the time the bill made its way...
One of the most vexing problems with our nation’s health care system is getting a timely doctor’s appointment. Our primary care network is overwhelmed. More than 100 million Americans lack a primary care provider. A quarter of those are children and the problem is worsening, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers. Our country has a growing and aging population that will need more care. Combined with an aging workforce of physicians nearing ret...
The number of people tapping the taxpayer-provided Paid Family and Medical Leave fund is increasing every year. The paid-leave program was launched in 2020. It imposes a tax on employers and workers, whether or not the workers ever use the program. The money is used to allow some workers taxpayer-paid time off if they have a serious health condition, need to care for people or want to bond with a new child on taxpayers’ dimes. If you build it they will come. And they did. T...
Who would have thought that a small Oregon natural grain mill owner’s death would make national news or be the subject of a lengthy feature article in the New York Times? However, 94-year-old Bob Moore’s passing in February did. The Times is published just off Broadway in the heart of Big Apple’s network television and theater district. Moore, with his white beard, wire-rim eyeglasses, newsie cap and bolo tie became a “food poster person” approaching the notoriety of KFC’s...
Demographia has just published a study, authored by Wendell Cox, that compares the affordability of housing in the international marketplace. The conclusions show that while Washington state isn’t the most expensive, it is on its way to the top spot. What’s sad is it’s all avoidable with some simple changes to state policy. Currently, Seattle ranks 73 out of 100 of the most affordable major cities to live. The study summarizes that the high prices are “largely the product...
Workers can join labor unions. And unions can charge them dues. Some workers are even required to pay a union in order to hold certain jobs. Union membership is a good option for many workers whose ideals line up with a union that represents their interests. There is strength in numbers. However, membership is a bad deal for workers represented by a union with which they disagree about political donations, workplace details or treatment of a worker’s employer. Thanks to the U...
It is the time of year to proudly fly our American flags. It began with Memorial Day (May 27) followed by Flag Day (June 14) and ends with the “Grand Finale” on July 4. The common thread is “Old Glory” waving in the breeze. In our country there are no symbols more synonymous with Independence Day than our American flag. It is a powerful emblem of our unity, resilience, and patriotism. It is the time-tested bond which binds citizens from all levels of society, ethnic backgro...
Would passage of Initiative 2124 kill the WA Cares long-term program? Probably. It’s super likely that if the state’s new, mandatory long-term-care program was made optional for Washington state workers many would flee, leaving it unable to pay its way in its current form. No argument there. Still, that is what was emphasized when the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee discussed WA Cares in a Tuesday work session. Is the program solvent? And would it be if it becomes vol...
Disappointingly, many Americans are worried about silly first-world problems like where to go boating or what to barbecue over the upcoming weekend. Too many view this upcoming three-day break as an excuse to eat, drink and party, never giving a thought as to why Memorial Day is observed. So while you’re anxiously awaiting the long weekend, take time to remember, understand and plan to observe Memorial Day. Memorial Day is dedicated to the men and women killed while serving i...
Sometimes it takes some thinking to figure out what to write for an article. I try to make the content relevant and applicable to real-world cattle production. Finally, I asked myself, as summer approaches what are the real issues that I faced as a cattleman? One of the summer issues that a lot of us have experienced is pinkeye. It terms of a cattle disease; I think we all can agree that it is both an economic problem, a cattle well-being issue, and a nuisance as well. In...
This news story on KUOW gave me a hot flash: "'Menopause is not a bad word.' New bill aims to increase awareness, reduce stigma." It highlighted a proposal to expand federal research on menopause, establish a national public awareness program and support improved training for health care providers. The price tag for the Senate bill titled the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women's Health Act? $275 million over five years. This is exactly the sort of putting wants ahead...
The Snake River dams are critical to the infrastructure of our region, providing not only reliable power but also many other economic benefits. Removing these dams would have many negative impacts. You don’t have to take my word for it. Here are some of the findings from the multi-year public process in 2020 conducted by The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, and Bonneville Power Administration:: “[Breaching] would not meet the objective to Provide a Rel...
Recently, President Biden launched the second phase of his attack on domestic oil and gas production by effectively blocking leases in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. That follows last year’s reimposed ban on exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. Both actions are ill-advised. In the Wall Street Journal, Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican, quipped: “the Biden Administration has imposed more sanctions on Alaska than it has on Iran.” The Interior Departm...
The May 1 meeting of a WA Cares oversight commission should be must-see-TV, as it made one thing super clear: There is going to be a lot of disappointment if WA Cares remains a mandatory program funded by 58 cents (or more) of every $100 a worker earns. Not only will some workers not qualify for the money they're being told should give them peace of mind about possible long-term-care needs, Washingtonians who do qualify for a WA Cares benefit won't be able to fully choose how...
Too many pragmatic Democrats and Republicans in Congress are retiring at a time when we need them most. Two are from Washington: Reps. Derek Kilmer, D-Olympic Peninsula, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers R-Spokane. McMorris Rodgers and Kilmer cut their political teeth in the state Legislature. While they faithfully followed their parties, they found ways to come together on issues vital to our state. McMorris Rodgers was elected to Congress in 2004 and Kilmer in 2012. Recently,...
Gov. Jay Inslee wants to buy 8,767 people a $1,125 latte. Metaphorically, at least. Inslee’s new program to subsidize the purchase of electric vehicles is so wasteful at reducing CO2 emissions, it is the equivalent of paying that absurd amount for a 16-ounce latte. On Earth Day, Inslee announced a $45 million program to subsidize the purchase or lease of electric vehicles. The program is targeted at those making 300% of the federal poverty level or less, which amounts to $...
As Washington's CO2 tax, known as the Climate Commitment Act, heads to the ballot this fall, this logo highlighting projects that received funding from that tax will become more prevalent. And you are paying for it. The use of taxpayer-resources to promote the CO2 tax follows the decision by the Legislature to send one-time checks of $200 to utility customers funded by the Climate Commitment Act just two-months before the November election. It is part of a pattern we are...
On July 13, 2012, President Obama was giving a speech in Roanoke, Va., and said this: "Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. Somebody invested in roads and bridges. If you've got a business, you didn't build that." Those three sentences sparked a brush fire in that year's presidential election that he spent the next few weeks trying to walk back. But while the third sentence tried to take credit away from...
In a backwards approach to helping tenants, the Federal Government is capping rent increases on subsidized housing at 10% in a bid to reduce the cost of rental properties. The result, should the measures be adopted, will be exactly the opposite and rents will go up. When you place caps on rent, instead of letting the market drive the pricing, the supply of rental property declines and the result is higher demand and higher prices for rent. There is a short-term impact to...
While wind and solar farms generate “greenhouse gas free” electricity, there are ongoing concerns over their impacts on our environment especially as a rapidly growing number of worn-out blades and panels are landing in landfills. Those blades, housed on giant wind towers reaching over 250-feet in the sky, are starting to reach the end of their useful lives (15 to 20 years) and are being taken down, cut up and hauled to burial sites. Even though over 90 percent of the dec...
It turns out that, as we have been saying for years, honeybee populations aren’t declining, but are actually increasing. A recent article in Vox notes that the talk of honeybees disappearing was “greatly exaggerated.” Admitting that his previous stories predicting the collapse of honeybee populations hadn’t aged well, the reporter explained that a recent agricultural census found that the 31 percent increase in honeybees since 2007 is “a larger increase than any other dom...
A state public-relations campaign is underway suggesting that because the state Legislature passed a bill allowing people to use a WA Cares Fund benefit to receive long-term care outside of the state, it’s a sure thing you’ll benefit. That’s not a sure thing. I received an email from the state about the legislation Friday. It read, “Planning to leave Washington in the future? Now you can take your WA Cares benefit with you, thanks to a new law passed last month and signed...
Each year, for a session lasting either 105 days (in odd-numbered years) or 60 days (in even-numbered years), legislators gather in Olympia to introduce, debate and vote on bills. While many people focus their attention on what the Legislature does each year, there is one final and crucial step in the legislative process that happens – the governor decides whether to veto part or all of a bill, or let it become law. Since this year’s legislative session ended March 7, Gov...
Easter is when potted Easter Lily plants start showing up in nurseries and supermarkets like poinsettias during the Christmas season. They adorn the altars and pulpits of most churches on Easter Sunday, but why don’t sightseers flock to fields to enjoy the spectacular sea of white blooms? The answer is a small group of family lily farmers who are bulb producers. They need to clip the flowers to concentrate the plant’s nutrients on bulb development. Fields of white flowers on...
Farm numbers across the U.S. are dwindling and the mountain states are no exception. Our country lost 7% of farms from 2017-2022, and all of the mountain states were above the national average. As a farmer in the region, I understand the stress of this profession, and if our country continues on its current trajectory our region's agricultural future looks bleak – more consolidation and less food security. From 2017-2022, Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming all experienced...
