Opinion
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House Bill 1589 cuts corruption, carbon emissions
Don’t you fact-check opinion columns? After reading State Sen. Shelley Short’s bizarre, March 8 pack of lies about Washington House Bill 1589, I see that truth is optional at Free Press Publishing. This bill simply removes Puget Sound Energy’s...
Congresswoman can try to influence Speaker Johnson
Among Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers’s negative legacies she leaves, her most impactful may be on immigration. However, she still has time to improve that. Donald Trump cares nothing about our country, just his election. Accordingly, he...
In a sign of distrust, voters reject two-out-of-three local school bond proposals
In the latest sign of declining public confidence in the education system, voters in February turned down two-thirds of proposed local school bond measures, rejecting 14 out of 21 proposals. The...
Session a mix of success, disappointment
The 2024 legislative session is now in the history books. After 60 days, in which 201 House bills and 180 Senate bills passed the Legislature, we can report a mix of great successes and...
Get ready, 'climate agenda' to cost you $20,000
Eleven years ago, when we started debating the climate agenda in Olympia, I sat on a study committee we called the Climate Legislative Executive Workgroup and asked an unpopular question: How much...
Whitman Hospital Birth Unit
Dear Whitman County families, This has been a challenging few weeks for our community, our hospital and our practice. In light of the recent turmoil and announcement of closure of the Whitman Hospital Family Birth Unit, we felt that you should hear...
Managed forests on family tree farms reduce Greenhouse Gases
As climate change concerns grow, researchers are turning to family tree farmers for assistance. They have been helping for a century, but their efforts have gone unrecognized. The American Tree Farm...
Public Records
Public records must remain open and accessible A special report urges the mobilization of civic leaders, organizations, businesses and all residents to work together to save the state’s Public Records Act. The report is available online for viewing...
House Bill 2114, rent control, appears to have died in the Washington State Senate
House Bill 2114 (HB 2114), otherwise known as rent control, that passed the Washington State House of Representatives February 13 on a party line vote, appears to have died in the Senate and failed to...
Let Washingtonians be heard
It is with a mix of encouragement and disappointment that the Senate majority leader says four of the six citizen initiatives to the Legislature “might” have public hearings scheduled before the...
Dam compact words matter
Let’s take a few words that should be on the minds of all Eastern Washingtonians concerned over efforts to breach Snake River dams — agreement, restoration and sovereign, to name a few. Last...
Aid to Gaza
While driving down the road to I-90 from Cheney, I saw F-135 refueling planes circling around Fairchild Airforce Base. It occurred to me that there are many military airplanes waiting to be deployed. These airplanes could be used to avoid further...
Biden's Accomplishments
President Joe Biden’s accomplishments have been remarkable, especially considering the cult-like devotion to Donald Trump of most congressional Republicans, including Cathy McMorris Rodgers. Trump opposes everything Biden proposes, completely...
Jesus Gets Us
Like approximately 200 million other folks, I watched the Super Bowl ad “Jesus gets us”. Like most things on TV, it wasn’t showing the complete truth. “Jesus gets us” is true. But, He doesn’t wash our feet and leave us in our sin. The...
Cleansing sewage essential to fresh water supply
In Washington, this year we hope to again escape the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River water system flowed at normal levels in recent years which is good for our...
Forest bill offers a welcome change
Funny how it took a move into the country before a Democrat would support efforts to clean up our forests. Last week, Senate Bill 6121 passed the Senate unanimously. The bill sponsored by Sen. Kevin V...
Jake & T.C
In reading the Gazette Reporter Jake Hull’s great article regarding Tony Carter, I was struck by two things. The first was the obvious outpouring of the importance that TC had in the Colfax School System. Whether coaching in several areas,...
We need to unite to tackle fentanyl
As an emergency physician, I see too many patients and families destroyed fentanyl epidemic. This is a plague that we can only face united. Four decades ago, many dismissed the impact of secondhand cigarette smoke. History shows us they were wrong. T...
State needs more law officers
There was a time many years ago when our state was generally safe and did not have a serious crime problem. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, that was then… and this is now. Washington is now among the nation’s leaders in several crimes,...
On the Hot Seat: A roundabout is not necessarily a done deal
Washington state transportation employees are roundabout-mad. So, it was only a matter of time before that unwanted madness was injected into Colfax. At issue is whether the two U.S. Highway 195...