Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Whether you call it a ban or a significant deterrent to future natural gas consumption, voter approval of Initiative 2066 (I-2066) in Washington may be only the first giant pothole to fill. The next one in the road ahead may be a hefty tax on natural gas. In 2019, Berkeley, Calif., became the first city to prohibit natural gas connections in new buildings. San Jose, New York City, San Francisco, Seattle, and others followed. However, last year the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals delivered a setback by holding that federal law preempts local bans...
In basketball, when an opponent is trying to steal the ball from you, teammates will shout, “wolf!” Last Friday the Washington State Fish & Wildlife Commission ignored the cries of “wolf!” from state agency and tribal scientists, livestock raisers, and others when they voted not to downlist or delist the gray wolf in Washington state. The predators which have enjoyed 15 years of population increases are still considered an endangered species after a 5-4 vote. The most recent population count l...
I received some fantastic news last week! I received an email that read: “Hello Lou Marzeles.” (Okay, there should have been a comma after hello, but I’m a professional editor highly trained to notice such details in a world that drops punctuation and whole sentence errors by the dozen every second. I was willing to let that go. I figured they were just in such a hurry to share the good news.) “This is Mazie Reddit.” (Hm. Okay, another pause. Really? Mazie Reddit? Reddit is a website. And I’ve never heard of anyone with the name Mazie, though I...
There is a vast misunderstanding regarding the purpose and application of “separation of church and state.” The moment a politician mentions their Christian beliefs, such as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, outrage ensues. Johnson was called a “religious fanatic” and “Christian nationalist” and deemed unfit for office by the radical Left, all due to his Christianity and a violation of “separation of church and state.” The Left was baffled why he would “bring Jesus to work with him” and not leave his Christianity at the door. This is nothi...
The legislative session is over, and it had the potential to be very positive for salmon recovery. There was bipartisan support for habitat restoration. Legislators also had a huge amount of money to allocate because the tax on CO2 emissions generated far more money than anticipated. Despite that, the Legislature failed to make significant progress on salmon. It is one more wasted opportunity to protect an iconic state species. The most glaring example of the failure is in the supplemental...
Many fingers are again pointed at electric utilities because downed power lines are suspected of starting another horrific wildfire---the one that raced through Lahaina killing hundreds of unsuspecting people. Who would have imagined that one day, the historic Hawaiian capitol on Maui would be a thriving tourist destination and 24-hours later it would be piles of smoldering rubble and ashes which included remains of people? Cellphone video reveals that high winds down live electric lines which...
I recently commented on negotiations between Gov. Jay Inslee and unions on the upcoming contracts for state employees. As I said before, while I don’t fault the proposed salary increases for state workers under the reported deal during this time of high inflation – or even the $1,000 retention bonuses that some state workers will receive – I am very unhappy with one type of bonus that will be given to state workers, as well as how negotiations were done in secret. In case you missed it, each...
As clashes between wolves and cattle continue this fall, the discovery of six poisoned wolves in Stevens County and the hearing of arguments that could end grazing in the Colville National Forest by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals have created another complication in an already difficult situation managing growing wolf populations. Depredations continue to be confirmed, putting the state Department of Fish and Wildlife in conflict with environmental activists if they issue kill orders and with...
There wasn't much notice for August's webinar hosted by the WA Cares Fund. It was titled, "Long-Term Care Planning for Near-Retirees." I finally went back for a watch. In addition to presentations from government employees about changes that were made for near-retirees in the last legislative session when it comes to WA Cares - the new social program supporters and public agency heads are trying to pass off as an insurance policy for workers, even calling a new payroll tax a "premium" - there...
With Russian President Vladimur Putin cutting off natural gas supplies, Northern Europeans are scrambling and reverting to firewood to heat their homes, boil water and cook. It is rapidly becoming a hedge against skyrocketing energy prices and uncertain fuel supplies. Cuts in shipments of Russian natural gas, used to power electricity grids and heat homes is the biggest factor driving rates higher. Suddenly, Europeans are facing firewood scarcities and bulging orders for wood furnaces. West...
Here is a simple question: How should we measure the success of climate policy? The answer should be, “By maximizing CO2 reduction for every dollar spent.” This smart approach is standard practice for many private companies. Both Microsoft and Amazon spend on projects that are the fastest and most effective at reducing their impact on the climate. For example, a government subsidy for rooftop solar in cloudy Western Washington costs about $200 to reduce one metric ton of CO2. Projects that cap...
“Dangerous.” “Hazardous.” “Lowball compensation.” “Disrespectful.” “Unsafe.” “Public services are at risk.” These are just some of the descriptions state government employee unions have used to describe the progress of the secret contract talks now happening with Gov. Jay Inslee for the 2023-25 pay increases for state employees. What exactly has the governor offered to lead to these dire union warnings? What has the union instead countered with? We have no idea, and we won’t be given any deta...
Right now, the only people who can opt out of the WA Cares Fund, a new long-term-care (LTC) program that is supposed to be fueled by a payroll tax on workers, are those who had private long-term-care insurance (LTCI) purchased by Nov. 1, 2021. Their numbers are below. Our 2019 study on the then-proposed law found that between 2022 and 2053, taxpayers would pay more than $30 billion for the state to realize net savings of just over $1.2 billion. We look forward to a new actuarial report that...
If you live in Spokane, you know about its waste-to-energy facility which burns up to 800 tons of solid waste a day and can generate 22 megawatts of electricity---enough to power 13,000 homes. It is part of Spokane’s overall system that encourages recycling and waste reduction along with generating power. But what about the landfills spewing greenhouse gases from rotting trash? Earlier this year, Washington lawmakers approved legislation requiring large garbage dumps to capture methane gas t...
Gov. Jay Inslee announced last week that he will finally end governing under an emergency order — after more than 900 days —on Monday, Oct. 31. When the Legislature next convenes, it should ensure that this type of ongoing emergency governance without affirmative legislative approval never happens again. Whether or not you agree or disagree with every decision the governor made for the last 900-plus days, the fact remains these decisions with vast impact on individuals and businesses were mad...
Over the years, Seattle leaders faced “Herculean” challenges yet found the will, resources, and determination to come together and tackle them. Today’s conundrum is to overcome the city’s growing wave of crime and illicit drug trafficking. Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat summarized the predicament best. “During a time that, one hoped, was going to mark some summer recovery from the social dislocations of the pandemic, Seattle is instead continuing to slide backward---d...
Myth: It makes no difference if one calculates cow feed intake on a dry matter basis or an as-fed basis. Answer: Oh, but it does matter! Okay, here we go! This is one of those topics that probably caused more confusion among my students than most any question I asked them (or had them calculate on an exam!). Let’s make some practical sense of this and how it applies to the real world for cattle producers. Before we can address this concept, we define our terms: As-is (or as-fed) basis refers t...
I recently had the opportunity to review all 50 state constitutions and confirmed an important fact for the current capital gains income tax litigation in Washington. Although most state constitutions mention how real, personal, tangible or intangible property should be taxed, the vast majority don’t define those terms. Of those that define property, Washington’s constitution has the broadest definition. This is why our state supreme court has repeatedly ruled that in order to impose a gra...
In Washington, this year we’re fortunate to have escaped the historic droughts plaguing other parts of the world. The Columbia River basin water system has been at normal levels which is good for our agriculture, hydropower generation, barging, local water supplies, and fish and wildlife. However, 20 years ago we faced the same severe drought that is afflicting the world’s major river drainages including the Colorado, Rhine, and Yangtze. That water scarcity is forcing factories to close, farmlan...
Gov. Jay Inslee responded to the national COVID-19 health crisis by closing the public schools in Washington state to in-person instruction from March 2020 to September 2021 and allowing them to reopen sporadically the fall of 2021. The governor also mandated the use of masks and other face coverings and implemented social distancing rules in daycares and schools from March 2020 to March 2022. We are now learning that two years of these strict policies have imposed long-term harm on the 1.1...
My husband and I recently got into a discussion about the differences in the labeling of chicken. He saw a post on social media outlining the supposed differences between “pasture raised,” “cage raised,” “cage free,” and “free range.” It is easy to get caught up in the virtuous marketing of “pasture raised,” “cage free,” and “free range” versus “cage raised.” It is easy to imagine flocks of chickens strutting through pristine green fields and foraging for their food, but too often food labeli...
If you want a glimpse of parched river bottoms behind “would be breached” lower Snake River dams, look at recent photos of European rivers and lakes. On parts of picturesque Rhine River there is often more dry land than flowing water. Europe is in the clutches of another drought—the second since 2018. It is so severe that countries across the continent are imposing water restrictions. There are massive fish kills and desiccated croplands. Shipping is endangered on the Rhine and the Danube river...
The local news coverage of the celebration for units returning from Iraq and Afghanistan left me with mixed emotions. I was delighted that our fighting men and women were being embraced by our community. At the same time, however, I couldn't help feeling an emptiness as I recalled the lack of welcome for those of us who returned from Viet Nam. We came home to an ungrateful, and sometimes hostile, nation. In some extreme cases, we were spit on as we got off the plane. Some of us had relatives...
They claimed it wasn’t going to happen. But now, we know for certain that gasoline prices in Washington state will begin to take a huge jump next year. No, we don’t have a crystal ball. And no, this isn’t an issue of price gouging or “greedy” oil companies. This time, the blame can be centered right on Olympia. State lawmakers, you’ll remember, recently passed a carbon tax and low carbon fuel standard. In order to get support for the low carbon fuel standard legislation, they insisted ti...
Lawmakers are considering a massive handout to corporate America known as the PTAB Reform Act of 2022. If passed, the bill would have disastrous consequences for bootstrap innovators like me, and, in the long run, keep potentially millions of life-changing inventions out of the hands of Americans. I seldom get involved in politics. I have five daughters, and each day brings a new athletic event to attend or after-school study session to supervise. Yet on top of my motherly duties, I'm a successful "mompreneur" with several patented products...
