The Star - News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area

Why would any company spend $5.5 million for a 30-second Super Bowl ad that leaves viewers perplexed, as some glitzy and abstract commercials did? After production costs are tacked on, you’d think advertisers would want their m... — Updated 2/10/2021

With COVID-19 vaccines being widely dispensed, will an end to this pandemic halt “work from home?” Will workers return to downtown offices at pre-pandemic levels? Not likely! However, it is not an either/or question, said Sta... — Updated 1/13/2021

Now that vaccines are available, we hope our lives will return to the way they were before the coronavirus pandemic blanketed the globe. That is not likely to occur. Last March our booming economy was clobbered by COVID-19. A... — Updated 1/6/2021

While the coronavirus and its devastating effects on people and economies worldwide were unfortunately the top 2020 stories, the massive impact of western wildfires can’t be ignored. It was catastrophic. The National Interagency F... — Updated 12/30/2020

Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. Try adding a crippling killer virus into that mix. That is the tragic reality of 2020. Even though the traditional ceremonies attended by thousands... — Updated 12/23/2020

Many years ago, a reporter asked George Weyerhaeuser, then CEO of Weyerhaeuser Co., why his company spent so much time and money informing its workers, public officials and people about its business of growing trees and converting... — Updated 9/25/2019

Christmas is a difficult time for anyone grieving the death of a loved one. It is especially hard when they were slain in the line of duty while protecting our country. It hit home again last month when Army sergeants Eric Emond, 3... — Updated 12/26/2018

The battle in Seattle over the city council’s imposition of a head tax on large companies is generating disparaging labels which local elected leaders likely will come to regret. As a mayor, the last things you want are “anti-busin... — Updated 5/30/2018

With western wildfires growing in size and destroying more homes, farms and businesses, there is a need for new tools and approaches. The infernos are spreading so fast they are outstripping our ability to fight them in... — Updated 5/9/2018

Millions of college graduates find themselves saddled with crushing debt, and more than a third of them won’t be working in their chosen profession. Many will be working for low wages. Meanwhile, millions of high-paid jobs are a... — Updated 4/25/2018

Most of the 2.5 million annual Alamo visitors focus on the epic 1836 battle in which a small band of brave Texans was eventually overrun by the Mexican army. Folk heroes like Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and William Travis were among... — Updated 3/28/2018

Have you carefully checked your utility bills lately? Most people don’t unless they are monsters like the ones for garbage in Scranton, PA, and Los Angeles. In Vancouver, WA, our garbage and recycling bill now has an added 3... — Updated 2/14/2018

It’s not good to be a North Korean guest worker these days. As part of stepped-up sanctions against the rogue nation’s accelerated nuclear and ballistic missile development programs, countries around the world are expelling Nor... — Updated 1/31/2018

Earlier this month, China launched its “national sword” policy which bans many recyclable materials it traditionally imported. Meanwhile, its upcoming March edict imposing a lower limit on contaminants is having global rev... — Updated 1/18/2018

Christmas is an especially difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was killed while serving in uniform. Normally, the fa... — Updated 12/20/2017

For the last two decades, federal legislation allowing oil and gas exploration in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) has been stymied. Now, it is part of federal tax reform which Congress is likely to approve. Allowing new... — Updated 12/6/2017

While Seattle is growing rapidly, our rural areas continue to struggle. They don’t have the corporate giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Boeing creating jobs and economic opportunities. Farms are predominantly family-owned. T... — Updated 11/1/2017

Last year, Seattle Times aerospace reporter Dominic Gates wrote about the similarities and differences between Boeing’s corporate office move to Chicago and Amazon’s plan for a second headquarters. Boeing wanted to leave Sea... — Updated 10/25/2017

In Washington, the legislative stalemate over permitting new household wells and the state’s construction budget has not only delayed needed funding for public projects, but triggered yet another salvo in the wider conflict over f... — Updated 9/27/2017

Key tax policies emanating from the east and west coasts are like passenger trains passing one another heading in opposite directions. One train is loaded with elected officials proposing changes to reduce taxes while the other is... — Updated 9/20/2017

All of the things that went wrong in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 appear to have been corrected with Houston’s recent Hurricane Harvey. Chalk it up to a series of important lessons learned. By now everyone knows t... — Updated 9/6/2017

Last February, the European Parliament rejected a tax on robots, but took the first steps to regulate their development and deployment. The legislation also aims to establish liability for the actions of robots including... — Updated 8/30/2017

When the Economist Magazine reported the price of a Guinness pint could increase because of Brexit, it grabbed readers’ attention. Brexit is the process whereby Great Britain, including Northern Ireland and Scotland, is withdrawing... — Updated 7/19/2017 Full story

In the last decade, there has been a highway construction boom in Texas. On the other hand, lawmakers in Olympia still scramble to fund road maintenance. Texas, a state with a population of 27 million, is flush with cash thanks... — Updated 5/31/2017 Full story

Recently, Washington state’s largest environmental, wildlife and natural resources agencies recognized 43 large forest landowners for their “exemplary efforts” to upgrade forest roads and stream crossings which improved salmon habi... — Updated 5/24/2017 Full story