In 2017, I wrote a column titled: “America needs more welders and fewer philosophers.” It was a slogan Florida Sen. Marco Rubio used in his 2016 presidential campaign to call attention to the need for more skilled workers. Rub... — Updated 2/21/2024

President Biden is unwisely “throttling up” plans to ditch carbon fuels unilaterally despite the extreme consequences of doing so. He wants to accelerate replacement of gas/diesel vehicles with electrics (EVs) which will be rec... — Updated 4/26/2023

Gov. Jay Inslee and Sen. Patty Murray, both Democrats, issued a draft report which estimates that breaching the four lower Snake River dams and replacing their electricity and other benefits would cost between $10 and $27 billion.... — Updated 6/15/2022

It’s not often that we see an athlete at the top of his (her) game walk away from a multi-million dollar payday to go home and fight for his (her) country. However, that is exactly what world heavyweight boxing champion O... — Updated 3/9/2022

Washington’s Board of Natural Resources is considering banning timber harvesting on state lands. That is extremely unwise. Instead, the Board must ensure its healthy forest policies incorporate ALL management tools, including p... — Updated 3/2/2022

Last year, Gov. Jay Inslee attempted an end run around the legislature by banning natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings via the state’s building codes. It was a bad idea. Now, some fellow Democrats who control the L... — Updated 2/9/2022

When Toyota speaks, car buyers listen. Hopefully, our elected officials will as well. It is one of the world’s two largest auto and truck manufacturers--twice the size of GM, our biggest. Toyota warns the world is far from ready t... — Updated 12/29/2021

To “Build Back America” people must return to work! In a U.S. Chamber of Commerce poll released in early December, the findings spell trouble for America’s employers whether they are in the private or public sectors. It found... — Updated 12/8/2021

Lowering our flags to half-staff seems to be an all too familiar sight these days. It is a solemn act that recognizes our fallen heroes, whether they be men and women in our armed forces or a Vancouver police officer killed in the... — Updated 11/10/2021

This September 11 remembrance fell at a time when America is bitterly divided. It is also a time when we are more acutely worried about where and when terrorists will strike next. Our hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan — the place w... — Updated 9/15/2021

It is not surprising that COVID-19 which ravaged the world was disastrous for our country’s economy. Millions died from COVID complications; offices, stores and factories closed, and people were forced to quarantine at home. The g... — Updated 9/1/2021

When thinking of England’s fabled Sherwood Forest, the medieval images of Robin Hood and his band of archers and swordsmen hiding in the woods giving the Sheriff of Nottingham a hard time comes to mind. Who would envision a crew of... — Updated 8/25/2021

Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material, and the situation is likely to get much worse as the world shifts to electric vehicles. Everyday-green.com reports... — Updated 8/18/2021

Time is short, but action is necessary! Gov. Jay Inslee and Democrats who control the state legislature need to postpone implementing the sweeping “Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program” to determine its future fin... — Updated 8/11/2021

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 thw... — Updated 8/4/2021

Over the last 40 years our family has vacationed at the same place on the beach. While the buildings have been refurbished, the complex remains largely unchanged. The exception was last year when the COVID pandemic shutdown travel... — Updated 7/7/2021

How about some good news coming out of our record-breaking (extreme) heat wave? Luckily, we live and work in the Pacific Northwest, and are reaping the benefits from our well-connected power grid, which is supplied with abundant el... — Updated 6/30/2021

As climate change concerns grow, researchers are turning to small tree farmers for help. Actually, they have been helping for nearly a century, but their efforts have largely gone unrecognized. For decades, the American Tree Farm... — Updated 6/23/2021

Although New Zealand and Washington are located half a world apart, they have lots in common — beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes, and — vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are str... — Updated 5/19/2021

When Congress established the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) in 1935, it was intended to provide temporary and partial income replacement for workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. It was supposed to be a... — Updated 5/12/2021

Sometimes being first isn’t good. Such is the case with legislation making Washington the only state to ban natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings. Thankfully, the legislators ended their session in Olympia and left that... — Updated 4/28/2021

It isn’t often we hear good news from Hanford, but the Dept. of Energy recently announced the nation’s first commercial advanced nuclear power reactor would be developed on the massive federal reservation north of Richland. Muc... — Updated 4/14/2021

The Ever Given’s grounding in one of the narrowest parts of the Suez Canal underscores the vulnerability of the world’s supply chain. The reverberations will be felt for months as consumer demand, suppressed by the COVID pan... — Updated 4/7/2021

Surprisingly, there is something U.S. Presidents agree upon: America’s economic and national security hinge upon maintaining our technology edge in semiconductors. Those tiny computer chips are the brains of modern electronics. T... — Updated 3/24/2021

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson’s $33 billion plan to remove the lower Snake River dams is unwise. However, if he pushes it, he needs to include the impact of breaching dams in his home state, which completely shuts off salmon a... — Updated 2/17/2021