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

As Washington turns its attention to infrastructure and other matters of policy, the Senate filibuster isn’t commanding quite the same headlines as it did a few weeks back. But that’s only because the issue is... — Updated 4/14/2021

We all agree that senseless acts of violence are unacceptable, and in our nation of law and order, there is no room for gun violence. Unfortunately, the Biden Administration is utilizing heartbreaking crimes to push its agenda.... — Updated 4/14/2021

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.... — Updated 4/14/2021

The Grand Coulee Dam School District leadership is taking a good step forward by preparing for the day when funding becomes available to entities who already have plans in place for improvements. In fact, that’s exactly how the... — Updated 4/14/2021

P.Y. Yee put clothes on you that fit and were of superior quality. He was one of the infamous tailors in Hong Kong, and I got to know him visiting his tailor shop in Hong Kong during my several visits there. It was like getting... — 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... — Updated 4/7/2021

Things look pretty bad right now for the people of Burma. In my visit to Burma, I found the people of a peaceful nature, but governed by military men who at the time stayed in the background. Since that time, there was a peaceful t... — Updated 4/7/2021

Grant PUD’s decision to pursue a partnership in a next-generation nuclear power plant stems from the same circumstance that incented Columbia Basin Hydropower’s interest in its Banks Lake Hydropower project. The factors... — Updated 4/7/2021

A year into living with the ramifications of a global pandemic, it is clearer now than ever before how important science is to our decision-making – and how quickly it can get tossed to the side in lieu of more politically expedi... — Updated 3/31/2021

Catastrophic wildfires have had a devastating impact on our region. Wildfires can ravage vast sections of our state, displacing families, putting firefighters at risk, and leaving long-term economic recovery challenges. One of the... — Updated 3/31/2021

If you asked someone who the heroes of World War II were, you would probably get FDR, Gen. MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Gen. Patton, and so on. And they would be correct. But what about the unsung heroes? The kids across America... — Updated 3/31/2021

The school board approved a new schedule for students in high school (March 22). With this schedule, students who choose to be in school in person will now be able to be in school four days a week instead of two days. The... — Updated 3/31/2021

In Central Washington, we know the best way to jumpstart our economy is by reopening our small businesses and letting America’s free markets get individuals back in the workplace. Unfortunately, far-left Democrats in Congress... — Updated 3/24/2021

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.... — Updated 3/24/2021

It is said that a dog is man’s best friend. If this is true for you, then you have a serious problem. I’ve only had one dog that ever came close, and I will get to that in a minute. My first dog was a collie/shepherd mix,... — Updated 3/24/2021

In the first two and a half months of 2021, illegal immigration has reached a crisis point. There have been more than 200,000 illegal border crossings with as many as 5,000 illegal crossing encounters in one day. In order to mainta... — Updated 3/17/2021

When government fails, it’s the rare public official who says, “Oops. My fault.” That’s human nature, particularly for officials in the public eye who may have to run for office again. No one wants to be held directly... — Updated 3/17/2021

The Senate on March 6 voted 25-24 to pass Senate Bill 5096, a proposal that seeks to create a state income tax on capital gains. The Senate’s passage of a state income tax is beyond disappointing, although not entirely... — Updated 3/17/2021

It’s on again! Here’s the good news: the Bureau of Reclamation plans on restarting its fire station project. The bad news is that no one has any confidence the bureau will ever finish the project. This project has had more... — Updated 3/17/2021

One silver lining of our time in the covid cloud points to a better way of doing some things, a way that should not be abandoned as we shake off what some may think feels like a kind of societal hibernation: better, more-open... — Updated 3/17/2021

Many of us have received the two-step vaccine but are still urged to wear masks. Eventually, if enough of us are vaccinated, we’ll be able to put mask history behind us. But, before you choose the Johnson and Johnson vaccine,... — Updated 3/10/2021

Presently there are three vaccines for COVID 19 corona virus that have been approved in the USA for use. 1. Pfizer vaccine; 2. Moderna vaccine; 3. Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines used no aborted baby... — Updated 3/10/2021

The four-town community has long had a tradition of deciding to use common resources to help in a communal spring cleaning, sprucing the community up and lifting spirits after a long winter. Back in the day, the effort even had a... — Updated 3/10/2021