News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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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 driving this grip all of us; change is inevitable. Both the PUD and Columbia Basin Hydro figure more power will be needed in the coming years, and that much of it will come from renewable energy developments that need a more stable, fairly permanent source of power to steady their less-than-stable energy flow. Both of those pro...
Here I’ve shared how scientists develop forecasts and predictions of our planet’s weather: from ground and airborne observations and data from stationary and orbiting satellites. Those data that are gathered are put through algorithms on computers that help create weather forecasts and predictions. It’s not a perfect science and likely never will be. So, how are scientists gathering data on what weather occurred in the past — way back before people predicted our weather — even before people? Pal...
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 transfer of power to an elected government. That didn’t last long. Power grabs people and doesn’t let go. We have seen the evidence of this here in our own country. While there, I observed uniformed men carrying rifles on most street corners. They weren’t threatening, but their presence was unsettling. While everything...
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 pandemic, ramps up. The canal, which was completed in 1869, is the main shipping artery between Asian and European seaports through which 10 percent of the global shipping traverses. Much of the 120-mile waterway is extremely narrow, especially for ships as long as the Empire State Building (New York City) is tall (1,300 ft....
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 administration is hoping that by doing so, these students will become more engaged with their work and will find a renewed motivation. Unfortunately, this decision comes at a cost: the cost of quality education. You see, because of bus constraints in this time of COVID-19, to accommodate this schedule, the administration has...
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 did their part in the winning of World War II. They became a gigantic salvage yard operation in collecting aluminum, rubber and iron, and buying Savings stamps and bonds. When the country was asked to bring in salvage items to help the war effort, millions of young boys and girls really rolled up their sleeves and got...
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 key elements to minimizing our risk of wildfire is to engage in responsible forest management practices and to greatly reduce the small diameter trees, organic waste, and logging slash throughout our timberlands. Throughout my years in the Washington State Legislature, I have been an active supporter of efforts to...
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 expedient “truths.” When other countries join the fray to undermine our nation’s stability, annoyance quickly gives way to alarm. China is leading the latest attack against America with one goal in mind: to undermine our nation’s food supply. Alarming, to say the least. China is asking the World Health Organization (WHO) to d...
The vaccine showed up, the numbers are going down, and places are beginning to open back up. While the hope of a return to normalcy may be peeking out, I want to remind ourselves that some of the worst repercussions of this pandemic are beginning to emerge. This past week, a tragedy, a suicide, occurred with a high school student right in our area's backyard. While we all wish it was an anomaly, the truth is that the pain is right here in our house. Life can be difficult no matter who you are,...
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, called “Scottie.” I remember how he would sit out on the lawn until he could see me in the distance coming home from school. He had a body clock that would tell him that I would come into view soon. He could see me drop down off North Hill when I was about an eighth of a mile away, and he would come running down the road to...
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 don’t see it that way. They used the “relief package” to massively fund programs unrelated to COVID-19, to cut our seniors’ Medicare, and to enact tax increases to pay for their crazy spending. It doesn’t make economic sense. Led by Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Schumer, Congress recently passed President Biden’s $1....
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. They operate our laptops and smart phones and permeate every sector of our lives from farming and manufacturing to health care and public safety. They are embedded in our military’s most advanced equipment and give us a tactical edge. Semiconductors are among our nation’s top five exports. The Semiconductor Indus...
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 public meetings. Yeah, that means continuing online options for attending meetings. Don’t shoot! I said “option.” Nothing can replace the dynamics of meeting in person, but at least two situations cry out for keeping the new skills many have learned over the last year of attending meetings online: local government meeti... Full story
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 starts than the fleas on a hound dog. You can tell it’s a government job because it’s going to take deep pockets to pull this out. Now the bureau is going to find another contractor for the restart. It seems the contractors are only part of the problem. The rest lies with inspecting the work that is being done. The bureau...
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 unexpected. This proposal has been a concern of mine for the past few years, and it finally advanced. In the past, the Senate has been a helpful backstop against new tax proposals. In recent years, either Republican senators or a few conservative Democrats helped block the income tax. I’m afraid that the 25 to 24 vote shows that...
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 maintain the rule of law and keep criminals out of our country, we must continue working to enhance our border security. One way to do this is to take away opportunities to work illegally in the United States. Congress can do so by creating a viable agriculture labor program that allows workers to come into our country, wor...
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 responsible for letting the public down. Case in point is the recent catastrophe in Texas, when unexpected winter storms left 4 million homes without power, ruptured pipes and tainted the water supply for many. Texas’ energy grid essentially collapsed. While Texas Gov. Greg Abbott was quick to blame frozen wind turbines,...
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 mascot cartoon character named Coulee Clem, who encouraged everyone to get out the brooms and rakes. That community spirit led to the decision to encourage that behavior with a free dump day for yard waste at the Delano Landfill, now a transfer station. That’s not a “gifting of public funds,” as some pencil pushe...
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, you might consider this: While protecting you from serious consequences, just as Moderna and Pfizer do, it is significantly less effective in keeping you from getting corvid. What’s the difference you might ask? Ninety-five (95) percent for the current versus 66 percent for Johnson and Johnson. What this means in lay...
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 cells in the testing or production of their vaccine and require two shots. Johnson & Johnson used aborted baby cells in both the testing and production of their vaccine and requires only one shot. The moral concerns and decisions are up to you. Thank you, Al & Judy Bosco...
I want to thank the GCDSD Board of Directors for making sure their coaches are being fully compensated and that each sport is getting an assistant for various logical reasons. Thanks for stepping up and doing the right thing. I respect our volunteer local board members who try to find balance with issues and will always be questioned. As board members they nor us educators are health experts. They’re doing their best with the COVID-19 challenges. The recent approval for school staff to get vaccinated is tremendously helpful and addresses the “s...
You could call them the formidable four. There was my mom, Mrs. Hollenback (a widow), Mabel Brantner (local tavern owner’s wife), and the preacher’s wife, Mrs. Stott. They spent a lot of time together. They attended church together and sat as a unit in one of the front rows. Their mission was to get the Rev. Stott to stop preaching on time. They set the time, 12 o’clock sharp. The four carried some soda crackers in their purses and would pull them out and start eating them. When he could contain himself, his message was over. I enjoyed the l...
A portion of the geographic United States, specifically the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast, were hit hard in late February with unusual life-threatening winter weather. The state of Texas became the epicenter of this winter event for several reasons. Widespread power outages, freezing water pipes and significant snowfall occurred, which, in some parts of Texas and the Gulf Coast is a rare happening. What was the cause — the Polar Jet Stream or the Arctic Polar Vortex? First, let’s take a loo...
I hope you write sometime about the mental stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’ve struggled with mental stress a lot, and here is how I feel: The COVID19 pandemic — with its deaths, economic hardship and curbs on social interaction — has put great pressure on people’s mental health. I’ve used COVID19 data to try and understand what is going on, since I am a mathematician by training, but have found that knowing doesn’t help the mental stress. I have a lot of fear about being among the last to receive a vaccine, at least the way I understand...
As a former council member and current park committee member, along with my co-park committee member, I have sat back, listened, and read the newspaper. We feel it is important to correct information regarding the Electric City Park. Our previous and current committee members worked on the Plans for the Park and the Funding for the Park. The current city council has chosen not to use the RCO Grant or Hotel Motel Tax Funds which was for this purpose. We want to inform the public that the Hotel/Motel Tax can be used for Capital Improvement for...