News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Republican plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) threaten the health care of 30 million Americans and would erode some rare progress made recently to reverse America’s growing economic inequality. By taxing rich households and big corporations to subsidize health care for working families, the ACA does what good public policy should: level the playing field to give everyone a shot, not just those at the top. Abolishing the ACA would only further tilt the field in favor of the wealthy and well-connected. It turns out that taking a... Full story
This past week I received a wake-up call. That came on the same day that I learned of Eldon Wilson’s passing and of Duane Frye’s illness. These two men have given more to our community and nation than we will probably ever know. Eldon sat beside me for many years at basketball games. While I was announcing the game, he was keeping track, running the clock and scoreboard. His heart was vested in Raider Sports; he had more passion for what was happening on the court than many of the fans and players who filled the gym. He took his job ser... Full story
Nine 108,000-kw generators are in steady operation in this powerhouse, in addition two small 10,000-kw units not shown. – January 6, 1950... Full story
The late Yogi Berra coined the phrase, “It’s déjà vu all over again!” It is used extensively to describe political miscues. Case in point: ObamaCare. Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel wrote a column describing President Obama’s failure with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “The vision of the president calling on his party members to — yet again — lay down their political lives for his ‘signature’ law was a reminder of how this disaster began.” Unfortunately, Republicans, who now control Congress and the White House, may be... Full story
There are a lot of dire predictions about our representative democracy out there. We’re just past a presidential election campaign in which candidates complained about a rigged political system. Now, commentators worry about the imminent failure of the American experiment. I don’t agree with these predictions of calamity. Our representative democracy is not on the verge of collapse. But I do see stresses and tensions that should concern anyone who cares about our system of self-government. Our representative democracy has been remarkably sta... Full story
As we start the New Year I wanted to highlight some of the seniors in this year’s class at Lake Roosevelt who are succeeding and striving to make a difference in their own lives. I choose Aiyanna Picard because, well, she is “The Legend,” and we kind of have a history with each other. A long time ago, when I worked with Colville Tribal Emergency Services, we got a call about a lost girl. To make a long story short, this girl was lost for a few days in the woods, and hundreds were called in to look for her. She was found and was perfectly fine,... Full story
Let’s start out with a quick look back at 2016 weather, shall we? What really stands out for me in 2016 was the amount of precipitation we received. Our area averages 10.55 inches annually. Well, that changed and will likely change the overall average as well. We had three months with really good precipitation — January: 2.15 inches as measured by my personal weather station (1.90 inches as measured by the official weather station at the Bureau of Reclamation), March: 2.70 inches (1.82) and October: 3.60 inches (3.98). Our total pre... Full story
Advanced planning has never been an apparent strength in this community born of the Great Depression, which is why anytime the subject of zoning comes up, wise people flee to the hills. But this time it must be different. Grand Coulee’s planning commission and the citizens it serves have an important and urgent task ahead: rezoning the area that contains the former Center School, while balancing the needs of its neighbors and the rest of the city. Zoning — the statutory planning of development and growth within a community — is tricky busin... Full story
We say that we live in the information age. The available quantity of information is immense. The reliability of that flood of information is uncertain. That situation is not entitely new; there have always been rumors. But electronic communication gives us access to more rumors and false information than we can easily process. We need reliable information to conduct our daily lives and exercise our responsibilities. How do we distinguish between accurate information and false information? It is not easy. Traditionally, we have relied on... Full story
There is a growing crisis in Washington’s foster care system. There are currently more children entering foster care than the present number of foster homes can handle and the need for more homes is urgent! Sadly, due to the shortage of homes, many of the children from Grant and Adams counties end up being moved to other counties in the state, and this can seem like light years away from everything familiar to a child! (The outcomes for children in foster care are much better when they are maintained in their home community.) In some areas o... Full story
The year 2016 saw many of my childhood heroes and icons pass away. As the year wound down, they seemed to come in waves and it got me thinking more and more about the celebrities who entertain us throughout the years, and in some cases become part of the family. David Bowie passed on Jan. 10, and although he was not one of my favorite musicians, he was an icon in the music industry. He influenced many of the bands we currently listen to and broke the mold on showmanship and entertainment. Alan Rickman passed four days later, and although you ma... Full story
Winter at Grand Coulee Dam. – January 12, 1940 photo... Full story
A small-town newspaper must be more these days, and over the last decade-plus, we’ve been learning, along with the rest of the industry, just what that means. In 2017, our goals at The Star involve a better implementation of what we’ve learned in ways that will benefit our readers and advertisers, making The Star a better value and stronger paper. Be prepared to talk; we’re going to ask questions. We need to be better listeners and askers. We need to know how you think various topics should be explored. What are we not covering now that we sh... Full story
As 2016 is wrapping up and we prepare for what lies ahead in 2017, it is always good to glance back at the last year and remember the events that affected us most. Now, I could go global for this column, but I decided to keep it personal because I found myself over the holidays looking at the faces of family members around me and thinking about them. How have I affected them? Have I left anything undone? How can I help them in the future year and in years to come? How have they affected me in my life, good and bad? How can we all change?... Full story
The great philosopher Bob Hope once said, “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?” He has a point. This time of year, Christians celebrate the birth of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true ‘reason for the season,’ as we say, and the Christmas season reminds us to serve our neighbors. Part of what makes this season so special, beyond families traveling long distance to gather together, or the music of Bing Crosby... Full story
As Mario Cuomo said, politicians campaign in poetry but have to govern in prose. Now we have a president-elect who campaigned in tweets ... but still will have to govern in prose. Donald Trump showed great skill as a campaigner, steering his campaign past a slew of professional politicians who underestimated him at every turn. Now the test is whether he can govern — that is, whether he can run the United States government, conduct foreign policy in treacherous times, and reshape domestic policy to fit his goals. This requires a very d... Full story
Winter work of the Government camp maintenance crew. - January 12, 1940 photo... Full story
Last Sunday night was Faith Community Church’s Annual Christmas Dinner and it got me to thinking about holiday traditions. Maybe it was the Archers and their 30-plus years of service to God and church. Maybe it was watching the Hansens’, Moores’ and Lyngholms’ kids, grandkids and elders come up on stage and perform the unforgettable 12 Days of Christmas. Or maybe it was seeing all the little kids running around like their parents did years ago in a church that used to sit on the very spot the new church now sits. It could have been the smell o... Full story
As the 114th Congress comes to an end, it is worth looking back on my first term in Congress and highlight the important accomplishments and the change that Americans should expect before the 115th Congress convenes next year. While there has been much disagreement between Republicans and Democrats in the nation’s capital, progress on issues that earned bipartisan support should not be overlooked. During the 114th Congress, Medicare was put on stronger footing by the “Doc Fix.” This improvement was signed into law to permanently repeal the p... Full story
There was a big change in mean temperature for the month of November, not only here but statewide. Here at the home weather station I recorded a November mean of 44.7˚F. The all-time mean temperature for November is 37.5˚, giving us a +7.2˚ difference. Those extra warm days gave us time to keep working on those fall tasks. Here are the other readings for this past month. Our high temperature was 63.1˚ (all-time high 69˚) on Nov. 3. Our low was 27.9˚ (all-time low -10˚) on Nov. 29. We were up on precipitation with a reading of 1.56 inches (mean... Full story
Workmen preparing to construct an ice deflector on the left training wall. When completed, the deflector will divert the ice that slides down the top of the training wall out into the river, lessening possible damage to electrical equipment on the transformer deck below. -Dec. 6, 1948 photo... Full story
The news story “Thousands of gun crimes go unpunished in Washington,” run by King 5 News on Nov. 16, asked King County Sheriff John Urquhart why prohibited persons are not prosecuted when they attempt to buy a firearm. He plainly stated they do not have the resources. These attempts, sometimes referred to as “lie-and-try,” result in no follow-up law enforcement action because law enforcement does not have the resources. This deficiency was also noted in the attorney general white paper “Access to Firearms in Washington State” dated Oct. 31, 20... Full story
Christmas is a 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 fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over 800,000 donors and volunteers, more than a million wreaths will be laid on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen on Dec. 17. The panoramic view of Arlington National Cemetery’s rolling hills, with its white grave markers perfectly align... Full story
This early snow and cold front has me remembering back to my childhood and the fun we had in the snow jungles during winter. We spent almost all day outside, in the bitter cold. Of course, we were stacked up with layers upon layers of long johns, socks, sweats, pants, sweaters, moon boots, snow suits, scarves, gloves, beanies and whatever other clothing we were required to wear. We all felt like the “Michelin Man” as we waddled to our locations. Sledding, snow ball fights, snow angles and many other cold weather events kept us out all day. I m... Full story
Excavation work along the Feeder Canal. Town of Grand Coulee shown at extreme right.- Dec. 19, 1946 photo... Full story