News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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We were in Baltimore visiting our daughter Kathy, who lived there at the time, and did the town. One of the highlights was touring the USS Constellation, a three-mast sailing man-of-war. It was the last ship in the fleet commissioned by the United States that moved under sail power. Named after two other ships by the same name, the ship was commissioned in the mid 1850s, was 181 feet long, and had a crew of about 350. The Constellation had several decks, with 16 large cannon and four smaller guns, all on the same deck. In the hull, where the fo...
We are now two years into the Biden Administration and the crisis at our southern border has only gotten worse. Recent figures from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) show record levels of border crossings with no sign of improvement while fentanyl is flooding into our communities. Moreover, the American people have not seen any signs from President Biden that he is serious about addressing this worsening crisis and bringing forth solutions to get it under control. The crisis at our southern border is a crisis that affects every...
It’s easy, and human, to get pulled into negative thinking about the state of world, which, after all, is never the way it used to be and therefore must be headed for nothing good, and fast. Don’t fall for it. I get reminded of this every time I have the privilege of spending time near today’s young people. They’re usually wiser, more self-aware, less selfish, and more ambitious than I expect them to be. Admittedly, that says something about my own sometimes-negative rut. But it’s also reflective of an all-too-ready, knee-jerk reaction...
To be specific, my wife let her little dog of 50 years out with a very short leash and held up a rolled-up newspaper as if to whack my backside if I didn’t behave. She put a muzzle on me until the latest GCDSD levy passed and took it off only for kibbles and bits. I’ve been a good boy so I didn’t have to sleep in the dog house. She’ll tell you my bark is much worse than my bite. As a longtime community member and taxpayer, no one has been a bigger fan and loved our local school district more than me until the upper brass and their hired hand co...
For several weeks we’ve read comments by John Adkins, who serves as Superintendent of Wellpinit schools, although he focuses at the local school scene. We know that students at Wellpinit are accomplishing noteworthy studies, and we’d like to know what Adkins thinks about the Spokane Tribal Community. A longtime Elder from the Reservation was recognized for her Life’s work. A new school in Spokane was named Pauline Pascal Flett School for Pauline’s initiation of means to retain the Spokane Salish Language. All levels of Wellpinit student...
Last week, news outlets around the country had wall-to-wall coverage of a spy balloon sent by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) transiting across America. While a balloon itself does not sound very dangerous, it’s the intent behind it that’s concerning—the CCP is testing us to see how President Biden responds, which should raise alarm bells for every American. We simply cannot take this threat lightly and must respond with tough policies to protect our sovereignty from the CCP. As more information arises about this situation, it’s becomin...
Here we go again. The United States crashed through the nation’s debt ceiling on Jan. 19, according to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. For now, the government is relying on accounting tweaks and shifting money from one pot to another to pay the bills. But that only works for so long. Soon, Congress will have to raise or suspend the debt limit. The alternative, defaulting on America’s financial obligations and sending the world economy into a tailspin, is unthinkable. Or it should be. But we can expect a lot of brinksmanship and political pos...
A new satellite was launched by NASA in December that was built specifically to survey Earth's water. It's called SWOT, Surface Water and Ocean Topography. Both United States and French oceanographers and other partners came together and developed the satellite mission. It is the first orbital global survey of Earth's surface water. "This multidisciplinary group is tackling pressing issues such as availability of Earth's freshwater resources, our changing ocean and coasts, and much more,"...
My wife and I have always thought the world of Lisa Carlson (Loe). Lisa is more LR Raider than anyone I know. I used to tape her ankles before basketball games (This was the second time I worked in a hazard zone!) and then I’d sit back and marvel at her basketball prowess. Lisa came from an exceptional basketball family so her fundamentals and game time “on the fly” IQ were exceptional. She was not the most athletic — slight of build, not that tall or fast — but she was a gamer, always reliable, who never backed down from anyone. It was amazi...
This morning’s Spokesman Review tells a sad story of a fatally strangled 16-year-old girl in the Seattle area. I am quoting important information included in the article: “Strangulation deaths, which disproportionately affect women, are generally uncommon and have decreased dramatically since passage of the federal Violence Against Women Act in 1994. … State law was changed in 2007 to recognize strangulation as one of the most lethal forms of domestic violence.” Our important House Representative, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, voted AGAINST RENEWIN...
The U.S. national debt is now $30.4 trillion dollars. The government has spent that much more money than it has collected in tax revenue. Per person, it means that every U.S. citizen, including diapered infants, owes $95,000 dollars. The U.S. Congress has allowed the debt to increase every year, except four years, since 1970. The George W. Bush Administration increased the national debt by five trillion dollars in eight years. The Trump Administration increased the national debt seven trillion dollars in four years. We have two problems:...
Last year, over 100,000 people in the United States died from a drug overdose, largely driven by the rampant spread of illicit fentanyl. In Washington state, drug overdoses have been increasing at shocking rates in the past few years, and communities across Central Washington have been devastated by the fentanyl crisis, which is now the leading cause of death for people ages 18-45. The hard truth is, no corner of our communities has been left untouched by this growing crisis. We need to classify all fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I...
Bob Hendrickson “The Fix It Man” is definitely in my local Curiosity Hall of Fame. Sometimes he’ll stop by just to visit because he’s curious. He’s fixed really old appliances for me at different times and they still work! However, he fixes things way beyond appliances — he is a people whisperer! Sometimes I’ll deliberately break stuff and have him fix it so I can watch him in action and listen to his wisdom. You don’t need a quarter or a wind-up key, just shut your yapper and enjoy. He’ll clearly tell you what needs fixin’, why, and...
Looks like our lawmakers and Department of Ecology have decided not to raise our gas tax 46 cents per gallon at this time. Instead, they are planning to have the businesses pay a CO2 (carbon) tax. It will no doubt put some small businesses out of business, but as usual they don’t care. This all falls under the Climate Commitment Act, which was passed on April 24, 2021. It was quickly signed into law by our Governor Inslee, who wants to be like Al Gore. The fools on the other side of the mountains want to mirror California. I’ve got an idea for...
While on the newspaper staff at the Idaho Free Press, they always gave me the assignment to cover the local rodeos. The two big ones were the Caldwell Night Rodeo and the Snake River Stampede. They both lasted the better part of a week, and the rest of the staff shied away from getting involved. I was the youngest reporter, so it always fell to me. The Snake River Stampede was the worst of the two. It involved covering a parade through the streets in downtown Nampa each of the days of the event. I had to write a parade story four different...
Like many Americans, I watched with dismay this month as the House of Representatives struggled through 15 votes over four days to select a new speaker. The sense of dysfunction was remarkable. Anyone watching might well have wondered about our ability to govern ourselves. For a week, there was no speaker to call the House to order. Elected members couldn’t take the oath of office and start conducting business. One house of the Congress was effectively AWOL. Finally, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, secured enough votes to win. But the c...
After the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took major heat last week from considering a nationwide ban on gas stoves, the Biden Administration quickly reversed course, saying they would not support such a ban. However, this doesn’t mean the future of gas-powered appliances is completely safe — that the CPSC would make such a shocking push in the first place should not be taken lightly. While it’s unlikely you’ll find government agents knocking on your door asking for you to hand...
I know the subject of childcare has been brought up before, and we do have a daycare center and several in home sitters available. They all seem busy showing the need is there. I believe that there is an area of great need not being met, and that is evening and weekend care. Think about how many area businesses pay minimum wage, part-time, with a lot of nights and weekends. The need is there, BUT will anyone fill it? Carol Schoning...
When I was in college I struggled to get through two graduate programs. Working on research and lab projects I’d get marked down for being too robotic and not curious enough. As a youngster I enjoyed Dorothy, Groucho, Curly Joe, Elmer Fudd, Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Winnie the Pooh, Barney Rubble, Yogi Bear, Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Alice in Wonderland, Br’er Fox, Peter Cottontail, Goldie Locks, Little Red Riding Hood, Pinocchio, Goofy, Wilbur, Horton, Thing 1 & 2, Sylvester, Bullwinkle, George Jetson, Alvin, Casper, and others. They were optimisti...
While at the Statesman in Boise, I often covered Idaho Vandal football games. My boss, Jim Brown, was a large contributor to Idaho’s football program. Vandal coach Skip Stahley came by the newspaper on a number of occasions, probably to keep the support going. I was scheduled to fly to Logan, Utah to cover the Vandal-Utah State game at Logan, Utah, a flight of about an hour. Also scheduled the same day, but later in the day, a pro exhibition football game in Salt Lake City. I had a close friend at the Salt Lake Tribune, Dick Martin. I had w...
How about some encouraging news for our state? It even made the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Although Boeing didn’t outsell or make more airplane deliveries than its rival, Airbus, in 2022, it made substantial gains after three years of costly setbacks. Some may exaggeratingly compare the company’s problems since the onset of the coronavirus to the “Boeing Bust” (1968-72) when Congress ended funding for the SST (Supersonic Transport). That cancellation hit Seattle hard. It trigger...
According to the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, the answer is very simple: our relationships. “The stronger our relationships, the more likely we are to live happy, satisfying and overall healthier lives,” according to the book “The Good Life,” which recounts lessons from the Harvard study. “Relationships in all their forms — friendships, romantic partnerships, families, coworkers, tennis partners, book club members, Bible study groups — all contribute to...
It’s hard to tell what’s changing faster, the weather or words used to describe it. I’ve lived on the Central California coast for some time and have endured many winter storms that line up in the Pacific and swirl across our state. We used to refer to such weather as the Pineapple Express, a playful non-meteorological term reflecting the fact that heavy rain sometimes originates as far away as Hawaii. There was no confusion. When the forecast mentioned a Pineapple Express we knew we were in for a lengthy drenching. Recently, forecasters and jo...
It was 1962, and the baseball season was over. During the off season, Larry Jackson, a pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, joined our sports staff at the Idaho Statesman in Boise. As a baseball player, Larry was not yet a household name, but he soon would be. Larry was born in Nampa, and he still called the Valley his home. In the offseason, Larry would write for the Statesman. Technically, he worked for me, but I knew that my boss liked to talk baseball, so Larry was put on staff. Larry told me that his friend Stan Musial was coming to Boise...
Coupled with the rapid growth of data centers we rely upon for internet service and information storage is an increased demand for electricity to power millions of computers and cool the mammoth buildings in which they operate. Data center computers are integral to our everyday life and store everything from cooking recipes to complex engineering blueprints. They are heavy power users, consuming 10 to 50 times the energy per floor space of a typical commercial office. Energy inflation combined...