News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Governor Jay Inslee, I ask what do the powers to be think they can do to offset the so called climate change. I ask how many times the climate of the earth has changed over the Billions of years? This area was once covered with Ice 14,000 years ago, before that this area was a tropical forest there were Gingko forests Mammoths, Rhinoceros. As far as I am concerned the so called climate change is the natural process of the earth. One volcano will produce more greenhouse gasses in 24 hours than all the cars on earth in several years. The climate...
I was lucky to travel when the best hotels were still inexpensive. The Okura Hotel in Tokyo was part of the International Hotel chain. Cost for an overnight stay today would be from $400-$600. I paid $18 for a first-class room with all the amenities that only the Japanese can think of. When I arrived, a small army of nurserymen were building a small forest in the lobby area. By the time I left, their forestry project was done and a beautiful Japanese garden was there for patrons to enjoy. I stayed in the Grand Hotel in Taipei, Taiwan, a...
For months, activists and bureaucrats alike have told the American people to “believe in science” – to take the pandemic seriously, to practice social distancing and handwashing, and to wear masks and get vaccinated. I have consistently called for these same things, and thanks to the remarkable efforts of private industry and government regulators through Operation Warp Speed, we are fortunate that Washington State has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, with 57.3% of the population fully vaccinated, exceeding the natio...
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 thwarted its efforts to showcase the Japanese “Green Growth” strategies. Japan, like the United States, plans to become carbon-neutral by 2050. While countries like China are betting on lithium batteries, Japan’s centerpiece is hydrogen. As Japanese researchers develop new technology using renewable electricity generated...
When conventional food supply chains had difficulties adapting at the start of the pandemic, farmers markets and local food systems clearly displayed the resiliency of short supply chains as interest in local foods spiked nationwide. Farmers markets across the country did what they could to safely open for the farmers and the customers who had come to depend on them, with 72% of market organizations in the U.S. operating the same number or more market days during summer 2020 as in summer 2019, according to the Farmers Market Coalition. The...
I offer, here, a few words of history that were overlooked when you were in school. Diseases have been master killers throughout human history. There was no defense against the misery, death, and sorrow until modern medical science developed vaccines, antibacterial medicines, and other methods to prevent or treat diseases. Historian William Manchester reports that during the Middle Ages “… half the people in Europe died, usually from disease, before reaching their thirteenth birthday.” Vaccines do not ordinarily eradicate a disease, but small...
“Well regulated” does not mean regulated by the government. The founding fathers knew that the right to bear arms and maintain a militia was indispensable because governments throughout history strive to grow and must be held in check. They had just fought a war and lost many precious loved ones in order to get out from under the rule of such a government. Therefore, well regulated means the armed militia does have order from within it, and does not break laws. Beyond that, our government has no say. It is a God given right to be able to mai...
In 2021, our State Legislature enacted several bills related to law enforcement. Most of the police reform bills go into effect on July 25, 2021, affecting how we will deliver police services. As your elected Sheriff, it is my responsibility to make sure the residents we serve are aware of the level of service that law enforcement can provide under the new laws. To get the agency prepared for these changes, the department is providing mandatory training to all commissioned and limited-commissioned personnel, particularly focusing on legislated...
(Editor’s note: The writer asked that his letter to Bureau of Reclamation Power Manager Coleman Smith be included on this opinion page) Dear Mr. Smith: I am writing in regard to an incident that happened last night, July 22. At about 10:30 PM we were startled by loud automatic weapons fire up towards the top of the east side of the dam. I was extremely alarmed by this situation as the gunfire was coming from multiple locations. As you are aware the Grand Coulee Dam is considered a target and has lots of security in place. We all know this. T...
Every fire season brings back a sense of apprehension and appreciation. A number of years ago my wife and I signed on with OK Cascade, a Bothell firm that provided support for firefighters. We did this for two seasons and were at a number of fire situations in both Washington and Oregon. While the support staff was a ways from the fire, they were essential to any firefighting success. Our support staff provided food, showers, laundry, and other needed help to those facing the actual fires. We could get a sense of how difficult things were for...
Productive arguments are those in which the two opposing participants actually listen to each other in order to learn what the other is saying, thereby enhancing the ability to refute it. But the trick is that the act of listening requires understanding the other viewpoint. When that happens in most situations, stances get modified, even if only slightly. Humans are not omnipotent, and quite often someone else has at least one better point. But today’s listeners only listen pre-emptively, plotting their next strike against the enemy argument. I...
On a flight between Honolulu and Tokyo I became the third member of the International Tap Dancer’s Federation. It was a tongue-in-cheek idea that if we could get all the world’s leaders on the banks of the Yangtze River in China and get them tap dancing, we could achieve world peace. Well, that didn’t happen. The other two members were the fellow I was seated next to, Tom Ungman, and a fellow working for the Hong Kong Standard newspaper, Peter Turvey. There’s a couple of reasons that didn’t work. One is that our leaders are married to the tw...
Call me naïve, but I’ve never quite gotten why some politicians want to limit voters’ ability to cast their ballots. Sure, I know that plenty of people like to flip the classic Clausewitz quote and say that politics is war by other means. All’s fair, etc., they insist. But the cornerstone of representative democracy, the base on which everything else rests, is the people’s right to cast an informed vote to choose our leaders. There’s no argument about this: it’s just a basic right. Which means that the more Americans we hear from in the votin...
Washington law enforcement officers are concerned by recent legislation introduced by Washington State Democrats and policy stances made by Big Tech. These developments are concerning for our communities, our children, and our officers. Earlier this month, I met with several Yakima County law enforcement officers and the Yakima Gang Task Force, and they made it abundantly clear there are numerous issues on the horizon. Washington State Senate Bill 5122 was one in a series of proposed and implemented bills that would make it more difficult for...
A truck carrying a too-high load once again hit the tops of the cross beams on the Columbia River Bridge in Coulee Dam Monday night, the second time in probably 10 years that’s happened. The incident highlights recent calls for a new bridge. Although structurally it’s sound, the bridge classified as “structurally obsolete.” Modern road builders want roads that are at least 40 feet wide. The roadway on the bridge is 20 feet wide. That specification is not a luxury; times have changed. Trucks are not larger versions of the narrow cars I imagine...
On behalf of Banks Lake Golf Course, I’d like to apologize to patrons and volunteer course grounds workers for a break in communication on Friday morning during the practice round for the Coyote Open. Not all of the volunteer workers were aware that their efforts to groom the course on Friday were in conflict with the practice round in progress. As manager for the golf course, I take full responsibility for the unfortunate disruption to the preliminary event for this major course tournament. To all participants of the 2021 Coyote Open T...
As a farmer, former state director of Agriculture, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, and congressman representing one of the most flourishing agricultural regions in America, I fully understand the extent to which water is truly the lifeblood of Central Washington and our economy. Hot summers, several years of low snowpack, and the severity of recent drought across the West illustrate how important it is that we reinvest in the water infrastructure our farms and communities were built upon — much of which is over a century old at t...
Like the air we breathe, electricity, that magical stuff behind the light switch, is taken for granted by a majority of people. Flip a switch, the lights come on. We are dependent on energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As populations continue to grow and their need for more and “cleaner” energy grows too, the demand for more production of it will become central in the not-so-distant future. The production of energy comes in many forms. We’ve been made aware of issues related to some forms...
Back in June 2015, only six years ago, we had a local June high temperature record set at 105˚F. Well, with the onset of a high-pressure system, or heat dome, that sat over us in late June, a new record was established. Fact is, it occurred twice – June 28th and 29th. The high temperature record for June is now 112˚F, just one degree off the official all-time high temperature for our area set 82 years ago, in July 1939 at 113˚F. What caused the heatwave in late June that has intensified the...
Here we are, at the beginning of what could prove to be worst wildfire season ever and the world’s best firefighting tool sits unused and not ready to go because of decisions made by the US Forest Service and states not to use it. Unfortunately, in 2002 two Lockheed C-130 Hercules airplanes crashed while fighting fires, one in California and one in Colorado. In 2004 the Forest Service made the decision not to use the large tanker firefighting airplanes, instead relying on helicopters and smaller planes. The Supertanker would have really h...
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 and beach lodging. Over the years, our entertainment has changed a lot. We still swim, jump the waves and build sandcastles, but our board games, puzzles and playing cards have been replaced with kids’ electronic tablets, smart phones and movies downloaded from the internet. We still take lots of pictures, but r...
The 12th District and Washington’s 48 other legislative districts have had specific boundaries since 2012. The borders for these districts, as well as Washington’s 10 federal congressional districts, will change in 2022 after the state’s redistricting process is completed near the end of this year. Since redistricting only occurs every decade, I thought it would be helpful to review the process. How Washington’s redistricting works Each state has its own process for redistricting. In Washington, an independent and bipartisan Redistr...
Americans paid a high price to obtain and maintain our freedom and independence. Americans have also paid a high price to help other countries maintain their independence. Those achievements required teamwork. In the wake of WW II, the U.S. Congress gained a lot of members who had served in the war, eventually reaching 78 percent of the membership. Military service in a war zone is not essential for legislative service. However, those former members of Congress gained something vital from their war time experience. They learned that...
This is an “Open Letter to the Tribal Council.” I have to address it to them and to you because you members are the ones that will ultimately pay for this if it ever comes to pass. It has to do with the removal of Enloe Dam and what you should know about it. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Tribal Council, please accept this letter as a “last ditch effort” to persuade you to have no further discussions regarding Enloe Dam. I have sent each of you my video explaining our position exactly as it was stated those many years ago. Now, it seems like the ...
The most popular person in my wife’s family was her brother, Bob. My wife came from a rather large family, and they all had a lot of kids, taking to heart to go out and replenish the earth. That is all except her brother Bob, who married late. So, he became the uncle figure for all these kids. He was the chief farmer on the family farm, dedicating himself to the tedious task of farming. He milked about 27 cows morning and night for years on end. Each cow had a name. When I visited, I would go out to the barn and would always place a grin on his...