Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
Eastern Adams County's Only Independent Voice Since 1887
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For some time now, many Washington workers have been upset about an upcoming payroll tax to fund the new long-term care program called “WA Cares”, created by Democrat majorities in the Legislature in 2019. That payroll tax finally went into effect July 1. Unless you applied for and received an exemption from this tax, you’ll see less money in your paycheck. The payroll tax is currently equal to $58 annually for every $10,000 in pay. The WA Cares program offers a lifet...
The good news is this state’s cherry crop looks good—a marked improvement over 2022. It is sweetening our farm economy especially for cherry growers who have struggled over the last five years. “Last year’s cold, wet April brought down the cherry crop,” Wenatchee World writer Gabriel Garcia recently reported. “But this year, the Washington state cherry harvest is in full swing, and the industry is optimistic about it.” Washington’s cherry growers expect to pick 21 million...
Solomon Asch performed some exceptional psychology experiments in the 1950s. His experiments showed the power of conformity when people sometimes agree with a group’s opinion, even when shown evidence the group is wrong. In the 1950s, Asch could not determine whether his subjects consciously changed their views or whether social cues unconsciously skewed their perception. In 2005, Gregory Berns answered this question by repeating Asch’s experiment with brain scans. Berns found the brain’s visual center changed what it perce...
Until President Biden signed the Chips and Science Act (CSA) last year, companies, such as Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. looked elsewhere to build plants costing well over $20 billion each. Biden’s pitch to taxpayers was ultramodern manufacturers of miniature computer chips used in our sophisticated weapons, advanced manufacturing, cars and trucks, and high-tech equipment needed to move back to the U.S A. Congress responded and passed CSA supplying a $280 b...
Why should Americans sit on our hands while fast food companies push late-night feasting with messages like “Give in to your cravings.” Late-night eating is against all good sense and medical advice. Unregulated advertising is one of the reasons why our morbidly obese people cannot work for a living and cannot easily participate in democracy. We need to return to truth and responsibility in advertising. Kimball Shinkoskey Woods Cross, Utah...
Let’s Go Washington is taking aim at the WA Cares Fund and a payroll tax that workers started paying this month with an initiative campaign. Initiative 2124, an Initiative to the Legislature, would make participation in WA Cares optional instead of mandatory and allow workers a way out of the state-imposed, insurance-like program at any time. That would be welcome news to many people who have other life needs that demand the attention of their monthly incomes. This should be i...
Like most Americans, I enjoy watching – and lighting – fireworks on Independence Day. America’s “birthday” should stand out among all national holidays. And the colorful, aerial explosions showcase the freedom and independence for which the U.S. stands. But why then do only tribes have the ability to sell and use the “good” fireworks – you know: firecrackers, bottle rockets, Roman candles, mortars and more. There’s nothing magical about the imaginary line on a map suggesting...
School choice is on the rise across the nation. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, just announced his support for Lifeline scholarships, a state voucher program that will allow students to use public funds to attend a private school of their choice. If enacted, his bill will help families assigned by local officials to the lowest-performing public schools because these families will be able to choose a better alternative for their children. Shapiro's bold initiative...
In 1922, the Columbia Basin Irrigation League was formed. Just a year later, Congress passed a bill allowing an investigation of the irrigation project with appropriations of $100,000. This was the very beginning of the process that led to construction of the Grand Coulee Dam, the largest dam in the world at the time, to help provide irrigation to the Columbia Basin, and power to the Pacific Northwest and beyond. It was also the beginning of one of the largest irrigation...
A short three years ago, motorists in Eastern Washington could buy regular unleaded gasoline for as little as $1.97 per gallon in several areas – George, Pasco, Quincy, to name a few. Diesel didn’t cost much more. Farmers could afford to fill their fuel tanks and shipping companies could keep their trucks moving at a reasonable price. And you and I could afford to drive personal vehicles – a necessity when you live and work in Eastern Washington. As a result, rural resid...
As a trusted provider of electricity to the families, small businesses and the agriculture industry in our region, Big Bend Electric Cooperative recognizes the critical role the Lower Snake River Dams play in supporting our economy. Our role as a utility is not only to continuously keep the lights on, but to ensure that air conditioning functions and hospitals are powered with reliable, affordable electricity during our more regular heat waves. These dams produce an important...
China’s growing dominance of critical metals production and stockpiles is setting off global alarms. It has American manufacturers in a bind as they ramp up domestic electric vehicle (EV) battery production. Ores containing these elements are in deposits across our planet; however, the technology to process them is largely in China. As the China Communist Party (CCP) under Xi Jinping exerts its leverage, America and its allies are facing global economic and military c...
The federal debt ceiling crisis was averted, but tax cheats benefited. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contained $79 billion for the Internal Revenue Service, $45 billion of it was to audit individuals or businesses making over $400,000 annually to catch those not paying their taxes. Funding cuts for many years rendered the IRSlargely unable to audit the wealthy. Currently, the amount in taxes owed but not paid totals nearly $7 trillion over a decade; three-fifths is held by top 10% of taxpayers, more than one-quarter by...
When Oregon enacted the nation’s first bottle bill in 1971, it was intended to reduce litter on the state’s beaches, along roads, and in parks. It was a cleanup, not a recycling program. Today, the focus is recycling empty beer, pop, juice, and water containers and it is working very well in large part because it pays people to recycle. Collect the “empties” and earn a dime for each plastic bottle or aluminum can. It adds up and often is enough money to supplement purchas...
From cars to bigfoot to high-speed sprint boats, you don’t have to look very far to find something to do this weekend. But dad won’t care if you take him somewhere or just spend time with him. For dad, Father’s Day isn’t about spending money, it’s about time – time to connect, reflect and enjoy each other’s company. Dads spend a lifetime taking care of the needs of their children. Through their children’s formative years into college, fathers bring structure, discipline, log...
The deal reached between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy to increase our nation’s debt limit was a welcome compromise. It appears to avert our nation’s defaulting on our financial responsibilities and is a step toward bringing government spending under control. However, it is just a start; and the hurdles ahead are much higher. While the federal government operates differently than a family or business, people are starting to realize that if our nation def...
The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which allocated $386 billion for clean energy, is a major breakthrough in our nation’s struggle to address climate change. The IRA can decrease our carbon emissions 40% by 2030, putting us within general range of our targeted 50-52% emissions reduction by then. But unless we speed up the permitting process for the transmission lines needed to convey the clean energy, we’ll realize only about 20% of the projected reduction, according to a Princeton REPEAT Project study. It now takes 4.3...
Relying on increased wind and solar is likely to increase electricity costs for residents in Washington and Idaho, and make electricity less reliable. Advocates of wind and solar frequently point to is the claim that the fuel is “free.” That claim ignores the extremely high up-front cost of those energy sources. To account for that, energy analysts create a “levelized cost of energy” to compare between energy that has low costs up-front but has ongoing costs for the fuel ...
In a victory for private property owners, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the “significant nexus” test in its Sackett v EPA ruling. The ruling changes how “waters of the United States” can be applied by leaving wetlands that are not directly flowing into “rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water that flow across or form a part of State boundaries” out of consideration as WOTUS. The “significant nexus” test was established in Rapanos v United States. The “significant ne...
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee is busy signing bills. I think he should start putting his John Hancock on apology letters to former state workers who were terminated because of his vaccine mandate. I doubt he will. In a press release about the move, the Inslee administration says that the end of the employment requirement “aligns with the end of the federal public health emergency and the lifting of vaccination requirements for federal employees and contractors on May 11. La...
An “aha” moment – a time when make that brilliant “I’m going to do it” decision. I got mine after reading “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrell and studying up on my favorite Purple Heart recipient, Army Staff Sgt. Ty Carter. It sounds crazy, but for some reason a moving film about Marines fighting to save our country and their ensuing brotherhood inspired me to start my search for a military career. It wasn’t until after I read the story of a Spokane local, Ty Carter, and how h...
Although New Zealand and Washington are located a half-a-world apart, they have lots in common---beautiful seashores, majestic mountains, crystal clear streams and lakes, and vibrant salmon and trout fisheries. Both are struggling to rid their air sheds of CO2 and other greenhouse gases coming from the burning of carbon fuels (coal, natural gas, gasoline, and diesel) in vehicles, home heating and electric-power generation. New Zealand and Washington share a common goal to be c...
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee is busy signing bills. I think he should start putting his John Hancock on apology letters to former state workers who were terminated because of his vaccine mandate. I doubt he will. In a press release about the move, the Inslee administration says that the end of the employment requirement “aligns with the end of the federal public health emergency and the lifting of vaccination requirements for federal employees and contractors on May 11. La...
The state Legislature is headed back to Olympia this week for a special session specifically to deal with the prospect of all drugs becoming legal July 1. Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, says he hopes lawmakers will pass a new drug-possession law to fix last year’s so-called “Blake fix.” At issue is a temporary law that expires at the end of next month relating to possession of drugs in Washington. The temporary law was implemented during the 2022 legislative session after...
President Joe Biden is seeking re-election. I wish he were younger and I might favor other Democrats — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and 2020 presidential contenders Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker come to mind. But Biden’s record is impressive and he may have the best chance of winning the presidency. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has opposed everything Democrats proposed from the day former President Barack Obama was inaugurated, even if originally Republican-proposed. And Republican opposition has...