The good news is that it looks like your District will have ended 2018 with a six-digit profit. We have to say “looks like” because the final audit adjustments are not completed, but that seems to be what the number will end up being. That is gre...

Dear Friends, One of the more newsworthy things coming out of Olympia this week had to do with the independent commission of citizens that sets the pay of “statewide elected officials” -- from the governor to Supreme Court justices to...

The issue of abortion is likely one of the biggest fault lines that divide Americans, but there is one aspect of this ongoing debate that is not controversial: According to a 2018 Gallup poll, only 28 percent of Americans believe that abortion...

In response to Mr. McCallum’s opinion article “Look beyond border to solve immigration,” I agree that a wall wouldn’t solve all of our problems, but with added technology, surveillance and more agents, it would solve many of them....

According to an article published by Breitbart on Feb. 4, “Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 130) to protect babies who have survived failed abortions. Sasse went to the floor of the...

The good news is Washington’s cherry crop is projected to be as good as 2018; however, absent tariff relief from the ongoing U.S.-China trade tiff, a key market will remain limited. When China’s tariff went from 10 percent to 50 percent last...

We Americans like to think of ourselves as problem solvers of a sort. If something is wrong, or needs fixing, we feel we can get to the heart of the matter and figure out a solution that is best addressed to solve it. There is a problem with...

Dear Friends, Before the 2019 legislative session took up, Democratic leaders in the Legislature indicated that they shared our interest in addressing two major issues: improving the delivery of mental-health treatment and addressing the shortage of...

Dear Friends, It’s customary for me, as leader of one of the four legislative caucuses, to do a round of media interviews on the opening day of a legislative session. You never know exactly what the questions will be, but my interview with the TVW...

“There is nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer,” World War Two hero Jimmy Doolittle once said. Last week, I had the privilege to announce my nomination of 11 volunteers across Central Washington for consideration to attend U.S....

Necessity, as they say, is the mother of invention. That’s particularly true in difficult times when “business as usual” no longer works. As our national deficit approaches $22 trillion ($180,000 per taxpayer) and state and local governments...

Dear Friends, It’s customary for me, as leader of one of the four legislative caucuses, to do a round of media interviews on the opening day of a legislative session. You never know exactly what the questions will be, but my interview with the TVW...

As of this writing, today is the 24th day of the partial federal government shutdown – the longest in our history. The funding of certain portions of the federal government and border security have unfortunately become highly partisan, with...

While many eyes are on trade talks between our country and China, America’s port leaders are positioning their seaports to compete for increasing volumes of container traffic. After container shipments surged in November---primarily from...

Dear Editor: By proclamation of the governor, January is School Board Recognition Month. It’s a great time to recognize our elected community members who selflessly give their time and energy in support of high-quality public schooling for our... Full story

Dear Friends, Maybe you’ve heard the old line that suggests the making of laws is like the making of sausage. In that sense I guess the sausage-making that went on at my farm a week ago was like a warm-up for the lawmaking ahead -- because the...

Last Thursday, I took an oath of office to uphold the U.S. Constitution as the representative of the people of the Fourth Congressional District in the 116th Congress. It is an honor to be entrusted with this office to represent the people of...

Last year, a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) global study of aerospace manufacturing attractiveness found the United States is top rated and within our country, Washington is the best. The study reaffirmed that “Washington’s economy and industry...

As 2018 comes to a close, so does the 115th Congress. It is an honor to represent the diverse interests of the Fourth Congressional District, and I am especially proud of the accomplishments we achieved that will improve the quality of life in...

Many pundits predict American political warfare will worsen in 2019 and grow more ruthless in 2020—our next presidential election year. The swamp that candidate Donald Trump promised to drain is expanding. James Astill, Washington bureau chief for...

New Year’s resolutions are now underway—for at least the next two weeks. Wouldn’t it be better to resolve to never undertake New Year’s resolutions in the first place? In practice, we already never follow through with the resolutions we...

Washtucna Heritage Museum would like to notify the public in regards to the winners of our recent two-month raffle of three items. The Chrome Book donated by Gigamedics was won by Debi Balfe of Ritzville. The queen-size quilt made by Kathy Coon...

Dear Friends, The time has come to ease up on legislative business and focus on enjoying time with family and friends as we reach the peak of the holiday season. That includes taking a brief break from commenting on things coming out of Olympia,...

First of all, I’d like to apologize for how sparse this issue might seem. Christmas fell on a really bad day—a Tuesday—for our newspaper this year, the day where I usually sit down and spend most of the day putting the newspaper together on...

Dear Friends, State law requires the governor to submit a budget proposal to the Legislature ahead of each of our sessions. This week Governor Inslee submitted the seventh budget of his time in office, and he’s now 7-for-7 on wanting new taxes....