This blog is designed to give readers a glimpse of our editorial-page operation and how we make our decisions. We’ll let you know who we’re meeting with, what they’re telling us, what events and issues we’re looking at. We’ll also pass on information and observations that may not make our print editions. In addition to the editorial board members who post on this blog, the board includes Publisher David Zeeck, Executive Editor Karen Peterson and Managing Editor Dale Phelps.
Editorial board bloggers
Editorial page editor Patrick O’Callahan oversees the online and printed opinion sections of The News Tribune. He came to The News Tribune in 1987 and has worked at Washington newspapers since 1979. E-mail him at patrick.ocallahan@thenewstribune.com
Editorial writer Cheryl Tucker, in addition to writing commentary, manages the daily production of the editorial and op-ed pages and edits letters to the editor. She began her journalism career in 1974 at a Virginia newspaper and came to The News Tribune in 1978. E-mail her at cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com.
Editorial writer Kim Bradford manages the online opinion section of The News Tribune and writes commentary. She joined The News Tribune in 2005 after working 11 years at newspapers in Washington and Maryland. E-mail her at kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com.
Guest bloggers
Editor emeritus David Seago retired from The News Tribune in 2008 after 41 years at The News Tribune. E-mail him at sds99@harbornet.com.
Richard Davis’ column on state politics frequently runs in the print edition of The News Tribune. He was president of the Washington Research Council, a statewide think tank, from 1986 through 2006. Currently, as a principal with The Simeon Partnership, Inc. he coordinates the activities of the Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy, a business coalition founded by the Research Council, the Association of Washington Business and the Washington Roundtable.
Karen Irwin of University Place, a mother of four, has been a frequent contributor to The News Tribune's print editions. She has also written for Seattle's Child, Puget Sound Parent, the Tacoma Weekly, the Fayetteville Observer Times and the political blog Right Meets Left. She graduated from California Lutheran University with a degree in English literature and is currently working toward a history degree.
Michael Allen, professor of history at the University of Washington Tacoma, was born and raised in Ellensburg. He served with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam from 1969-70. He has written five books, including the prize-winning "Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus' Great Discovery to the War on Terror," "Rodeo Cowboys in the North American Imagination" and "Western Rivermen, 1763-1861: Ohio and Mississippi Boatmen and the Myth of the Alligator Horse." Allen lives in Tacoma and Ellensburg and has three children.
Follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/tntopinion.
- All
- Editorial cartoons (285)
- Editorial outtakes (325)
- Election (121)
- How we work (191)
- Taking notice (1871)
- What's coming (989)
- Who's visiting (124)
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| << < | Current | > >> | ||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | ||
- August 2009 (86)
- July 2009 (91)
- June 2009 (94)
- May 2009 (80)
- April 2009 (91)
- March 2009 (99)
- February 2009 (90)
- January 2009 (125)
- December 2008 (111)
- November 2008 (89)
- October 2008 (111)
- September 2008 (87)
- More...
XML Feeds- CustomScoop
- preserve
- benramm
- Guest Users: 464
A stark clash of values – or partisanship, or something – at the Pierce County Council meeting today: The council refused to approve a gay pride day proclamation on a 4-3 party-line vote.
Tim Farrell, who might be described as "quietly out," introduced the proclamation, a rather garden-variety designation of next Saturday as "Pride Day in Pierce County." Its most controversial language "encourages all residents to join in celebrating the spirit and dedication of this vibrant community."
Farrell came away steaming after the council's four Republicans – Shawn Bunney, Dick Muri, Terry Lee and Roger Bush – refused to add it to the agenda.
"I figured I had the votes because Shawn had voted for domestic partnerships," Farrell told us. "Come on now, it's a pride resolution. I'm not asking for any money."
Farrell says gay-pride resolutions are routinely adopted elsewhere, including in more conservative jurisdictions than Pierce County. He also says the county council hasn't, to his knowledge, refused to adopt any proclamation in recent years.
Can't confirm any of that as of the moment. But Bunney, et al, appear to have been as blindsided as Farrell was. Republicans don't have the same political reflexes or constituents as Democrats. That's just a reality – no point in being scandalized by it. The textbooks say: Line up the votes first.
No Washington state politician runs a more aggressive taxpayer-funded, credit-grabbing publicity operation than U.S. Sen. Patty Murray.
Nothing evil about it. But it's just so blatant. Here are a couple headlines from press releases her office sent out today:
Murray Delivers Billions for Tri-Cities Priorities in Critical Senate Spending Bill
Bill includes major victory for Hanford cleanup including increase of more than $221 million over President's budget request
And ....
Senator Murray Includes $2.2 Million for Flood Control Projects in Areas Devastated by December 2007 Flooding
After President ignores flood control projects in Centralia and Chehalis River Basin, Murray includes maximum funding levels for projects in Senate spending bill
Patty Murray, the one-time "mom in tennis shoes," now boasts big-time appropriations clout – and boast she does.
By contrast, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair, hardly ever sends out a press release when he procures a slice of the federal budget for the Sixth District, although he certainly is no piker in that regard. I can't even remember the last time I saw a press release from his office.
Then again, Dicks is a congressman-for-life and probably doesn't feel the need to thump his ample chest. I like quiet porkers better.
Beth Wolfe, one of the organizers involved in helping three disabled Iraq veterans climb Mount Rainier (news story here), sends this Tuesday morning update:
I climbed to Camp Muir yesterday with the three veterans. Chad and Joey were in the first group with RMI guide Art Rousch. Ryan was in the second group with Curtis Fawley and Micah Clark. The guys did amazing! It was hard work and their packs were the same weight as everyones.
After we crossed Pebble Creek and had a break I asked Ryan how he was doing, he said he couldn't be better.... he was back in Washington and was on Mt. Rainier! It was a very long day for the guys. We ended up leaving Paradise (with a group of about 20) at 10:15 am and the last veteran up to Muir , Ryan, arrived at 6:30 last night. Needless to say our small day hike group got off the Mountain about 9:00 p.m. last night.
The group plans on leaving Wednesday night at midnight to summit. About 8:30 a.m. on Thursday their will be a fly over the Mountain and Ashford to congratulate the group. Then Thursday their will be BBQ at Ashford . . .
A little backstory here: Beth is a neighbor of mine in Tacoma. She came by one day last month asking for advice on raising enough money to fly the veterans out here for the Rainier climb.
My next move was to email former Tacoma City Councilman Kevin Phelps, who likes to do good things and get things done. As I expected, Phelps put the word out to his friends, and the task of covering the air fares was accomplished in two days. Well done, all!
Go here for more on Camp Patriot, the Montana-based organization that helps wounded Irag veterans take on outdoor adventures and challenges.
Not many Washingtonians realize that Washington's state constitution goes farther than the U.S. Constitution to protect individual rights.
How this came to be and what it means is usefully explored in a short paperback published by the Evergreen Freedom Foundation, the conservative think tank based in Olympia.
Based on a quick skimming, I don't detect any obvious bias in the 116-page commentary on Article I, Section 1 of the Washington Constitution - the portion that lays out the individual rights the state's founders sought to protect.
"To Protect and Maintain Individual Rights: A Citizen's Guide to the Washington Constitution, Article I" is authored by EFF attorneys Jonathan Bechtle and Michael Reitz. They asked state Supreme Court Justice Charles W. Johnson, who teaches a law school course on the state constitution, to review their work during the book's preparation.
Johnson, a Gig Harbor resident running for his fourth term this year, wrote a forward for the book. Order it for $9.95 a copy here.
