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.
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A pig pit-roasted on the spot by Primo Grill's Charlie McManus. Linen-covered tables on the lawn just a few yards from a pen full of Muscovy ducks and a bounteous crop of basil. All the delicious wine you could drink from Phyllis McGavick's "hobby" winery.
And perfect end-of-summer weather for dining on the farm and under the stars.
The first Harvest Feast Tacoma was a benefit for the Tacoma Farmers Market and a celebration of the "locavore" philosopy of eating food grown where you live.
The setting was Terry's Berries farm on River Road, well known to local locavores as a year-round source of organic farm-share veggies and fruits. Terry and Dick Carkner run the operation.
Maybe I'm encroaching on TNT Diner territory here, but the event was as much a celebration of community as it was a celebration of locally grown food and local culinary skills. Tickets were pricey at $75 a head, but it was a great value for a good cause.
Particular credit goes to chef McManus, who rounded up other local chefs to prepare dishes for the feast, which was served buffet-style. All of it was good, but the unbelievably moist but firm cake – sorry, I didn't find out what kind it was – made by Old Milwaukee Cafe's Pat Kerth – was sublime. Even people who don't like cake were raving about it.
McGavick is known among local foodies and wine lovers for her excellent red wines, made at the home winery she and her husband operate in Grapeview. They donate all proceeds to charity, mainly in Pierce County.
I think we've seen the birth of another great tradition here with Harvest Feast Tacoma. Nothing official yet, but I can't imagine there won't be a repeat next year.
I have an article on today's print-version editorial page about a well-attended conference on electric vehicles earlier this month held at Microsoft headquarters in Redmond.
The Seattle-based Discovery Institute, which organized the two-day event, has video of a terrific speech -- mentioned in my article -- by former CIA chief James Woolsey. Woolsey says breaking the U.S. addiction to foreign oil is a matter of national security. Find the video here.
About the same time as the conference, the Wall Street Journal published a Woolsey oped making a more technical case for electric vehicles. See it here.
Finally, today's New York Times has this article on General Motors' plans to unveil its electric Chevy Volt this week during the company's 100th birthday celebration.
Industry experts warn the Volt may not live up to consumer expectations, given that the car's battery technology is largely untested. One calls it a car "with a $10,000 battery" that is not likely to last more than a few years.
GM says it will have a plug-in hybrid model of its Saturn Vue on the market in 2010.
In our editorial today, we cited the Republican Governors Association joining the Dino Rossi camp's relentless pursuit of Gov. Gregoire over the state's tribal gaming compact.
The association has contributed $1 million to a dedicated fundraising committee for the Washington governor's race but hasn't revealed the extent of the media buy for its "Casino Chris" ad campaign.
By the way, the revenue sharing arrangement that allegedly would have netted the state $140 million (a figure the Gregoire campaign disputes) was opposed by the Pierce County legislative delegation. It worried that the deal would lead to a broad expansion of gambling.
Here are the two spots the RGA has up so far.
