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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The following editorial will appear in Thursday's print edition.
Cougs’ lame arguments against stadium funding
There are valid reasons to question UW’s request, but not the ones that some WSU alumni are offering.
Washington State University claimed victory in a painful Apple Cup this year, giving it bragging rights to having only the second-worst college football team in the state.
But that wasn’t enough. Now some Cougars want to add insult to injury by trying to quash University of Washington efforts to get public funding for renovating decrepit, unsafe, 88-year-old Husky Stadium.
This editorial will appear in tomorrow's printed edition.
A citizen committee’s persistence pays off in making a strong case for not raising Narrows Bridge tolls.
Citizen advisory groups, for all their public-accountability potential, often can’t be described as true watchdogs.
The volunteers who advise the state on Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls, however, are getting close. Their persistence in asking the state Department of Transportation to scrub its numbers is serving toll payers’ interests well.
These are the same folks who this time last year were calling out the state Department of Transportation for negotiating a bad contract that allowed the company that handles toll collection to make money hand over fist.
Lately, transportation officials had been prodding the committee to sign off on raising tolls, which by law has to cover debt payments for the bridge construction and ongoing maintenance and operations costs.
High gas prices – and an accompanying drop in bridge traffic – apparently had the department spooked. State officials wanted an extra cushion to ensure they’d be able to meet their expenses.
But committee members balked, as they should have. The last toll hike just took effect in July and was supposed to be good for two years.
"Washington state is ground zero for just about every nutty secular cause on earth," says Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly.
O'Reilly's latest cause is whipping up opposition to the atheist sign display in the Washington state Capitol. A Nativity scene and "holiday tree" are also on display.
He calls Gov. Chris Greogire a "weak, confused" leader for allowing the atheist sign display. He gives out her telephone number and says listeners should call and offer their opinion on her refusal to get rid of the display.
To see a film clip of O'Reilly talking about the display, click here. Click on "The culture war erupts over Christmas" under "Talking Points."
Here's our Oct. 31 editorial about the display.
The Narrows Bridge citizens advisory committee’s persistence in requesting answers from the Department of Transportation has paid off in a strong case for keeping tolls at their current amount. The Transportation Commission and Legislature should heed the committee’s recommendation.
Cougars’ lamest reason for opposing UW's request for state money to renovate Husky Stadium is that it would give the Huskies an unfair leg up on recruiting over WSU. A better argument would be: Why spend $300 million upgrading a stadium when a $450 million taxpayer-subsidized football facility – Qwest Field – sits vacant most of the year just a few miles away from campus?
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.
In writing today's editorial about handicapped-parking enforcement, I wanted to find out how widespread it was for communities to use volunteers – which Tacoma has decided NOT to do in order to appease the labor union that represents the city's parking patrol officers. A Google search reveals that volunteers are being used all over America, from Honolulu to Omaha, Neb. and St. Petersburg, Fla.
I came across this great photo out of Washington County, Ore., which uses volunteers. The Web site describes its program:
The most recent addition to the Traffic Safety Unit is the Disabled Parking Enforcement Volunteer Program. The program is unique in that it authorizes volunteers to take direct enforcement action by writing citations to motorists who ignore the law. Volunteers receive 8 hours of classroom training, and a minimum of 40 hours of field training to prepare for this assignment. The most common violation cited is for parking in a disabled parking space without a disabled person parking permit or for unauthorized use of a disabled person's parking permit. This group responds to citizen complaints and actively patrols business parking lots throughout the County.
