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- Guest Users: 414
T'was the week before Christmas and all through the house visions of palm trees danced in our heads…. but that’s all they were: visions. All the dreaming we did of sunny California was for naught because today at Sea-Tac Airport they told us, and approx. fifteen thousand other travelers, those three little words no traveler who spent the entire night packing and schlepping four kids to the airport wants to hear: All flights canceled.
Canceled? But I’ve got a pair of flip-flops in my purse. My parents who live in our city of destination just bought a ham the size of one of those Smart Cars. It will take them all year to eat that ham. The ticket lady glanced over her shoulder. The snow was blowing horizontal. “C’mon kids, let’s get our luggage and go home.”
The ticket lady took a deep breath, and jotted down a 1-800 number, “Your luggage is still on the plane, call this number to retrieve it later.”
We returned home without our luggage, keeping our fingers crossed we get it soon because Santa needs that luggage. But we aren’t feeling too sorry for ourselves. We saw lots and lots of weary travelers at the airport; worried moms running out of formula, families with no where to go, but I have to say the worst was a soldier in his BDUs wiping away some tears. He’d made it this far and his ache for home was palpable. Wherever you are soldier man our hearts go out to you.
It’s going to take days to clear up the gridlock of all those canceled flights. We were told by our airline that the next available flight was January 1st.
It looks like we will be having a white Christmas here at home after all. My parents are just going to have to make enough room in the freezer to park that ham.
This editorial will appear in Monday's edition.
Sweeping changes to credit card regulations are poorly timed and won’t provide timely help to those who need it most.
Americans drowning in debt compounded by predatory credit card practices could finally get some relief – provided they can hang on for another 18 months.
Last week, federal regulators adopted the first set of wholesale changes to credit card rules since 1981.
The new rules will force basic consumer protections on a credit card industry that’s been allowed to operate unfettered for too long. One of the rules would prohibit banks from charging interest on a balance that’s already been paid. Another would require that they give customers sufficient time to make their payments.
But apparently fairness can wait. The new rules won’t take effect until July 2010 – a concession to banks that unabashedly admit their business models rely on deceptive schemes.
