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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This editorial will appear in tomorrow's print edition.
Lawmakers should approve a Senate bill to prevent the sealing of court documents that hold evidence of public hazards.
In theory, the sealing of court records shouldn’t hide evidence of a continuing threat to public safety. In reality, it happens.
Firestone, for example, long succeeded in concealing evidence that its tires were prone to tread separation that could cause crashes. When it settled with plaintiffs who’d claimed injury, it negotiated the sealing of the settlements.
Likewise, Merck succeeded in sealing records that might have alerted the public to the risks of heart attacks from its anti-inflammatory drug Vioxx. Innocent people have died as a result of secret settlements bought with hush money. Such coverups ought to be against the law. They would be under a bill sponsored by state Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle.
The folks who tried to close down Lakewood's casinos last years – and were mightily rebuffed by city's voters – haven't folded their tents and gone away.
Below is an excerpt from a missive from David Anderson, the leader of the anti-gambling forces:
Finally, you might be interested to know that the SaveLakewood Community Matters YES! 2009 campaign is well underway, the details of which are described in the January issue of our newsletter.
Our goals include unseating the incumbents, three of which were supported by the casinos in their 2005 campaigns, and returning to the signature drive to put yet another initiative on the ballot in November to ban social card rooms.
So, another initiative may be in the works. I asked Anderson why he wants to unseat all the council incumbents. Here's his reply:
Last week, in something delicately called an "early guidance," economic forecaster Arun Raha told legislators they'd have about $2.3 billion less to spend over the next 30 months. The announcement means the state now faces an $8 billion budget shortfall.
On cue, entering from stage left, come 28 liberal economists telling the governor and legislative leaders that they better consider raising taxes. Fair enough. Liberal economists, like other special interests, have a right to their opinion. But there is something a little pretentious about this:
Drawing upon economic theory, we believe reducing government spending will have a more deleterious effect on Washington State’s economy than would increasing revenue. Although both cuts in government spending and tax increases have the potential to slow economic growth, cutting government spending would likely have the most immediate impact by directly reducing consumption. Tax increases are less problematic...
The appeal to "economic theory" is unlikely to persuade families and business struggling to get by in an economic collapse precipitated, in part, by serious missteps taken by the credentialed ubersmug, the degreed greedy with economic training.
Economists disagree, often and vigorously. If they didn't cable news would have more dead air time, perhaps a good thing. Of the 28 folks who signed the letter, 24 work in tax-supported institutions: county government, community colleges, and four-year universities. Does it surprise anyone that they agree that raising taxes would be a good thing?
Here's an editorial cartoon that hits a little too close to home.
