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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Aberdeen's newspaper has this story about House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler's frustration over her repeated efforts to require public bodies to tape their closed-door meetings.
Cities and counties have blocked the legislation in the past, so this year Kessler is pushing a neutered bill to require executive-session taping only when a local government has been found to have violated open meetings laws.
But apparently she can't get even that past her colleagues. Kessler told the World that she failed to come up with the four votes necessary to get the bill out of the Government and Tribal Affairs Committee.
From the story:
"I don't know what's going on," Kessler said. "I really, truly don't know. Some of the people who say they support the bill must be working behind the scenes to kill it. That's all I can imagine."
This editorial will appear in Wednesday's print edition.
Bus rapid transit makes sense for Meridian
Carving out a lane for fast bus service could help alleviate pressure on the notoriously busy corridor.
Ever tried to get from one end of Meridian Street in Puyallup to the other?
Cue the music from “Mission: Impossible” here, because that’s what it can feel like. Meridian (Highway 161) gets clogged at just about any time, but it’s especially aggravating at rush hour.
The City of Puyallup and Pierce Transit hope to make Meridian a little less impossible by partnering on a bus rapid transit project. The first step is to secure $1.5 million from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to complete an engineering study of the corridor by next year.
This editorial will appear in Wednesday's print edition.
Obama’s choice of the former Washington governor suggests that the new administration will remain committed to free trade.
Many economists and historians believe the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930 – which imposed high tariffs on thousands of foreign imports – helped deepen the Great Depression.
That history bears on Barack Obama’s reported plan to nominate Gary Locke as secretary of the Commerce Department.
The former Washington governor could prove an ideal choice, if he stands up to the powerful Democratic constituencies pushing to protect U.S. industries from foreign competition.
My grandmother had a saying and it went like this: “It may take some years, but eventually, everyone’s bill comes due.” Ok, maybe it wasn’t her saying, but it should have been because it is wise, and as we know all too well these days, it is true.
Did anyone honestly think we could foot a war at approx. 10 billion per month, cut taxes, increase spending, let “maverick capitalists” like Maddoff run the store, encourage an “ownership society”/housing bubble so we could have a place to park assets, and not think any of these would come at a heavy cost?
I can almost see the deficit tab sitting on the diner counter complete with smiley face and scribbled note “ It was a pleasure serving you. Y’all come back- George W. Bush.”
I suppose we can be grateful for the little things. We can be grateful that President Bush was unable to privatize social security. Can I get an “Amen” on that one?
Now Obama’s the man left holding the tab. And he’s taking some hits. Turns out some Republican’s expectations of Obama were even higher then those of Independents and Democrats.
Now, let me see if I've got this straight: For the first month of his presidency, Barack Obama concentrated on "economic stimulus," producing a "package" that costs about $850 billion, give or take. And much of that $850 billion will be paid for with borrowed money, inflation, and other forms of deficit spending.
Right?
So, Monday I wake up and read the newspaper, and I'll be damned if it doesn't say that the president has begun a new economic initiative: He is going to "reduce the deficit" and "tighten up on spending"!!!!
Because these policy initiatives are disconnected by a few days, are we supposed to believe they don't contradict each other? Are me and my libcon buddies the only ones who see through this doubletalk?
I don't think so.
Yesterday, the Dow tanked at its lowest point in 12 years. A lot of folks think we're in deep do-do.
"Yes we can" elect someone to the highest office in the land who knows surprisingly little about markets, finance, wealth-creation, and long range impact of defict spending.
