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 tomorrow's print edition.
A judge must meet a far more rigorous ethical standard than ‘escaped conviction’ or ‘hasn’t been tried yet.’
Judge Michael Hecht must recuse himself from presiding over any cases in Pierce County Superior Court. If he has an ethical bone in his body, he will do so immediately.
On Friday, the state Attorney General’s Office charged Hecht with two grave crimes: repeatedly hiring a young prostitute and threatening to kill another young prostitute he believed was squealing on him.
No judge with such charges hanging over him can be considered a credible arbiter of justice.
Hecht – if he possesses the modicum of judgment expected of any judge – will recognize this fact and stop hearing cases.
This editorial will appear in Tuesday's print edition.
Tying school construction to student achievement is a hard case to make, no matter which side of the issue you’re on.
Backers of a $300 million Tacoma school bond measure have an increasingly difficult sale on their hands.
The prospects of voters agreeing to tax themselves more get grimmer with every new round of layoffs, every plunge of the Dow, every new financial report. As if the economy weren’t enough of a sinker, now the bond measure faces organized opposition – a rarity in Tacoma.
Worse yet, the opposition comes from a seemingly unlikely source, advocates for minority children.
Tacoma's black leaders are using their best point of leverage to call attention to their concern about the achievement gap. Agree or disagree with their strategy, they make a point about Tacoma building grand schools while far too many minority kids fall by the wayside.
Pierce County Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht, charged with soliciting a prostitute and felony harassment, ought to recuse himself from hearing any kind of cases until his guilt or innocence is established.
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to patrick.ocallahan@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.
