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- jevats
- Guest Users: 397
This editorial will appear in Friday's print edition.
With limited resources to spend on post-release supervision, lawmakers should resist the trap of spreading them too thin.
Any hope of preserving post-release supervision of criminal offenders – if any still existed – vanished Thursday with the release of the state’s latest revenue forecast.
Budget writers now face a nearly $9 billion gap between expected revenue and the costs of running existing state programs over the next two years.
Explaining why the state has to cut community supervision will be among the easier tasks facing lawmakers responsible for this hard-times budget.
These days, President Obama has a lot on his plate, and one item, one seemingly unimportant item, is whether or not to accept the title of President of the Boy Scouts of America, a title conferred on every U.S. president since William Howard Taft in 1910.
Many are asking President Obama to reject this title because the Boy Scouts, even though they are a federally funded group, do not allow people who are gay or people who do not believe in God, to participate, and according to a 2000 Supreme Court decision, they are well within their legal rights to do this.
By accepting the honorary title, many feel President Obama will be complicit in a discriminatory practice, but if President Obama rejects the title, others feel he will reject a long-standing tradition of an iconic institution. After all, Boy Scouts are as American as baseball and apple pie.
To be sure this is a difficult decision, and one President Obama has to make pretty quick. Compromise will be hard to find, but I think I have a story that might make President Obama’s job a little easier.
Community supervision programs for ex-cons can’t be spared cuts when the state is facing a $9 billion budget deficit. The focus must be on making the remaining supervision effective.
A “We Agree” from the Charlotte Observer: President Obama’s proposed changes to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration couldn’t come a moment too soon. The nation’s food and drug safety system is badly broken. And as a consequence, the health and welfare of U.S. residents are constantly at risk.
If you have comments or questions about these topics, please email them to kim.bradford@thenewstribune.com. Editorials represent the consensus view of The News Tribune's editorial board.
Want to sit in on a daily ed board meeting? Email cheryl.tucker@thenewstribune.com to make an appointment.
Former Pierce County Councilman Calvin Goings noticed that we were planning an editorial today on financial literacy and legislation co-sponsored by Sen. Patty Murray. He wanted to let us know what the credit unions were doing in that regard. His job with the Washington Credit Union League includes education and financial literacy programs.
Here's what he had to say. It might be of particular interest to educators.
Credit unions from across Washington and the United States are the sponsors of a great financial literacy TV show called "Bizkid$." This show, produced by the same team that created "Bill Nye the Science Guy," is now airing on about 95 percent of all PBS stations, including KCTS9 here locally. Each year credit unions contribute over $2 million to make this show possible.
We are now in the process of offering an accompanying classroom teaching packet (at no charge) to any school that is interested. (Click here for more information.)
We fully support the legislation that Senator Murray is sponsoring, and we will continue to provide our services and materials at no cost. We are trying to do our part as the stable, nonprofit segment of the financial services industry.
In writing today's editorial about financial literacy, I came across a quiz provided by the Los Angeles Times.
It's simple to take and gives you immediate feedback on your answers. I scored 90 percent, which is amazing since I don't even keep a running balance on my checkbook.
To take the quiz, click here.
