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 Friday's print edition.
The state Senate – thank heaven – is poised to extend long-promised high-occupancy lanes into Pierce County.
The state Senate Transportation Committee has noticed that Interstate 5 runs not only through King County, but Pierce County, too. The committee has kindly decided to do something about it.
No one in these parts hasn’t noticed that the HOV lanes on Interstate 5 stop right on the border of Pierce County.
The lanes don’t stop there because the need for them stops. They stop there because someone in Olympia apparently decided long ago that King County’s piece of I-5 was more deserving of funding than whatever rarely traveled goat path exists south of the county line.
King County has long had an extensive system of transit and carpool lanes. Pierce County has zip, aside from a new – and very short – stretch on Highway 16.
The Highway 16 HOV lanes don’t connect to I-5; they vanish into a chronic traffic jam in the middle of Tacoma. Likewise, if there’s heavy auto traffic on I-5, it frequently grinds to a near standstill at the county line.
This editorial will appear in Friday's print edition.
$5 voluntary annual fee – or close up to 45 parks?
An opt-out $5 annual fee on vehicle tab renewals looks like a painless way to raise a lot of money for state parks.
It’s easy to see why opting out is a touchy subject for some people.
Fail to check one opt-out box, and the next thing you know, your credit card is being charged an ongoing fee for a service you didn’t even know you had ordered. Miss checking another box, and your cell phone company is sharing your customer data with businesses you don’t want having that information.
But is it a big deal if failing to opt out costs you $5 a year and helps save a slew of state parks from being closed?
Unless some new revenue source is found – a tough proposition this year – Washington State Parks could have to cut $23 million over the next two years, forcing the system to close as many as 32 parks in addition to the 13 already targeted.
More need, less money. Sound like a familiar story? It's hitting the community colleges especially hard, as Tacoma Community College's external relations guy, Dan Small, recounts here:
As we wait for legislators to announce the Senate and House operating and capital budgets, TCC enrollment continues to explode. Enrollment for winter quarter was up 18 percent over winter last year.
For Spring quarter, which begins March 30, a total of 6,824 students are enrolled to date – 691 more than last spring. Right now we are turning students away because we can’t handle any more. Many courses have long waiting lists.
We’ve added as many classes needed by students in areas like math and science that our budget will allow, and we are basically out of rooms. For some badly needed courses, we can’t find any more adjunct teachers to hire.
A lot of the reason, of course, for our enrollment increase is that so many people have lost their jobs and are coming back to retrain for a new career. As we said during the editorial board meeting, we are a big part of the solution for economic recovery in Washington State.
Here's what we're working on for Friday's editorial page.
The state's fiscal crisis gives lawmakers a pass on many otherwise worthwhile proposals this year, but reform of the archaic way Washington pays for K-12 education isn't one of them.
UPDATE: We're holding off on this topic given this afternoon's release of a letter from the governor on the issue. Instead, we'll write about the state Senate Transportation Committee including Pierce County HOV projects in its budget – a big improvement on the governor's plan.
A proposed $5 opt-out fee on license tab renewals looks like a painless way to help avoid deep cuts in the state parks system.
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.
This editorial appeared in today's print edition.
The Highway 520 bridge must be replaced. Other parts of the state will have to pay however many billions tolls don’t cover.
Tolling the Highway 520 bridge over Lake Washington is a foregone conclusion, or it ought to be. The span must be replaced, and its drivers should help pay for the new structure – just as the users of the second Narrows bridge are paying for that structure.
But the Legislature faces two further questions: Should tolls be imposed next year, before construction starts? And should the I-90 bridge over Lake Washington also be tolled?
For anyone concerned about transportation funding in the rest of the state, the answer to both questions should be yes.
