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.
Rejuvenated Mariners are surprising everybody
Ken Griffey Jr.’s return and an emphasis on the little things has the team sitting pretty in the American League.
Wait ’til next year” is the forlorn cry of disappointed fans at the end of another dismal season.
Well, next year is here and, inexplicably, the Seattle Mariners are doing well. More than well, actually. Superbly. As of this writing, before the Mariners’ Thursday game, the team was sitting comfortably atop its division and had the best record in the American League.
Yes, the season is young and much can go wrong on the long slog to October. But there’s no escaping the sense of excitement Northwest fans are feeling for this rejuvenated team.
I'll admit it. I didn't think the "tea party" movement had legs. Having spent a lot of time in Olympia over the last twenty-some years, I've seen my share of organized (and disorganized) protest rallies. From a few dozen disheveled folks standing in the rain at the foot of the Legislative Building to several thousand disciplined advocates chanting in rhyme - it's all part of springtime in the state capital.
Shortly before noon yesterday, I was on the phone with a colleague with a long background in union politics. He described the scene, sounding surprised at what appeared to be a legitimate grassroots outpouring. The crowd continued to build. Then I heard the official estimates of nearly 5,000 protesters.
At the risk of being (legitimately) accused of "retrotalk" I'm going to invoke the old Buffalo Springfield lyric: "There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear." And I think state and national political leaders would be well-advised to pay attention to it.
We're taking a break from the serious stuff to have a little fun.
Yes, the season is young and much can go wrong on the long slog to October, but there's no escaping the sense of excitement Northwest fans are feeling for the rejuvenated Seattle Mariners.
In the rest of the column, we say "ditto" to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram editorial on a subject of utmost significance: The new postal stamps honoring "The Simpsons" in all their dysfunctional glory.
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.
On Sunday, we editorialized for a second time urging the Legislature, if it was going to mess with Initiative 937's green energy mandates, to treat Tacoma power customers fairly.
Today on Publicola, former Stranger news editor Josh Feit raises the possibility that some 11th-hour horsetrading could prove detrimental to Tacoma's interests.
His theory: The Senate has agreed to pass an education reform bill (which our editorial board supported) in exchange for getting the House to quit stalling on the I-937 bill.
Amending I-937 to lower the renewable energy standards has emerged as “take-home” issue for Senate leadership, and I was getting word yesterday afternoon that the earlier compromise Democratic leadership struck with Greens to amend I-937 was on the verge of collapsing as leadership started adding new provisions that would scale back the voter-approved initiative too far.
Only in the waning days of a legislative session could a long overdue redefinition of what "basic education" means somehow come to be associated with giving utilities an out on buying more green power.
The I-937 "compromise" Josh mentions would shift nearly the entire burden for driving production of new renewable energy to large utilities like Tacoma's, which would still be on the hook to buy increasing amounts of green power they don't need.
The House opposition seemed to be Tacoma's best bet of getting some consideration. Now that's apparently in question. Bob Mack, Tacoma Public Utilities' guy in Olympia, tells me that there are further meetings this afternoon with legislators.
