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 Wednesday's print edition.
Swine flu is keeping state Rep. Deb Wallace up at night, and for good reason.
Wallace has not caught the dread virus, nor is she a health care worker trying to halt its spread. She’s just one of many Democrats who voted for a state budget that slashed $1 billion from health care programs.
Days before the Legislature adjourned April 26, swine flu hit the news. No sooner had lawmakers packed their bags for home than the nation’s public health agencies were on high alert.
Wallace, sleepless in Vancouver, dashed off an e-mail to her fellow Democrats at 4:20 one morning last week. Someone forwarded it to The News Tribune’s man in Olympia, Joe Turner.
“Many of you are probably having the same 3 a.m. thought that awoke me in the middle of the night,” Wallace wrote, explaining that she’d been reading up on pandemics.
“Although politically difficult, I think this is the time to look at further reductions (reduced work week or other reductions) to buy back the health care coverage of the thousands we eliminated.”
This editorial will appear in Wednesday's print edition.
Change needed in prosecuting minor crimes
A Seattle University law professor makes a good case for changing the way courts handle misdemeanors such as marijuana possession and driving with a suspended license.
In an 18-month study, Robert Boruchowitz found that defendants’ constitutional rights are routinely violated in many of the nation’s misdemeanor courts – most significantly by the lack of enough public defenders to handle heavy caseloads. Scores of defendants receive little or no legal advice and are pressured into plea agreements that might not be in their best interests.
If that weren’t bad enough, Boruchowitz and fellow researchers found that millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted when courts prosecute relatively minor crimes rather than resolve them out of court.
Swine flu is keeping state Rep. Deb Wallace up at night, and for good reason. She's one of the Democrats who passed a state budget that slashed $1 billion from health care programs. Her call for lawmakers to reconsider should they return for a special session is a sound one.
An 18-month study finds that defendants' constitutional rights are routinely violated in many of the nation's misdemeanor courts – most significantly by the lack of enough public defenders to handle heavy caseloads. If that weren't bad enough, researchers found that millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted when courts prosecute relatively minor crimes rather than resolve them out of court.
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.
. . . the Inside the Editorial Page blog!
In our dreams. No, the 13th Annual Webby Award winner in the politics category is the liberal Huffington Post. The award was given Tuesday by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member group of Web experts.
But according to online voters, the best political Web site is FactCheck.org. That site won the “People’s Voice” award for the third year in a row.
I use this site a lot to check out the latest political rumor going around. I blogged about it back on April 13. Click here to read that post.
The other nominees in the political Web site category were: C-SPAN Debate Hub, OpenSecrets.org and Truthdig.
For a list of all the Webby winners (it includes links) in categories ranging from Activism and Health to Travel and Weird, click here. I found several sites I want to check out.
