Inside the editorial page
Inside the editorial page

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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What's on the minds of Tacoma News Tribune editorial writers
Saturday, July 11th, 2009
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 04:59:33 pm

This editorial will appear in tomorrow's print edition.

Now it’s official: Boeing wants a no-strike guarantee from its unions, or it’s going to create a second 787 plant elsewhere.

Boeing hasn’t said it out loud. But U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks and Gov. Chris Gregoire confirmed last week that they’d heard as much from the company. We doubt they’re making it up.

The ball – or is it a bomb? – is now in the court of the International Association of Machinists and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace.

The machinists – the fighting machinists, as they style themselves – are sounding more conciliatory than they did during last year’s punishing strike: “We are working to improve our relationship with Boeing,” said District 751 President Tom Wroblewski in a statement, “and the Machinists Union has made several overtures to that effect. Improving the relationship to bring about a different result in bargaining is a priority. We plan to dedicate a lot of time and resources to this effort.”

=> Read more!

Categories: What's coming
Posted by Patrick O'Callahan @ 04:10:57 pm

Two things baffle me about the argument over lethal injection.

One is the position of the state – not just Washington but the thirty-plus other states that use the same “humane” method of executing condemned murderers.

Three Washington death-row inmates have sued to abolish the current lethal injection regime, which employs three drugs: one to cause unconsciousness, a second to paralyze, a third to stop the heart. A Thurston County judge ruled against them Friday.

Critics say the three-drug system could inadvertently leave the prisoner conscious and suffering excruciating pain while paralyzed. The lawsuit argues for substituting a single, lethal overdose of sedatives.

When we had to put the family dog down some years ago, the veterinarian used the big-dose method. The experience was heartbreaking, but the death was almost instant and obviously painless.

=> Read more!

Categories: Taking notice