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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The Army seems to be taking seriously the allegations that a Fort Lewis criminal intelligence analyst infiltrated an antiwar group. This is serious stuff, governed by laws that restrict such operations. Whether the Army employee was acting alone or under orders from higher up, the military needs to come clean with the public once its investigation is complete.
Man, we're glad that we held our planned Friday editorial about the closures of two Tacoma post offices. Last night, the U.S. Postal Service announced a reprieve. Our Monday editorial will advise neighborhood interests to not let down their guard. Given the dire financial straits of the U.S. Post Office, the reprieves might just be temporary.
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.
Carolyn McConnell, writing at Crosscut, has a post about a little-known aspect of the new state budget intended to not only cut Medicaid costs but also encourage doctors to perform fewer C-sections during child birth.
Beginning this month, the state of Washington will pay hospitals the same amount for an uncomplicated C-section as for a complicated vaginal birth when it reimburses them through Medicaid. Almost half of all births in Washington are paid by Medicaid, so this measure will have a significant effect on the economics of birth in the state.
The rate of C-sections in Washington hovers around 30 percent – about twice what health experts say it should be. C-sections are sometimes medically necessary, but too often they are done for the convenience of the doctor or the mother. Paying less for the procedure could help make doctors and hospitals think twice about performing one.
The state's move is projected to save $4 million. Dr. Jeff Thompson, the state’s chief medical officer for Medicaid, told McConnell he has already received calls from hospitals asking for help revising the protocols they use to decide when a C-section is called for.
The Tacoma/Pierce County Black Collective and the Political Destiny Committee announced their joint endorsements in some Aug. 18 primary races.
How do they compare with The News Tribune editorial board's choices? Ours are in parentheses.
Port of Tacoma Position 1: Connie Bacon (Bacon)
Puyallup City Council District 3, Pos. 2: Nicolla Tebao (Kent Boyle)
Tacoma School Board Position 2: Amy Bates and Catherine Ushka-Hall (Bates and Ushka-Hall)
Tacoma City Council, District 4: Marty Campbell, Roxanne Murphy (Campbell)
Tacoma City Council, District 5: Joe Lonergan, Becky Summers-Kirby (John Miles)
The Luzon Building's building fate rests on a good forecast, and possibly the willingness of current owner, The Gintz Group, to get out of the way, Historic Tacoma told supporters in an e-mail this morning.
Apparently, the City of Tacoma has found another developer willing to take on the 1890 building. Earlier this summer, a city-commissioned report of the structure's integrity painted a grim picture and deemed it a "life safety" hazard.
Here's the e-mail from Historic Tacoma:
