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.
Federal Way’s Municipal Court is afflicted with more cases of the he-said, she-saids than a nasty divorce.
The latest: Police say they have reason to suspect Judge Michael Morgan assumed the identity of an employee to post online comments critical of two election opponents.
This editorial will appear in Wednesday's print edition.
When an offender is released from a state prison and doesn’t settle down in Pierce County, there’s a decent chance Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Gerry Horne deserves credit.
Horne, who leaves office Monday after 27 years in the department and nine years in its top job, forged a reputation for seeking justice – for crime victims as well as for the public he served.
He was an early and fierce champion for the concept of “fair share.” After establishing that Pierce County was the state Department of Correction’s favorite dumping ground for released offenders, he worked tirelessly to get legislators on board with the idea that other counties should take back their own offenders.
That’s happening now, thanks to legislation passed in 2007, and Pierce County will be a safer place because of it. Today, an estimated 150 to 200 offenders are not being released to Pierce County each year who in earlier years would have been.
After posting an editorial last week defending the carbon benefits of four dams some people want removed from the lower Snake River, I found this quaintly worded message in my email:
I'm curious to know where you got the figure that 20% of Washington State's electrical power comes from coal. I looked it up and every source I found has Washington getting around 8% of its energy from coal.
And could we please stop with the stupid straw men.... "Many opponents of the dams brush off the carbon problem." Just who are these many opponents? A few minutes of work with The Google turned up information addressing replacement power for the dams.
There's enough stuff going on in the world to worry about, you don't need to make shit up.
'Oh and you might want to check this website out: http://www.google.com/
It might come in handy when writing future editorials.
The writer, to his credit, signed his name. I was fascinated by the anger; I guess some people really really hate those dams and anyone who speaks up for them. My response:
I get much of my power-data information from the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. Try this link:
http://www.nwcouncil.org/maps/power/overview.htm
Here's the exact quote:
"About 20 percent of the region’s electricity comes from plants that burn coal, and about 21 percent comes from plants that burn natural gas."
I find it curious that you would call me a liar for using a number you thought I had gotten wrong. I wouldn't call you a liar for citing the 8 percent number. I would assume you'd made an honest mistake.
Allegations that Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan assumed the online identity of one of his clerks are serious and can’t wait until after the election to be sorted out.
Retiring prosecutor Gerry Horne did well by Pierce County, most notably by getting the state to finally quit contributing to the crime rate by dumping ex-cons here.
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.
