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failing to come close to meeting their own COVID-19 contact tracing targets, the State Epidemiologist is “proud of the state” for the program. On the other hand, he knows who is to blame for the state’s inability to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and meet its own goals: everyone else. Having consistently failed to come close to meeting the self-imposed targets, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) announced that its COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing is takin...
Many people struggle to file their income taxes. They sort through a maze of paperwork and rules, try to find the documents they need to fill in the forms and schedules, and a grueling, confusing, or impossible process. Many give up and spend hours of their take-home money to pay a firm to do the whole thing for them. Despite all that, it could be worse. Washington state could get an income tax. Then you’d be adding state paperwork to the federal paperwork. For the past 90 years, ten times in a...
To the editor, I don’t know which is worse: that previously we’ve never had an African-American woman as US Supreme Court Justice or that we’ve never had a Justice with Public Defender experience. Both represent unique perspectives necessary for relating to large, important and under-served constituencies of our population. New US Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson will provide much needed balance to the Court and more equal representation for all segments of our society. Yet Republicans, rather than celebrating her, treated her despi...
To the editor, Our democracy is under assault! As renowned analyst Fareed Zakaria’s CNN documentary recently affirmed, the Trumpian lies, racism and debunked conspiracy theories promoting dictatorship have largely taken over the rank and file of the Republican Party. Lonely Republican US Representative Adam Kinzinger, lamenting the fact, is not running for re-election because of it. Last May I wrote that “Very seldom I agree with Liz Cheney on policy…. But right now, Liz Cheney is my No. 1 Hero…Because she may become most instrumental in savi...
To the editor, Whether you are Republican or Democrat Joe Biden is the current president and Donald Trump is the most recent past president. You may not have liked Donald Trump as president, but he had a vision of making this country self-sufficient. By encouraging manufacturers to bring business and jobs back to the United States, by allowing the increased production of petroleum products, so that the United States became a net exporter for the first time in over 60 yrs. I may not agree with everything he said or did, but I do agree with the d...
A bill scheduled for a public hearing next week (HB 1727) would ban citizen ballot measures in odd years, but still allow local governments to call special elections to increase taxes. A similar bill was proposed in 2020. Former Secretary of State Kim Wyman testified against the idea of banning odd year ballot measures in 2020. Secretary Wyman noted these types of proposals would limit the people’s right of initiative and referendum and could add to voter fatigue by causing exceedingly long ballots. Though the claim is being made that, initiati...
“If the highest aim of a captain were to preserve his ship, he would keep it in port forever.” – Thomas Aquinas...
Local businesses, members, and the community were shocked with the news that a branch of one of the area’s prevalent financial institutions, Lewis Clark Credit Union, better known as LCCU, is planning to close its doors in Pomeroy. I know I was a bit taken aback to be informed that the institution on which my business relies has decided to leave us due to financial consideration! Well, believe it or not, most of the country is in dire straits, especially those who were not able to take advantage of government grants, loans, or stimulus. We h...
To the editor, I have enjoyed the letters to the editor from Eric McKiernan including the most recent in the 1st edition of 2022. There are few who are brave enough to stand up publicly for conservatism, morals and freedom by word or actions. I’m certain there is an audience ready and waiting for one of their own to say what they know to be true, and to give them courage to do the same here in our community and in other communities where subscribers (former Garfield County residents and friends) are reading this paper. Appreciate you, Eric. A...
By Rowena Itchon What do evergreen trees, ham, turkey, eggnog, and champagne all have in common? The holidays, yes, but also America’s agriculture–most notably the great agricultural states of the West. Let’s start with Thanksgiving dinner. Our colleague Pam Lewison of the Washington Policy Center, and a farmer herself, recalls growing up and sitting at the table for Thanksgiving dinner. “Even as we dug into the bounty before us, we were aware of the hardworking farmers and livestock producers who had made our meal possible.” Lest consumers...
Dear Folks, This is Cindy Lou, Baxter’s wife, writing to you. I am very, very behind in sending this out to you but I wasn’t sure what to say. Not a good excuse, Baxter would say as he got after me. So this is what is going on: Baxter has some health problems that have put him in the retirement bracket. He has loved speaking, writing and doing his TV and radio work all these years, but sadly, he is at a point that he has to stop. December 31 will be the last day that our office will be ope...
To the editor, The local democrat contingency seems to have a mouthpiece south of reason and void of thought, and I did not wish to be the alter ego of that twisted thinking. Not long ago I traveled to Coeur d’ Alene, driving through Whitman County, popping out on 95 northeast of Tekoa. Drove by a Trump flag nearly worn out just outside Oaksdale. Passed another five or so before we got to 95. Even saw Trump signs on the reservation. In the two days wandering about CDA we saw numerous bumper stickers signs in lawns, flags and other patriotic d...
By Jared Walczak Tax Foundation This is reprinted with permission from Tax Foundation’s website, confirmed for publication in the East Washingtonian on December 20, 2021. When is an income tax an excise tax? And for that matter, what exactly is an excise tax? The fate of Washington’s capital gains tax, currently in litigation, rests at least in part on the answer to these questions. By way of background, Washington’s supreme court has repeatedly held that the state’s constitution functionally prohibits graduated income taxation. (It’s a...
I like living someplace where a horse matters. There is just some country where horseback is the only way to get the job done. Places where the four-wheeler is a poor second, not to mention a noisy, track-leaving unnatural conveyance. Besides, it's hard to throw a rope from. Helicopters can spot and scare, if that's what you need, but it's helpless when you have to doctor a calf. It is a great feeling to be pushing a cow out of a mesquite thicket, packing a dude down the Grand Canyon or...
OLYMPIA–Gov. Jay Inslee has announced an agreement to delay implementation of the state's new long-term care insurance program and payroll tax that was set to begin Jan. 1, 2022. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, ranking Republican on the House Health Care and Wellness Committee, and Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, the prime sponsor of House Bill 1594 that would repeal the program and tax. "I'm glad that we can take another look at this very controversial proposal," says Rep. Schmick. "It has not m...
It’s Christmas time, when we celebrate the birth of Christ. In the U.S., surveys show that more than 80% of us believe in God. That’s more people than have lawyers, drive foreign cars, believe DNA is absolute proof of a criminal act, own a home, have been divorced, or watch Oprah! How can such a high percentage of a highly educated, well-read, technologically and scientifically knowledgeable people believe in an omnipotent being? Where inside of us is the biological process that allows fai...
A regressive payroll tax that was supposed to start being taken out of workers’ paychecks in January was delayed this morning. How? The same way Gov. Jay Inslee has been making rules and mandates without the Legislature since Feb. 29, 2020. In a press release with statements from the governor and House and Senate Democratic leadership, Inslee says, “I am taking measures within my authority and ordering the state Employment Security Department not to collect the premiums from this program from employers before they come due in April.” He conti...
OLYMPIA–Rep. Mary Dye, R-Pomeroy, ranking Republican on the House Environment and Energy Committee, issued this statement Monday, December 13, following a press conference in which Gov. Jay Inslee rolled out his climate proposals for the 2022 legislative session: "In his opening remarks, the governor spoke of the dangers of climate change and his concerns about smoke in the Methow Valley because of wildfires, flooding on the Nooksack River that displaced families, destruction of hundreds of t...
I was reading the paper to the cat last week. She tries to keep up on current events, particularly stories about politics and alien landings. We got to a story where a few obscure animal rights groups have called for the nation’s 66 million pet cats to be kept indoors for life. “Why?” asked Miss Kitty. “Well,” I answered, “This says that free roaming cats kill from 8 million to 217 million birds a year in Wisconsin alone.” “My, I had no idea there were that many birds in Wisconsin.” “Ye...