News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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All of the things that went wrong in New Orleans with Hurricane Katrina in 2005 appear to have been corrected with Houston’s recent Hurricane Harvey. Chalk it up to a series of important lessons learned. By now everyone knows that Harvey came ashore from the Gulf of Mexico, dumped a record 51 inches of rain on 22 million people from Corpus Christi to Port Arthur, Texas, and sent thousands to shelters. The hurricane hit Houston, America’s fourth largest city and an urban area which accounts for three percent of our nation’s GDP. It had the m...
Last February, the European Parliament rejected a tax on robots, but took the first steps to regulate their development and deployment. The legislation also aims to establish liability for the actions of robots including self-driving vehicles. Europe’s governing body, while rejecting the tax to be dedicated to worker training, overwhelmingly passed a resolution to study regulating robots. In an interview with Quartz.com, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said he believes that the government should tax companies’ use of robots. That would tem...
When the Economist Magazine reported the price of a Guinness pint could increase because of Brexit, it grabbed readers’ attention. Brexit is the process whereby Great Britain, including Northern Ireland and Scotland, is withdrawing from the European Union. The Republic of Ireland remains with 26 other nations. EU members benefit from a standardized system of laws which allows the free movement of people and goods. Costly border checkpoints were abolished, but because of Brexit, they may be reconstructed between Ireland and Northern Ireland. Whi...
In the last decade, there has been a highway construction boom in Texas. On the other hand, lawmakers in Olympia still scramble to fund road maintenance. Texas, a state with a population of 27 million, is flush with cash thanks partly to a 10-year voter approved initiative which will pump $2 billion a year into highways. Then recently, that state’s legislature added $9 billion to further help relieve traffic congestion. “What’s Texas doing that we aren’t?” The answer is private-public partnerships. Since 2011, the state’s transportat...
Recently, Washington state’s largest environmental, wildlife and natural resources agencies recognized 43 large forest landowners for their “exemplary efforts” to upgrade forest roads and stream crossings which improved salmon habitat and water quality. After investing more than $300 million collectively, these landowners rebuilt 25,000 miles of forest roads, replaced over 6,000 in-stream barriers to migrating fish, and opened in excess of 3,500 miles of previously blocked spawning habitat. The recognition is milestone in collaboration and a re...
“America needs more welders and fewer philosophers,” proclaimed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 presidential campaign. He hit the nail on the head without disrespecting philosophers. Industry News reported in 1988 that there were 570,000 welders, compared to the 360,000 in 2012. Considering the manufacturing and construction sectors have boomed in recent years, the growing shortage of welders is troublesome. Even worse, the American Welding Society estimates a 290,000 job deficit by 2020. This shortage is primarily due to the lar...
Distractive driving goes beyond the law While state lawmakers work to bridge major differences in the budget, they agreed our distractive driving laws need stiffening. Companion bills sponsored by Sen. Ann Rivers (R-LaCenter) and Rep. Jessyn Farrell (D-Seattle) cleared the Legislature. They update current statue, which allows law enforcement officers to stop motorists when they see them driving while using hand-held devices. The new legislation bans using hand-held cellphone and electronic tablets even while waiting for a stoplight to change....
American entrepreneurs’ ability to invent, create and bring products and services to market makes our nation great. Their success generates the tax revenue that fund our schools and puts people to work. Many “big businesses” started in the imaginations of immigrants who came to our country — a place of boundless possibilities. America is a land where your station in life doesn’t matter and where hard work, innovation and perseverance are the keys to success. The story of M&Ms is a good example. Today, the Mars Company is a global giant mar...
A major hurdle for lawmakers in Olympia working to finish the next two-year state budget and adjourn is the so-called “carbon tax.” However, Gov. Jay Inslee wants a first-ever levy on CO2 emissions. While it targets coal and natural gas power plants and manufacturing facilities, everyone will pay more. His proposal is part of a grand plan to raise $5.5 billion in higher taxes. That scheme also includes imposing a new tax on investor’s income and increases existing business and occupation (B&O) tax rates on services. Higher taxes are troublesome...
In 1993, President Bill Clinton was pictured holding a Washington state apple while promoting the virtues of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). That photo only underscored the importance of the agreement and our trade with Mexico and Canada. Washington is the most trade-dependent state in the nation. The Puget Sound Business Journal (PSBJ) reported last November that Washington state exported at least $134.5 billion worth of goods to Canada and Mexico since the agreement was signed. The dust-up over NAFTA focuses on Mexico from...
The late Yogi Berra coined the phrase, “It’s déjà vu all over again!” It is used extensively to describe political miscues. Case in point: ObamaCare. Recently, the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel wrote a column describing President Obama’s failure with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “The vision of the president calling on his party members to — yet again — lay down their political lives for his ‘signature’ law was a reminder of how this disaster began.” Unfortunately, Republicans, who now control Congress and the White House, may be...
Christmas is a difficult time for anyone grieving for lost loved ones. It is especially painful for America’s military families whose son, daughter, spouse or parent was killed while serving in uniform. Normally, the fallen are remembered on Memorial Day, but thanks to a Maine family and over 800,000 donors and volunteers, more than a million wreaths will be laid on the tombstones of our fallen soldiers, sailors and airmen on Dec. 17. The panoramic view of Arlington National Cemetery’s rolling hills, with its white grave markers perfectly align...
In Washington, an abundance of low cost, reliable hydropower spurs economic growth. It is a key reason why energy intensive industries locate here. Today, our nation has a profusion of carbon-based energy. Unlike a decade ago when we relied upon imported natural gas and crude oil, fracking technology put us on the path to be the world’s largest producer of processed petroleum. While fracked gas and oil are a boon to America’s economy, they are a big problem for traditional oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia and Russia. The Wall Street Jou...
It’s D-Day for American voters. With Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump carrying unusually low approval ratings and having a deep antipathy for one another, no matter which one ultimately is elected, the nation will be bitterly polarized. Hopefully, each has a plan to bring us back together after Nov. 8. America thrives on a peaceful transfer of power. It is one of the important traditions which has been handed down since John Adams succeeded George Washington on March 4, 1797. For guidance, Clinton and Trump ought to look to Gerald Ford. F...