News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
News, views and advertising of the Grand Coulee Dam Area
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Congratulations. You’ve just lived through one of the most unpredictable years in at least six decades, so you might already be primed to accept a little advice about the coming months: stay loose. The country has had enough political tension in 2025 for each of us to snap a whole box of Sharpies. That’s by design and not something any of us can control, so don’t let it control you. Instead, look for the bright side and the humor in the absurd, right after you decide to do something about it. You’ll live longer and think better when you let...
I intend here to discuss MAGA handmaiden Bari Weiss, the CBS News assassin, and to suggest ways we can combat corporate media corruption. But first I need to share a story from my rookie stint in journalism. You’ll see why. In 1975, while covering the cops in New London, Connecticut, I got a tip the boys in blue had screwed up. The first paragraph of my subsequent piece gives you the gist: “Bank Street was left unguarded by city police early Monday when a break-in occurred at Roberts Electronic. Thieves escaped with an estimated $1600 in ste...
January 1, 1892, fifteen-year-old Anne Moore became the first immigrant to pass through the doors of Ellis Island Immigration Station. Over twelve million more immigrants would follow in Anne’s footsteps. Ellis Island would operate as an immigration station for sixty-two years, sitting in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Immigrants completing their Atlantic Ocean journeys, would disembark at Ellis Island. There, they were screened by doctors for obvious physical ailments, and by officers who reviewed their legal d...
Here are a few reasons I feel foratunate. I appreciate those involved with the Center Senior Living proyject. Looking forward to future updates. Very exciting! Persistence, hope and unwavering commitment pays off for CMC’s Leadership. The $3 million innovative workforce federal funds they received for an on-site “tiny village” to house rural health care workers is necessary and long overdue. Once again, thanks for showing your critical employees they are valued. It’s great to see all incumbents back on the Board after recent elections. They al...
I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives. Serving the Fourth District of Washington has been the honor of my life, and this decision comes with no reservations or remorse, only gratitude for the tremendous opportunity to have represented my home state in Congress. After over 25 years of public service, including more than a decade in the House, I am grateful to the Washingtonians who put their faith in me, as well as the colleagues I have served with on both sides of the aisle. Public service takes...
The Holiday Season is an especially tough time for anyone grieving lost loved ones. Evergreen wreaths placed on veterans’ graves across America help to ease that pain. On Dec. 13, an ISIS shooter killed two members of the Iowa National Guard and their American interpreter while they were serving in Syria, causing another tragic loss. More than 3.1 million red-ribboned wreaths were placed by thousands of volunteers, including many family members, on December 13. Those wreaths are made from clippings of balsam firs dedicated to deceased v...
The Northeast was blanketed with snow last weekend, and I loved it — because I love how snow humbles us. When it snows in my hometown of Pittsburgh, people pour out into the streets. We shovel sidewalks and driveways, invigorated by the crisp air and the physical work. We sip hot coffee as we enjoy cheerful conversations with neighbors. Snow still fills me with the same joy I felt as a boy when school was canceled. I still feel the urge to grab my Flexible Flyer sled and head for the steepest hill I can find — just to laugh like a kid aga...
December 25, 1830, the first regularly scheduled steam locomotive passenger train in the United States occurred. It was called the “Best Friend of Charleston,” and its initial run was six miles of track of the South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company. The new line was designed to make Charleston competitive with Savannah, Georgia, in the cotton trade. For the next three years the South Carolina Canal & Railroad Company became the world’s longest railway line – for a time. The company was a predecessor to J.P. Morgan’s Southern Railway Company t...
Given all the political drama that has saturated the nation the last few years, it should hardly come as a revelation the heated rhetoric dominating the public discourse has alarmed many Americans. A Gallup poll released December 3 revealed a majority of voters of the nation’s two major political parties believe acerbic, inflammatory criticism and vile, cruel political language has gone too far. Not surprisingly, voters on either side of the political spectrum are more inclined to believe the opposing party has been more extreme in spouting suc...
Do you yearn for a president who is not cruel, vindictive, racist, hateful, a liar, corrupt, a convicted felon, and a wannabe dictator, and for a Congress not typified by our own MAGA toady Republican Michael Baumgartner? Do you yearn for someone like Barack Obama who, in fact, is currently trying to save our democracy? Then let’s get him to run in 2026 for a House seat currently held by a Republican — there are three in Obama’s home state of Illinois. John Quincy Adams (1767 – 1848; 6th US president 1825 -1829) is the only president ever to...
Tracing my wife’s father turned up a lot of mysteries. He was born in 1882 in Kentucky, near the Land Between the Lakes. His name was James Oscar Compton. When he was 16, he left home after some disagreement with his father and headed west. Next, I picked up that he settled in Missouri for a time, long enough to get married and have two children, Richard and Clara. Upon the death of his wife, he headed west again, leaving the children with their grandparents. He stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho, and four years later married my wife’s mom. The det...
December 18, 1865, the 13th Amendment was adopted as part of the United States Constitution. The amendment officially abolished slavery and immediately freed more than 100,000 enslaved people – from Kentucky to Delaware. Within five years, Congress passed both the 14th and 15th Amendments. These amendments are the most contested in courts today. Two years prior to the 13th Amendment, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. It declared all slaves held captive in the states who’d rebelled (the Confederacy) against the United Sta...
For nearly a year now, state officials have been wrestling with a surprisingly difficult question: where do you put a 4-ton bronze Marcus Whitman? The statue, which occupies the north portico of the Washington state Capitol, is so heavy it threatens the integrity of the building. Moving it outside exposes it to the weather and vandalism. Finding a new indoor space requires costly structural engineering. And placing it next to the forthcoming statue of Billy Frank Jr. is appropriately off the...
I have always liked places where there wasn’t a lot of people. I think it is in our family DNA. I remember a few places where this showed up. We were in Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. We were taking a few days R and R. My wife would be returning home in a couple of days and I would leave for Japan. The beaches were so crowded that you couldn’t enjoy them, so we rented a car and took off to find our own beach. Less than an hour’s drive later, we made our way through some palms and brush and we found our beach. It was a strip of sand about 30 fee...
As we finish the 2026 Lincoln County budget, the same themes I’ve consistently written about continue to be front and center: the 1% property-tax cap, runaway insurance costs, unfunded mandates, and a revenue system that simply can’t keep pace with reality. Washington law limits counties to a 1% increase in property-tax collections each year. That may have sounded reasonable back in 2001, but 1% doesn’t keep up when inflation as wages, utilities, equipment, and basic operating costs rise 5–10% annually. In 2026, that 1% increase, will generate...
December 15, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified by a newly formed nation, the United States of America. Our Bill of Rights was influenced and draws inspiration from the Magna Carta (1215), and the English Bill of Rights (1689). George Mason’s Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776) formed the basis of the amendments that comprise the ratified Bill of Rights. The application of the rights addressed in the first ten amendments continue to create contention. The nation’s U.S. Supreme Court, has the power to declare a law unconstitutional tha...
Washington state has ambitious renewable energy goals. But as we transition away from fossil fuels, energy demand will increase as we electrify our lives and as energy-intensive industries proliferate. This complicates our state’s path to decarbonization. As part of the transition, solar energy in Washington could cover tens of thousands — possibly hundreds of thousands — of acres in the coming years. Where all those solar panels go is a serious question. Rooftop solar is great. However, the most ambitious estimates show that, at best, it wo...
We have had our first spit of snow. It was welcomed by some and dreaded by others. I am on the dreaded side. My record with snow is not good. I just don’t like it. Luckily, I am at that stage in life where I don’t have to go anywhere. So I can smile and say, “Let it snow.” I’ve had a number of mishaps or near mishaps in snow. Coming home to Palouse from southern Idaho when my father died, I slid off the road and had a difficult time getting one chain on as my wife held a flashlight so I could see. One chain did it that time. Another time, we...
If my body were a temple, the bricks would be glued together with Cheez Whiz. Okay, so sometimes I eat radishes and kale in between almost never-ending portions of hamburgers and leftover Chinese food. But the leftovers run out from time to time. Hence, I rely on the radishes. My idea of a balanced diet is a large Coke in each hand. But that changed when my sister told me about the 75 Hard Challenge. The rules are simple enough. You have to do two 45-minute workouts a day, eat healthy, drink a gallon of water, and read 10 pages of a...
December 9, 2015, article by Roger Lucas addressed the Bureau of Reclamation’s new EUV’s (electric utility vehicles). “The vehicles are supposed to have a battery capacity of 50 hours and are now running out of power after only 15. It had been estimated that the battery-powered vehicles would save the government about $110,000 in fuel costs alone, as they would be recharged with electricity produced at Grand Coulee Dam. “The contract for the 27 EUV’s was for $900,000 including maintenance. The fleet of the white mini-vehicles have been acti...
President George W. Bush’s eulogy of Dick Cheney, his vice president, brought back memories of a kinder, gentler America — a time when those elected to office did what was best for our country not their political party. Bush reassuring words came after an unthinkable government shutdown (39 days) which paralyzed essential functions and threatened to stop flights during our country’s busiest travel time — Thanksgiving. The shutdown underscored how angry and bitterly divided our nation is today. The old adage “Don’t personalize difference” has be...
I would like to comment on the theater in Coulee Dam. I understand that Coulee Dam is cancelling their lease. It seems like Coulee Dam finally, after years of an empty, useless space, has something positive to offer families in the area, as well as tourists. This includes more than just movies or even movies and a snack bar. It has turned into an all-around entertainment center, offering different forms of educational programs, free matinees and live entertainment, along with an arcade and other fun activities. A lot of new equipment has been...
The only grandparent I knew and remember was my mother’s mom. She immigrated from Norway in the 1880s. She settled in Minneapolis where my mom was born an only child. My grandmother, Mary Peterson, came west to Palouse with my parents and my three brothers and sister in 1929. I was born the next year in Palouse. My grandmother lived with us and never bothered to learn English. She held on to her old ways, so my memory of her is rather slim. It took me a very long time — and I had the help of my oldest daughter, Kathy — to help unlock some...
We are a nation that celebrates with food. Birthdays are synonymous with cake and ice cream. Easter is all about eggs and chocolate. Halloween is everyone’s favorite day for candy (or potatoes if you swing by the Washington State Potato Commission Executive Director’s home). But the ultimate in food-related holidays is Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving, Americans will consume about 46 million turkeys, about 77 million hams, about 250 million pounds of potatoes, about 50 million pounds of sweet potatoes, and about 40 million rolls to celebrate the...
November 26, 1883, Sojourner Truth, women’s rights advocate, preacher and abolitionist died in Battle Creek, Michigan. She was born into slavery in Ulster, New York. The date of her birth is uncertain, sometime around 1797. Sojourner was bought and sold four times, escaped slavery in 1826 as her “owner” failed to fulfill a promise to free her before the date mandated by New York law. At the Women’s Rights Convention held in Akron, Ohio in 1851, she said. “I have plowed, I have planted and I have gathered into barns. And no man could head me....
