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The owners of a mid-sized manufacturing plant in a nearby small town were ready to retire, but no one in the next generation was interested in taking over. The plant was sold to an out-of-state buyer with no local ties. The business was profitable, but the new owners chose to merge operations and close the local plant. The story is familiar in small towns. Is there an alternative? I think so. Worker-owned co-ops and employee stock ownership plans could offer another path forward for these businesses. Rural people have a long...
I would like to thank ALL the voters in the Feb. 14 Cheney School District Bond. The school board in their ads, in the Cheney Free Press and the general mailing (‘Connections”), chose to thank only those who voted approval instead of ALL the taxpayers. We ALL have to pay for the $52 million bond, property owners, renters and businesses. Of the just over 19,000 ballots sent out, 4,041 voted to approve. That is about 21 percent of the total registered voters. I can’t help but wonder, if that 21 percent had to pay for all of th...
There is a growing issue in our community surrounding abandoned cats that requires our thoughtful consideration. Every year, after Eastern Washington University’s spring quarter ends, when students go back to their homes, pets are left behind to fend for themselves. These animals are forced to seek food from kind homeowners or they try to feed from garbage cans and dumpsters. These animals have not been spayed or neutered, resulting in more animals and this cycle continues unabated. Most of us have seen these animals in o...
Bernie Sanders was our favorite candidate. He championed the working class, unjustly left behind by huge wealth inequality, by parroting policies that originally solved this problem while facilitating 1930s Great Depression recovery. But Donald Trump is dangerous, as shown by his continual attacks on our fundamental democratic institutions. Also, distrust of his purported working class advocacy has proven justified. So we naturally voted for Hillary Clinton, displaying “Hillary for America” bumper stickers to be removed sho...
As he tells a doctor that things look good, that it’s time to “close up,” and unmasks, it is discovered that the person in the ad is “Not Dr. Stewart.” To which the actor replies, “No, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night.” He leaves the room populated with people shaking their heads in wonder and puzzlement. It was the perfect segue to have some discussion, and maybe offer a few thoughts on treatment of the latest strain of “Presidential Derangement Syn...
There is a bill currently in the Legislature that would change the duration and some of the procedures when it comes to sexual assault protection orders issued in Washington state. House Bill 1384 would allow courts to issue permanent protection orders for victims of sexual assault. In cases where a permanent protection order is not issued, the bill allows courts to renew the order unless the perpetrator can prove they will not attempt to contact the victim after the order expires. The third part of the bill establishes...
Our state representatives Jeff Holy and Mike Volz of the 6th District, both Republicans, held a town hall meeting in Spokane on March 11. The majority of the questions were posed by articulate and enthusiastic teachers in the area, many from Cheney and Medical Lake. Our representatives assured the attendees that the authority of the federal Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, would not impact education in Washington State. Volz said in response to a question about vouchers undermining public education, “What they do at t...
President Donald Trump likes to be known for his deal-making, and now he has the opportunity to make deals that can impact world peace and security, not just real estate or other business deals for his profit. North Korea would be a great place to start. Former President Barack Obama described North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programs as the most pressing international security problem when he briefed Trump just before leaving office. Obama, who scored impressive diplomatic successes with the Iran nuclear a...
In 2003, Gov. Gary Locke (D) faced a 10 percent revenue hole in the state’s budget. He also stared at a sluggish economy still reeling from the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. People were reluctant to fly and airlines stopped buying Boeing jets. Locke faced either recommending substantial tax increases or finding a new way to allocate state tax revenues. He turned to Minnesota’s former commissioner of finance, Peter Hutchinson, who helped his governor balance the budget by...
Sometimes things come to your attention that you feel the need to comment on, but don’t want to say too much. To provide a means of expressing these sentiments, whether it’s a good job to somebody or a “Come on man” as the popular ESPN segment goes, the Cheney Free Press has started a “Cheers and Jeers” space on our Opinion pages. It’s pretty simple to use, and we encourage you to do so. It can be something or someone who you feel should get a little community recognition for doing something positive. It can be the same thing...
As lawmakers in Olympia inch toward adjournment, they must keep in mind the total added costs of new taxes on our state’s economy. It is not just about the taxes and fees they impose. They are working against an April 23 deadline to enact a two-year financial plan and find sufficient funding for it. Unlike Congress, states must balance their budgets. While the funding decisions are generally contentious, this year legislative tension is high because Gov. Jay Inslee (D) and l...
By the time this column hits newsstands or your mailbox, I will have celebrated my 32nd birthday. Turning 32 years old isn’t as grand as hitting the 16-, 18-, 21-, or 30-year-old milestones, but I like to think of every birthday as a special occasion to celebrate with friends over some good food and adult beverages. It’s also a time where I like to reflect on the changes — good and bad — that have come my way over the years and look back at how my perception has changed on certain issues. As the late, great Muhammad Ali sai...
Two bills pertaining to alcohol consumption while driving are weaving their way down the highway in the Washington State Legislature. Senate Bill 5037 would drop from five to four the number of driving under the influence infractions to finally be charged with a felony. And House Bill 1874 lowers the legal blood alcohol limit from the current .08 to .05. At last check SB 5037 had moved to the House for consideration and HB 1874 never made it out of committee and its future for this session is uncertain. The Cheney Free Press...
I appreciate that the paper published an article about the change in the snow plowing ordinance, evidently in quick order. I appreciate the fact that this winter was not normal, seeing we’ve had more snow than usual and the coldest temperatures in nearly 40 years. I also appreciate that the (Cheney) City Council and Police Department want the streets as clear as possible for the safety of vehicles on the road. However, I seriously wonder if the new ordinance won’t lead directly to greater non-compliance of the ordinance. Thi...
I found the recent article describing changes that the Cheney police department has proposed in order to enhance future snow removal (“Cheney changes plowing ordinance,” 2/16) to be interesting as it suggests that safe pedestrian travel is a priority. My experience as a pedestrian during the winter in Cheney has been quite the opposite. If there is an ordinance that compels homeowners to clear their sidewalks, it is not enforced. Many sidewalks have just thawed, having been snow covered since early December, and some of tho...
There’s a concise, straight forward answer to Mr. Delaney’s 2/23/17 op-ed question, “Is freedom of the press really the issue here?” The answer is yes! Mr. Delaney obfuscates the issue with tired conservative arguments and laments, but when the President of the United States says that the nation’s news media is the “enemy of the American people,” then you’re darned right freedom of the press, and the First Amendment broadly is the issue. I agree with what Will McRaven, a retired Navy admiral and University of Texas system ch...
We are an angry society. Not all of us, but a lot of us sure seem to be upset at something or someone or both at some point in time for some reason or reasons. I don’t understand why we have so much vehemence towards people, places and things that likely haven’t really done anything to harm us, but we do. This isn’t a recent phenomena. It’s been building for years, it’s just that now this anger seems to have permeated much of our culture. A florist in Pasco gets angry about being asked to sell flowers to a gay couple fo...
Remember the old saying: Hindsight is 20-20? If only Washington voters had followed Gov. Albert Rosellini’s tolling plan to build, maintain and replace our state’s major bridges, we would have replacement funds today. Now, lawmakers in Olympia are scrambling to find the billions needed for the new I-5 bridge connecting Vancouver and Portland. Predictably, tolling needs to be included in the funding scheme, but it is still a political hot button. Rosellini, the Seattle Dem...
Last week Rose Kline reminded me of her earlier rants against President Trump going back at least to August 2016. Norm Luther also reminded me of his past efforts. I do not know either of these two, but do know that Norm is a longtime Democrat operative who routinely mails multiple copies of his efforts to local Eastern Washington newspapers. In Rose’s letter, I noted 17 slurs, opinions and charges made against the president. Of those, at least three are demonstratively incorrect (Muslim ban, Israel, Australia) and at l...
As thanks is given to voters for the successful passage of the Cheney School District $52 million bond for schools (Feb. 14), I hope gratitude will extend to Bill and Sue Johns who passionately expressed — at their own expense — cost saving ideas regarding this bond and its predecessor in 2015. The Johns were not the only voices offering different opinions but they were faithful to highlight cost considerations. Cheney taxpayers are now responsible for $131 million ($79 million in 2010, $52 million in 2017) in school bon...
Do you value your public lands? Our public lands are a part of our American identity. They provide vital sustenance for fish and wildlife and for people. Do you remember your first visit to Mount Rainier? How awesome was that? How about to Turnbull National Wildlife Refuge? I remember both. My first trip to Turnbull was in the fall when flocks of tundra swan were flying over, whooping and circling to come in for a landing on the Pine Lakes. The image is in my head as if it were yesterday, though 43 years have passed. You...
A “friend’s” Facebook post recently made a plea to “Hug a journalist today! There’s a reason Freedom of the Press is the FIRST Amendment to our Constitution. Stand up for that freedom and don’t let anyone try to take it away from us!” It was accompanied by a graphic to “Stand for press freedom,” an obvious hint that somehow recently — after Jan. 20 I’m guessing — the media in this country is being persecuted or censored and fears losing its First Amendment rights. Seems...
Some thoughts, now that the Cheney School District’s $52 million capital facilities bond has passed. As of Feb. 21, the bond had received 61.08 percent approval, needing just 60 percent to pass. According to the Spokane County Elections website, just 25 ballots remained to be counted, with the next count coming Feb. 23. It would take roughly 71 no votes to turn that 60 percent approval into 59.99 percent, thus failing the bond. Not likely to happen. So, what has happened? The good news for students, parents and district s...
Recently, some of America’s most respected statesmen announced a different strategy to reducing carbon pollution — one which is based on incentives as opposed to penalties. Believing that carrots work better than sticks, the Climate Leadership Council (CLC) announced a new plan to enact a federal tax on carbon emissions with an accompanying payment program to U.S. citizens. The centerpiece is a “carbon dividend” which, as they put it, would increase the disposable income...
Sometimes a trial balloon on an idea should be floated, and this is one of those from the Cheney Free Press editorial board. This balloon is labeled as follows: What would happen if the eligibility age for Medicare was dropped from 65 to 60? Granted there are many factors to Medicare eligibility, not just age, and there are four different parts. But just for the sake of discussion, what if it was just a blanket reduction in age to 60, with all else remaining the same? And what about moving the retirement age up too, making...
