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It’s been a tough year for public health. The U.S. is currently facing a particularly harsh influenza season, but this virus represents only one problematic pathogen. Another is the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of pertussis (whooping cough). In December, Vermont declared a pertussis epidemic. Last April, so did Washington state. Both of these infectious diseases have vaccines that can help keep them in check. However, as I discuss in my new book, “Science Left Behind,” myths surrounding vaccines live...
Sometimes I wonder just how much good social media does, or if it’s meant to do good at all. Maybe it’s not meant to do anything. It’s just there. In a way it boils down to how you define good. What kind of outcome do you expect from using social media? If you define good by the re-establishment of long forgotten friendships, connecting with lost relatives, promoting a cause or organization or creating awareness about an issue, well maybe there is some good to be had in social media. You can do some of these through more...
On behalf of the Cheney High School Cross Country program we would like thank the community of Cheney for their support of our 50th annual Turkey Trot Thanks giving morning. There were over 300 walkers, joggers or runners present for this community event that benefits not only the Cheney Food Bank but also our cross country program at Cheney High School. We would like to especially thank Safeway, Mitchell’s Harvest Foods and Cheney Trading Company for turkeys and food donated as door prizes for this event, as well as Jim M...
Training new employees can often be difficult for business owners. The learning curve can be steep and the return on investment minimal, at least at first. Employers sometimes are reluctant to become too heavily invested in employees who either don’t work out, or end up leaving early for another position. A bill under consideration in the Washington Legislature might help employers when it comes to paying new employees. Senate Bill 5275, and the identical House version 1150, would create a training wage for new employees o...
Oral health affects one’s overall well-being. For example: although not the sole cause, gum disease contributes to heart disease. Especially when inflamed, tissues in the mouth can allow bacteria to pass inside the blood stream and eventually accumulate inside cardiac arteries. The byproducts of same types of bacteria cause decay in teeth. Keeping that in mind, it is concluded that an integral part of healthy life is a healthy mouth. We do our best to keep our little ones physically healthy. The oral health of our children i...
My family and I enjoyed the Christmas lights throughout the town. In particular the tree at the library, the decorations downtown and the impressive lights at Cheney Cable TV. Things like this make Cheney a nice place to live. Ralph Laws Cheney...
Let’s all be honest. For half of us, there’s really only one reason to watch the Super Bowl: the commercials. Every year, the who’s who of marketing pull out all the stops, paying around $4 million for just 30 seconds of air time. For the most part, the commercials are lighthearted and fun, seeking to be entertaining while drawing a good return on those millions of dollars. All ages, both adult and children, bask in the humorous, obscure and serious for a few hours in the day. The Super Bowl is more of a family event than...
Trust. It’s a difficult concept to live up to sometimes, and yet it’s one we all value and expect from one another. Trust is especially important when it comes to law enforcement. Those we trust to enforce the law fairly we also trust to be honest, and not break the law themselves. When they break this public trust by lying, acting unethically or illegally it erodes our trust in them, and conversely the law itself. That’s bad for society. Unfortunately we have recent, local examples of unethical misbehavior that were found...
President Obama is a uniquely gifted demagogue. An orator of unparalleled skill supported by a gushing media, Obama has yet to present a major policy proposal geared toward solving specific problems. But he has won elections. And he has done so by implying — over and over and over again — that his opponents are morally deficient. It is truly astonishing just how thin President Barack Obama’s playbook is. Since his re-election, Obama has boiled down that playbook to one play, which he runs with the regularity of a team quarter...
One of the things I continually hear when traveling around the 9th Legislative District is this: “Joe, when are politicians in Olympia going to understand the ‘will of the people’ when it comes to raising taxes?” Unfortunately, my answer is usually this: I wish I knew. Voters have repeatedly told Olympia through the initiative process that they want it difficult – not impossible – to raise taxes. The idea of requiring a two-thirds vote in the Legislature or a vote of the peop...
The Fair Tax Act proposes a tax on all new merchandise and services in place of all income taxes, payroll taxes, corporation taxes, and taxes on dividends, interest, and capital gains. Critics of the act, which proposes a 23 percent inclusive tax, have confused the issue by saying that this law is in reality a 30 percent tax. To clear up this misinformation, consider the following explanation. The 23 percent tax is included in the stated price of each item or service. Thus for a $100 item, $23 goes for taxes, and the...
Ask any event organizer and they’ll tell you that volunteers make things happen; without them, it’s a lost cause. Founder’s Day in Medical Lake is one of those events that relies on volunteers to make it a success each year. As mentioned in last week’s edition, the event is searching for a leader this year. There have been times in the past where community support waned to the point where Founder’s Day disappeared altogether. It all rests on the support found through volunteers and people who cherish their town’s history. Unf...
As professors of sociology and criminology, we would like to say we are pleased that conversations about how to make schools safer are occurring across the nation. Prompted by the tragic shooting of 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., as well as the now-decades long spate of school and campus mass shooters, this dialogue should provide opportunities for those who spend their days with children and youth to share their expertise about what will keep our schools safe. Instead, these...
Two bills making their way through Washington Legislature aim to take away the public’s right to transparent government and review of public decision making. If your city, or the state ever made a decision you questioned, or if you joined a committee to have your city council members or state officials hear your side of a controversy, then write your senator and representative immediately and stop House Bills HB 1128 and HB 1185. Laws on our books protect citizens’ rights to information, RCW 42.56.030 “The People, in deleg...
I’ve recently developed an interest in lists. Actually it’s always been there, starting likely with David Letterman’s show in the 1980s and his top 10. When I lived in Seattle there was “The Lame List,” on a comedy show called “Almost Live” produced by NBC affiliate KING. Check these out on YouTube. Lately, lists about where countries stand in a variety of categories have caught my eye. The most recent is the list of “World’s Happiest Countries” determined through a variety of factors compiled by the London-based think...
Why 23-year-old Joseph Knop broke into the Lake Assembly Church in Medical Lake Jan. 13 and did an estimated $50,000 in damage still remains a mystery. Doors destroyed, shattered glass vases and windows. Electronics and musical instruments ruined and items stolen with church volunteers called upon to put things back in order so that services could resume. Conjecture ranges from Knop being angry at the church where he reportedly attended in his youth to being high on drugs, or both. Knop would later confess to the crime. But b...
When Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina warned on national television over the weekend that Chuck Hagel “would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense toward the state of Israel in our nation’s history,” either his memory served him very poorly — or he was simply lying to smear his former Senate colleague. For whatever Hagel’s perspective on Mideast policy may be, it would be absurd to compare him with the secretary of defense whose hardline hostility toward Israel became notorious during the Reagan admini...
The mainstream media will deny tactics by the Obama administration that includes arrest and execution of our citizens without due process of law. The 2013 National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law on Jan. 2, 2013 by President Obama, allows the arrest and indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens for exercising their rights that are protected by the First Amendment. The Obama administration also maintains it has the authority to secretly target U.S. citizens for execution without even charging them with a...
You know that old saying that there are no dumb questions? It’s not true. I know. As a journalist, I’ve asked my share of stupid questions. Yet even in the context of my own shortcomings, I do not understand what the White House press corps is thinking during what passes for a news conference in the Obama White House. Consider Monday’s news conference. The last presser of President Barack Obama’s first term spanned 53 minutes. Seven reporters asked questions — after Obama called on them as if according to script. In his fa...
bNew Year’s resolutions are a lot like the lotto: you have to play if you want to win. We all know people who make them, both the serious ones and the funny. It’s either about losing weight, becoming more organized, better money management or the attempt to not hear the campy song “Christmas in the Northwest” for the fifth year in a row. Yes, the latter is one of mine for this year. Proactive Change noted that about 40 to 45 percent of Americans make resolutions for the new year. And how many people keep them? Well, around...
There are certain things we come to expect in life, and one of those is when the snow flies, the plows roll. Recent sizeable snowfalls have demonstrated the value of having capable and dedicated street crews ready to get out no matter how treacherous the conditions are getting into work and prepare the roadways for our use. Particularly the crews in Cheney who did impressive work last week clearing the paths from a heavy overnight snowstorm Jan. 6-7. We appreciate that there is an economy of scale when comparing plowing in...
The violence in schools needs to be reduced (nothing involving human interaction can be completely stopped). But the decision on what to do and how to do it rests with you. It’s symptomatic of a dysfunctional government and/or culture to see more violence in schools, not less. Who is personally responsible for these horrific crimes? The parents of the children and the employees of the school district. The killer comes in third. He is being allowed to kill children by extremely fearful parents and school district employees. S...
Having been quick to criticize, I will give credit where it is due. After a nearly two-year struggle with the Veteran’s Administration, I reached out to Senator Murray’s office for help with my disability claim. One of her staff members, a veteran himself pursued my interests like the Marine he is. After contacting her office I received my initial check and back benefits in about two weeks, just in time for the holidays. Financial motivations aside having the designation and recognition as a disabled veteran was well ear...
In the last few weeks, Congress has been focused on keeping taxes from increasing and putting the U.S. government on a sustainable path toward growth and prosperity. Over long days and late nights, including New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, we worked on plans to avert the “fiscal cliff” – automatic tax increases (more than $3,000 for the average family in Eastern Washington) and spending cuts – that economists predicted would push the country back into recession and higher unemployment. The good news is that we didn’t go o...
In a Dec. 31 Associated Press article, Eastern Washington University President Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo said he hoped higher education didn’t turn into the state Legislature’s “rainy-day fund” for solving budget problems. Amen. Unfortunately Arévalo also said he is “pessimistic” about the Legislative session beginning Jan. 14 and its abilities to solve these problems. We share that pessimism. This state has big budget challenges in the coming 2013-15 biennium. The Office of Financial Management predicted a $1 billion defic...
