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I don’t understand the rules. If a man or woman puts their hands on me, against my wishes, does status allow this? Is this a ‘perk’ of being an important personage like Dr. Lutz? Spokane Councilman Breann Biggs says that even knowing what he knows, he would not have voted to fire Dr. Lutz. When would he have voted for firing? How much does he countenance? Fifty percent of voters are women, Councilman. What ‘perks’ do you think your elected position allows? Michael Dunn, Superintendent of ESD 101, argues that Lutz’s fi...
The people that deserve the most suspicion are the ones who lie the most. The people who lie the most are salespeople. Not all salespeople lie, but the honest ones are hard to find. Who is the most famous salesman in the United States today? When a salesman makes some kind of claim, the first thing you should ask him is “Can you show me some evidence that your claim is true?” If he does not show you evidence and just says things like “Everybody knows this is true,” the smart thing to do is to keep your money and walk away. A...
Regardless of a person’s political views, we can all agree that rising cost is a major problem with our health care system. Last year, Americans spent 18 percent of our economy, or $3.6 trillion, on health care. The ever-increasing cost curve would suggest that by the 2030s the country will spend 30 percent of our gross domestic product on medical treatments. Extensive research has been done to identify unnecessary care and wastefulness in the system. Estimates vary, but from 20 percent to 30 percent of health care in the U...
It’s been a difficult year for us all. I know that’s an understatement. But methinks I shouldn’t have to go into many details to explain why. Unfortunately, those reasons are still all around us. It’s said hard times bring out the best and worst in people. I’ve come to see the truth in that first-hand, and — put mildly — it’s disheartening. I’ve seen people come together as a community to support each other, and I’ve seen people who talk about the need for community support refusing to do so by undertaking the sim...
Are you not tired of elections? If not then here comes another new special election on Feb. 9, 2021. This one is to raise your taxes for the Cheney School District. The last year of collection for the 3 year O&M(EP&O) Levy and two-year capital projects levy is 2021. The authority to collect a new levy against our property in 2022, 2023 and 2024 is therefore requiring a new approval thru a vote. The existing capital projects levy was for specific projects which should be completed. This levy was not meant to be continual like...
One of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century is dealing with the progress of the 20th Century — especially old computers, monitors, cellular phones and televisions. These appliances depend on hazardous materials, such as mercury, to operate. After a five-to-eight year useful life, many are tossed into dumpsters and sent to landfills where those hazardous materials can leach into the soil, streams and groundwater. That was the opening paragraph of a column I wrote 20 y...
Imagine you’re traveling out of state to visit family. When you’re 15 minutes from grandma’s house, you decide to let her know you’ll be arriving soon. For some reason, your mobile phone doesn’t connect. So you stop at a payphone to call your phone provider. They tell you they shut off your service because you entered a new state. This scenario may seem absurd. But it’s an apt analogy for the regulatory regime governing many U.S. doctors. Telemedicine technology made it easier for physicians to provide care from afar. But t...
Finally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared Boeing’s revamped 737MAX to return to service and Seattle Times aviation writer, Dominic Gates, reports its first flight is scheduled for Dec. 29. The FAA, which had been critical of Boeing, expects other foreign aviation authorities to lift the grounding by early 2021. That’s not only good news for Boeing, but its workers and suppliers, especially those in Washington. Our state has been the hub of the company’s airpl...
Ever since I was lucky enough to become the Executive Director at the WIAA, I’ve told our staff and membership that we are in the memory-making business. Those memories can be made in any town, large or small, in any sport or activity, at a mid-week practice, a senior night, or a State Championship final. As a former coach and teacher, I had the opportunity to be a part of those memories and I’ve seen firsthand that high school is defined as much by what you learn outside of the classroom as what you learn in it. Coaches and...
I’ve been reading my grandfather’s diary. For the year 1943. Grandpa McCallum was a chaplain with a U.S. Army unit in the South Pacific. It’s a role I have always found interesting — men and women of peace operating during a time of war. His diary is sparse, given it’s only 3.5 inches by 6 inches and limited to one page per day. Not a lot of room to elaborate on events. Or provide personal insights, editorialize fears, hopes. Still, what’s said is illuminating. Jan. 1 finds him in New Caledonia, waiting with other units...
With only a few months left in his first term, President Trump is trying to make good on his campaign promise to lower drug prices. He has signed an executive order directing Medicare to tie reimbursements for most medicines to the lowest prices paid in other developed countries. This “foreign reference pricing,” if implemented, would purportedly give Americans cheaper drugs. But it would stifle biomedical research, leaving valuable new therapies undiscovered and dashing the hopes of patients whose conditions lack an eff...
It’s no secret that airlines and airplane manufacturers have been clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly hard hit are international flights traditionally flown by jumbo jets. Borders are closed and people aren’t flying. There is a small silver-lining. Just as restaurants started take-out service to survive, airlines are filling planes with freight. U.S. airlines are reeling from the pandemic and have lost more than $20 billion combined in the last two quarters. Ev...
If we can provide it, maybe we should return to polling place voting Over the last few months, all eyes have been on Washington’s 16-year-old vote-by-mail system. National media has been holding it up as an example of what should become the norm nationwide. But should it? Yes, we have fastidious local election employees resolving problems. And yes, we have years of experience making vote-by-mail work. But the nation isn’t ready for all-mail elections, whether it’s our system or another state’s. Simply put, voting by mail ap...
CHENEY – City officials are predicting some revenue shortfalls in the Public Works Department in 2021, specifically in the building, planning and street departments. In a budget presentation at the City Council’s Oct. 27 meeting, Public Works Director Todd Ableman also said the system development charge normally instituted to support water and wastewater is low because of a decrease in construction this past year. “They’re not coming in as what we predicted in 2020, however that’s not part of O&M (operation and maintenan...
Having watched most of this past week’s Spokane Regional Health District Board of Directors meeting, I was dismayed when the vote was taken to terminate Dr. Bob Lutz’s employment with the District. It seemed obvious to me that both Dr. Lutz and Chief Administrative Officer Clark mishandled their professional relationship with one another. It also seemed obvious that Clark did not follow proper human resources protocols in seeking to resolve the issues she had with Dr. Lutz. In her testimony to the Board, Ms. Clark adm...
Diversity in the ranks has been the lifeline of our all-volunteer military, but it wasn’t always that way. As we celebrate Veterans Day, we ought to be thankful for all of the men and women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who put their lives in harm’s way to protect our freedoms and make safe our way of life. When my father was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II, our military was segregated. That lasted until 1948 when President Harry Truman signed Executive...
Last Friday, Oct. 30, it looked like Halloween 2020 would not yet be another victim of Covid-19 as hundreds of happy children and (relieved) parents drove around Cheney collecting candy. More than 20 CMA-member (Cheney Merchants Association) businesses and individuals participated in this holiday event. Some were in costume; others were not but all who joined in (as giver or getter) had a wonderful and safe time celebrating Halloween. Whether or not this becomes a new tradition to Cheney, it was rewarding to see how many of...
COVID-19 is taking a serious toll on chronically ill Americans, particularly those with severe neurological conditions. Bipolar disorder and schizophrenia-related brain illnesses increase the risk of contracting and recovering from coronavirus. Unfortunately, a recently finalized rule from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services could make it even more difficult for these vulnerable Americans. The rule gives health insurers more flexibility in how they calculate patients’ out-of-pocket expenses. If insurers e...
This month, President Trump signed an executive order to reduce Medicare spending on prescription drugs. For each medication, Medicare will pay no more than the lowest price available in other developed countries. President Trump has been true to his campaign promises. I voted for him in 2016, and will again in 2020. However, in this case, the administration identified the right problem, but chose the wrong solution. Drugs cost less in other nations for one simple reason — their government-run health systems impose price c...
If there is one lesson that the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing global economic recession have taught us, it is that we live in a world that is so interconnected and inextricably interdependent that it has effectively become a single organism. This is a reality that no amount of denial will change. On the contrary, such denial will only cause us to suffer more intensely. We will be better off if we fully recognize and embrace this reality. It is worth pondering what acceptance of this reality means. Two thoughts come to...
A couple of years ago, a major regional medical clinic leader announced his support for a local tax hike to beef up the city’s police force and provide cops with better training and capabilities. His rational was two-fold: the Clinic needed police to augment its security and good public safety attracted the best staff. Any realtor will tell you people want good schools and safe neighborhoods. They want police who can respond quickly to emergency calls and investigate c...
I have a couple basic rules regarding who I vote for. It has nothing to do with their political party. First rule: Never vote for a president who won’t show his tax returns, or who is secretly supported by our enemies (FYI: Russia is our enemy and has been so since WWII. I learned that in high school history class). Second rule: Never vote for a politician who didn’t graduate from high school. Trump and Culp are therefore eliminated as far as I’m concerned. Greg James Mercer Island...
The stock market has largely rebounded from COVID-19 and American retail sales are improving steadily. Even more encouraging is that the U.S. unemployment rate fell for the fifth consecutive month in September. Each of these gains are sure signs that the Trump administration’s economic response to the coronavirus crisis is working. But we are not out of the woods quite yet. Many factories and offices are still closed or operating at reduced capacity. Fortunately, the Trump administration is working to boost U.S. exports by h...
President Donald Trump just signed a new executive order to reform our healthcare system. While his desire to lower costs for patients is appropriate, the proposed changes would do more harm than good. The new “most-favored-nation” executive order would tie Medicare payments for certain medicines to the lowest price paid in other foreign nations. While this would result in some modest and short-term government savings, it would also have disastrous consequences for American patients and severely restrict the discovery of new...
I’ve lived in two exclusive vote-by-mail states during my time as an eligible voter. My first ballot ever cast was via the mailbox in Oregon. There the ballots are due in the hands of election officials by 8 p.m. on election night to be counted. Now living in Washington, I’ve trained myself not to worry about election results until the Friday following election day due to the state’s postmark deadline eligibility for ballots. I’ve often wondered how the country would react to...
