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Carbon dioxide is the thermostat of earth’s atmosphere. That was demonstrated by John Tyndall, a British physicist, in experiments done in his laboratory in the 1850s. Using a relatively simple apparatus he showed infrared radiation (heat) passes through oxygen and nitrogen gases unimpeded, whereas carbon dioxide, even in low concentrations, absorbs heat. Light energy from the sun (a spectrum of wavelengths) passes to the earth’s surface with little absorption, bringing the energy that is transformed into heat at the ear...
My moniker for this president is Desperate Donald. Now the Mueller report shows the moniker is a good one: It tells us that Trump went bonkers, fearing Mueller’s appointment spelled “the end of my presidency.” In June 2017 Trump told the White House counsel, Don McGahn, to fire Mueller. McGahn refused. Other attempts by Trump to get subordinates to undermine Mueller’s work also failed, the report shows. Publicly, Trump sought to debunk the Russia investigation on an almost daily basis; 1,100 times, to be exact (accord...
By ANDREW MEYERS and TOM VANDER ARK Contributors Lyft recently announced that it would be going public. Uber isn’t far behind. In little more than a decade, the two companies have upended the transportation sector -- and transformed how we think about both transportation and work. If only we could bring that sort of innovation to our nation’s education sector. American schools have scarcely evolved since the days of the horse and buggy. Our educational system incentivizes memorization and rote learning in the age of Goo...
Our state Legislature has accomplished all their goals. They have outlawed eyeball tattoos, enacted the biggest budget increase in history, raised the price of gasoline, and enabled the worst school funding debacle since statehood. Having done all this with time to spare, they recently voted to change the amount of available daylight. As I understand the logic, too many people get confused during the change from daylight savings to standard time, so we should quit changing. Making daylight savings time permanent would give us...
Big headlines announce one in 12 Spokane teachers may lose their jobs. Those who follow my column may remember last fall when the Legislature poured money into K-12 education statewide, I said it would do little, if anything, to improve classroom education. As predicted, the first in line to grab the money was the teachers’ union. I blamed the State Supreme Court for mucking around in areas beyond their expertise. I blamed the Legislature, recently unconstrained by a conservative majority in either house, for pouring money w...
Before the ever turning news cycle moves on spotlight-fashion to the next attention-consuming item, some thoughts on the April 15 fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. First, despite early fears, a lot of the 850-year-old Gothic masterpiece of architectural, cultural and religious importance is intact and capable of being salvaged. The organ and most associated pipes are safe, along with much of the stained glass in the building, including the Rose Windows from the 13th century. In fact, video posted on CNN Tuesday from...
If you have been reading the Cheney Free Press with any kind of regularity, you will have noticed something troubling. At least it’s troubling to me. In the last year, especially the last six months, Cheney has had to say goodbye to some people that have really made a difference in our community. There are people that reside in Cheney, and then again, there are people that “live” in Cheney. We have lost so many that have made this community what it is today, and I worry that there won’t be anyone to step up and take their p...
I would like to thank Paul and Martha Harris, for helping us in a dire time of need. Very recently my father passed away and a few days later our pump broke. It was very overwhelming, for my family and I. We didn’t think we could make it through everything, but when Martha started to help us, it helped us see that it was possible to make it through it. She and her husband Paul both helped organize something to help us a lot. One of Paul’s good friends, Dick and Kyle Swegle, helped us to get our pump back up and working. Our...
By SHANNEN TALBOT Staff Reporter March was fraught with conflict for educators and parents across the county when the U.S Office of Management and Budget proposed the elimination of nearly $18 million in Special Olympics funding. Lights. Smile. Curtain up. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos defended the budged on Capitol Hill, even though the billionaire personally donated to the organization. A massive public outcry ensued despite the slim chance that Congress would approve such a move, and following the potential public...
My heart goes out to the children who are caught up in our adult problems: migrant children separated from families and abused at the southern border; Palestinian children in Israeli jails and in the March of Return, Nigerian girls kidnapped from their schools; Yemeni and Syrian children starving and dying from blockades and airstrikes and American children at Sandyhook and Parkland schools, to name a few recent massacres in our country. Of course, with the present administration, more American children may go without food...
Yippeee! I finished my taxes. I was concerned after the media horror stories of taxpayers who expected considerable refunds only to discover they owed thousands to the IRS. I didn’t know what to expect. I was happy to discover my small refund was approximately the same as I have received for the last 10 years or so. I guess those horror stories were rare exceptions broadcast for shock effect. After I electronically submitted my return, I did some quick calculations and was a bit surprised that I paid just under 10 percent o...
Recently I learned that the Washington State Patrol has added additional officers, and resources to Gov. Inslee’s protection detail because of his presidential campaign. This begs the question of why we the citizens of Washington should subsidize the cost of our governor running for another office. The people of Washington elected him to serve as our governor and to conduct the business of our state. Even if no state resources are being used for his campaign, he cannot devote his entire attention to the needs of our state, as...
Trustworthy is the PACE character trait for April. As a former school counselor and now teacher, I’ve learned a lot about trustworthiness working with students and families. To be trustworthy means to be someone that others can trust and count on to be reliable. Trustworthiness is essential for healthy relationships including your relationships at school, work, at home and in the community. Being able to place trust in a person means that you have faith that they will follow through on a responsibility or keep something safe....
Our democracy has become dysfunctional, and it’s all part of the sideshow of distraction. Meanwhile, special interests — read moneyed interests — have taken over the legislative decision-making processes that are intended for all, not just for the wealthy few. I was privileged to serve as a legislative intern during the financially desperate 2010 Washington state legislative session. Revenue forecasts at the time were in the red in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisi...
Medical Lake Dollars for Scholars raised over $15,000 at last week’s Spring Thing dinner/dance/auction. This includes $6,000 toward matching grant funds which will provide additional four-year scholarships to be awarded this June. To all the many individuals and businesses that donated goods and services, a sincere “thank you” for your support. And to the dozens of people from the community who attended and were so generous with your bids and purchases, your support is so critical for your sons and daughters future succe...
It an be tempting to write negative letters complaining about the issues we currently face in America. I would much rather share a bright spot in our community and the next generation. Cheney School bands are doing a wonderful job instructing our kids in music, teamwork, responsibility and excellence. We just returned from a very successful trip to the annual Buddy DeFranco Jazz Festival in Missoula, Mont. This year, one of our high school students took home an award for excellent musicianship in sax performance, and the...
The Trump administration is working to slow down the implementation of a major international environmental regulation that’s set to take effect in 2020. The administration hopes that the effort will ease the compliance burden on businesses by phasing in the rules gradually, rather than all at once. Counter intuitively, phasing in the regulation could raise costs on American consumers, rather than reduce costs as the administration intends. It’s smarter to let the rules go into effect as scheduled. The regulation was iss...
I would like to thank those who responded and helped my husband at the incident where my husband passed away last Wednesday, March 20. All emergency responders, all at Cheney Middle School, Cheney high teachers Mr. Marsh and Mr. Scarcello; Brad the 911 operator/dispatcher, Sheriff Deputy Truman, Captain Dustin Flock of Spokane County Fire District 3, District 3 Chaplin Ben Hill, Mike Rossey at Cheney Funeral Chapel, Cheney Public School transportation especially Melanie who drives bus route 59 and my sister Esther Hart,...
Before our country, in haste, dives totally into renewable energy, we must carefully evaluate its impacts. By just focusing on eliminating natural gas, liquid fuels (gasoline and diesel) and coal to combat climate change, we ignore the effects of other forms of pollution generated by processes in which renewable energy components are made. Under the Green New Deal, the United States would become 100 percent reliant on renewable energy in a decade and eliminate CO2 producing...
I was tired of shoveling snow the other day and needed some comic relief, so I decided to read the most recent newsletters sent out by my state representative. Finding out what is happening at our state capitol is challenging. I usually start with the newsletters, then Google for more details. If you don’t get these newsletters, you should. Your representative’s office will gladly add you to their email list. Then you, too, will have something to break up the monotony of late winter. As our governor has been reborn as the...
How times have changed! Current Democratic presidential candidates’ proposed policies labeled “extreme” by Republicans today were actively mainstream when I was young. Examples: 70 percent income tax on the highest bracket. It was over 90 percent throughout Republican President Eisenhower’s 1953-1961 term in office and at least 70 percent from 1936 through 1980. Free college education: Close to reality at public institutions well before and after I went in 1954. Medicare for All: Just a year after the U.S. passed Medicar...
Across the pond, London-based BP and Netherlands-headquartered Shell are looking to invest in innovative electric technology, which is very good news. The two international oil giants, both of which have oil refineries in northwest Washington, recognize the growth in battery storage capacity. Their investments should bring down costs for consumers and bring ground-breaking technology to market quicker. Making electric cars and new batteries for homes and power grids is a...
James Ebisch’s guest commentary on climate change (CFP, March 7, 2019) is rife with misinformation. Given the lack of climate understanding he demonstrates in his commentary, his tone is particularly unfortunate, detracting from his message and making him look foolish in the process. What Ebisch, a geologist, and president of Wyoming Mines, wants readers to believe is that climate change is a natural phenomenon not influenced by human activities. His are a repetition of debunked arguments employed by climate change deniers u...
Homelessness has been cussed and discussed with no solution in sight. With no viable plan, most government officials wring their hands and hope the problem will go away. The latest suggestion is to pay the homeless a living wage. Thus, the unfortunate street people could afford the requisite training to find jobs. I guess this is possible. The evening news interviewed an ex-homeless lady who received money from a private charity and was eventually able to open a coffee shop, thus, becoming a local success story. We sometimes...
When writing this column, I generally try to think about what’s happening on a local, regional or national scale. I like to talk about topics with far-reaching consequences that require diverse perspectives and affect a variety of people. But not today. Today, perhaps selfishly, I can only think about yesterday morning — when I discovered yet another mistreated dog on my front porch. My husband and I have made an accidental habit of being “rescuers.” We keep a bag with treats and a leash in the car for the stray dogs we inev...
