Monthly Archives: February 2007

Every two weeks since early January, the paper has carried a story describing the anguish of Union Gap City Council members as they ponder raising water and sewer rates. The council, however, keeps putting off a decision, asking for other … Continue reading →

to see if Rep. Shirley Hankins (R-Richland) does the honorable thing and resigns from public office for using her position to enrich her family. Let’s check in on our other Central Washington legislators: Rep. Mary Skinner (R-Yakima) is still trying … Continue reading →

Rep. Shirley Hankins is abusing the power of her office to help her daughter’s business. The pattern of abuse is well-documented in a story released today in the Tri-City Herald. She is under investigation by the state legislative ethics committee … Continue reading →

The one bill from any central washington legislator moving through Olympia is Rep. Mary Skinner’s (R-Yakima) poet laureate bill. She may have thought about checking to see if any of her constituents want the bill to pass. In today’s Yakima … Continue reading →

During the mid-December storm that devastated the Puget Sound,  Kate Fleming, an audiobook narrator, drowned when floodwaters trapped her in the basement of her Seattle home. Kate was so engrossed in her work, she never saw or heard the torrent as … Continue reading →

Rep. Mike Armstrong (R-Wenatchee) wins my award for the world’s most boring press release. I dare you to read the whole thing: http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/armstrong/newsroom/070222.htm

Flying isn’t fun anymore. Getting to the airport two hours early so you can wait in long lines, then practically disrobing while your carryon bags are screened and you are wanded – and then having to take off your shoes. This golden-ager … Continue reading →

Republican Presidential Nominee John McCain is one of the first Presidential candidates to show up in Washington. He will go to a luncheon and get the endorsement of Attorney General Rob McKenna. The question is: Will any Presidential contenders make … Continue reading →

You would think, that of all things, an appointee to the board of directors of the Yakima Valley Regional Library System would be a user and thus have a library card. That may or may not be the case with Jerry … Continue reading →

It didn’t take long for the Yakima County Commissioners to renew their war with the Yakima Valley Regional Library System board of directors. Commissioners fired the first shot Monday by appointing Jerry Maggard, a clearly unqualified individual, to a vacant … Continue reading →