Serving Franklin County, WA

Articles from the January 29, 2024 edition


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  • State needs more law officers

    Jeff Holy|Updated Feb 14, 2024

    There was a time many years ago when our state was generally safe and did not have a serious crime problem. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, that was then and this is now. Washington is among the nation’s leaders in several crimes, including auto theft and retail theft. While the nation’s violent crime rate dropped slightly from 2021 to 2022, our state saw an increase, according to the FBI. According to a report by the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, there were 394 murders in Washington in 2022, an...

  • California too costly for our economy

    Mary Dye|Updated Feb 14, 2024

    Several days ago, the Wall Street Journal issued a report about California’s “soaring electricity rates.” Average residential rates for investor-owned utility customers have surged by 72% to 127% over the past 10 years. About 2.5 million households in California are behind on their bills, averaging $733 in arrears. According to the Energy Information Administration, California has the second highest average retail price for electricity at $.22 per kilowatt hour. Fuel prices in California are the highest in the nation at an...

  • Recycling EV batteries a huge effort

    Don C. Brunell|Updated Feb 8, 2024

    Each year Americans throw away more than three billion batteries constituting 180,000 tons of hazardous material. The situation is likely to get worse as the world shifts to lithium batteries to power a massive influx of electric vehicles (EV). It needs immediate attention. Everyday-green.com reported more than 86,000 tons of single-use alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, C and D) are thrown away yearly. They power electronic toys and games, portable audio equipment and flashlights a...

  • State parks failing at Palouse Falls, Lyons

    Roger Harnack|Updated Jan 31, 2024

    Two years ago, Washington State Parks bureaucrats in Tumwater hatched a plan to address so-called "overcrowding" at Palouse Falls. The plan was to close and relocate the campground to Lyons Ferry, require permits to visit Upper Palouse Falls and to end hiking and exploring in and around the main Palouse Falls basin. The effort also eliminated kayaking access on the upper Palouse River. And to make the effort sound legitimate, those city-dwelling bureaucrats called Palouse...

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