Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley
Sorted by date Results 1194 - 1218 of 2505
Every now and then, this column will feature instructions for an activity I find interesting. Right now, I’m particularly interested in counted cross stitch, which is a simple, relaxing form of embroidery that results in a satisfying thunk noise as the stitch tightens against the taut fabric. So I thought I’d include some instructions on how to get started on your own sampler. But then I remembered that there is more than one way to have fun with cross-stitch. For example, you might be a cat...
Last week, the Washington State Senate approved a pretty significant gas tax increase for the state’s drivers. If the bill is approved by the state house and signed into law, the new gas taxes will be phased in over three years. You can read the details in the WNPA article on this page. The money will go toward a bunch of high-profile projects, including the 520 floating bridge in Seattle, I-405 east of Seattle, I-5 near Tacoma and I-90 through Snoqualmie Pass. The east side of the state is not being totally left out. A long awaited n...
OLYMPIA - Just 18 days after its initial unveiling, Senate lawmakers have passed a $15 billion transportation package that includes an 11.7-cent increase to the state gas tax over the next three years. That package now moves to the Democrat-controlled House where Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said that the package won’t be considered until lawmakers address education funding, which they are under order from the state Supreme Court to substantially increase. “In the end, our goal is to pass a transportation budget,” Sullivan said....
Happy Daylight Saving Time, everybody! Okay, fine, so maybe “Happy” should be in quotes. Or perhaps eliminated altogether. Daylight Saving Time, everybody! Yessiree, it’s that time of year when we cash in our sleep, our sanity, and our statistical probability of avoiding a car accident for 180 extra hours of pure, gushing sunlight per annum. I understand that there is currently a bill in the state legislature concerning dropping the concept of daylight saving altogether. I expect it to pass...
There was nothing illegal or improper . . ....
Dear Editor, There are a bunch of people involved and working hard to bring our annual celebration to our wonderful little city. The event is called Waitsburg Celebration Days and it is being planned for the weekend of May 15th and 16th. So far the community has responded very well, helping to make this weekend something special. This year, once again, the Commercial Club is sponsoring the parade on May 16th. As Waitsburg citizens are wonderful volunteers, we (the Parade Committee) are seeking nominations of a very special person/family to...
Here at The Times, we don't cover news from Walla Walla all that much, but an announcement Monday from that little village down the road got my attention. I'm old enough to remember Woodstock, and Walla Walla is going to get its version of that landmark music festival this summer. (Woodstock happened in 1969 on the weekend of my 14th birthday, and no, I wasn't there.) Exactly 46 years after Woodstock (again on the weekend of my birthday; you can do the math), as many as 40,000 people are...
By Cooper Inveen, Reporter WNPA Olympia News Bureau OLYMPIA - As Washington’s gray wolf population continues to grow, so do concerns of those living in the areas of the state most affected by their return. “There’s two sides to this issue, and it kind of boils down to either you like them or you don’t,” said Rep. Joel Kretz, R-Wauconda, who co-sponsored several wolf-related bills this session. Seven bills relating to Washington’s gray wolves have been introduced to the 2015 Legislature, with four surviving for continuing considerati...
Now that the Waitsburg Knowledge Bowl team knows that it’s state-bound, we’ve started planning like crazy for our trip to Seattle. We have an official t-shirt design mocked up, we’re picking places to visit for when we go into town, the hotel rooms are reserved, and the only question is whether to have dinner at The Crab Pot or Pike Street Fish Fry. In the meantime, we’ve been practicing up on our trivia. The Times writes a nice article every year about the local Knowledge Bowl teams, and the...
If you own wheat in storage right now, you are probably holding it because you think it will be more valuable later or because you want to minimize your taxes. Some may just get a warm feeling all over to think of it sitting in that bin; a valid incentive but difficult to account for in bookkeeping. There are other reasons, but there is no denying that it costs something to hold onto the stuff. Storage rates and interest costs on borrowed funds are the two most obvious holes in the bucket. Then there is the risk. “Market Risk” is the rea...
It’s hard to feel bad about the world during a week like this. That’s because spring training has begun. As you read this, position players (that’s what they call non-pitchers or catchers) are reporting to major league training camps in Arizona and Florida. (Pitchers and catchers showed up last week.) The news from Washington (D.C.) and the Middle East may be dismal, but the Mariners are tied for first. So are the Cubs and the Mets. Hope “springs” eternal, as the “Cactus” and “Grapefruit...
OLYMPIA—The Senate’s new transportation package is being hailed for its bipartisan support, while some critics find aspects of it troubling. The proposals were revealed on Feb. 12 after 22 months of negotiations and would mostly fund various highway projects in the state’s more congested areas. The package would raise $15 billion over a 16-year period mostly through an 11.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax implemented over the next three years. Washington’s current 35.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax would increase by five cents in July, 4.2 cents in July...
And now, presenting some valuable insight into the human psyche: The Nine Steps of the Grieving Process! Step One: Denial. “Wait. So let me hear that again. An elite prep school who edged us out by a few points last year is coming to compete with us at Knowledge Bowl Regionals because they are the only team of their size in their area. And they’re not bringing their berth with them? And at the same time, one of our two berths is getting taken away? So only one team out of four gets to go to Sta...
Cartoon...
I am honored to once again serve as the ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee. This is the committee that decides revenue and funding issues. We will be very involved with the budget discussions this year. Already I am meeting with budget staff weekly from the House, Senate, and governor's office. This year, I am also serving on the House Technology and Economic Development Committee. This committee looks at energy policy and economic development. I look forward to helping shape the...
OLYMPIA -- Gov. Jay Inslee’s proposal for regulating greenhouse gas emissions has cleared its first of several hurdles in a 6-to-5 party-line vote Feb. 10 in the Democrat-controlled House Environment Committee. House Bill 1314, the Carbon Pollution Accountability Act, would establish a statewide cap on carbon emissions, requiring Washington’s 130 largest polluters to buy credits in order to continue releasing carbon and other gasses into the atmosphere. With credits starting at $12 per-ton of emissions, the program is estimated to bring in $1...
The quadrant of my brain responsible for generating column inspiration has decided to take a vacation over this three-day weekend, so I'm forced to resort to Emergency Writing Idea Plan 64B: pretending that all of you are high schoolers and then offering advice on a topic relevant to this group. (Just go with it.) One of the "fun" things about one's senior year is gathering letters of recommendation from teachers. This is easier at Waitsburg than at larger schools because most of the teachers...
The newspaper business has changed a lot since the first issue of the Waitsburg Times was published in (get this) 1878. For example, it was some time after that that they started putting in photographs. The beginnings of this newspaper, which (without fail, as far as I know) has been published every week since, preceded such technological icons as the telephone, radio and television. Oh yes, and the internet. For most people in and around Waitsburg in the late 19th century, this was their only s...
OLYMPIA— Proposed legislation focusing on e-cigarettes and other vapor inhalation products would tighten the state’s control over the legal smoking age, labeling and advertising requirements and retailer licensing. House Bill 1645 takes a holistic approach to vapor-product regulation, according to prime sponsor Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle, who says this is the first comprehensive e-cigarettes bill in the United States. “We are facing a burgeoning public health crisis with e-cigarettes and we need to approach it as a public health issue and p...
I really do hate to use this column for promotional purposes, but I’d like to take this opportunity to put in a plug for an upcoming event. If you’ve read my column for a while, you know that I don’t do this for most “upcoming events.” But the following upcoming event is special. It helps to support local music. And to keep an important piece of American folk culture alive. And to teach adorable little kids how to play banjos twice their size. And to give cranky, rebellious teenagers the ability...
First of all, if I were coach of the Seattle Seahawks, I might very well have called for a pass on second and goal from the one, with 26 seconds left on the clock and only one timeout remaining. An incomplete pass would have stopped the clock, where a failed run would not. If the Hawks had had two timeouts left, they probably would have run the ball on that play. So the lesson to be learned is this: timeouts are precious – like coconuts on a desert island. If you waste them you might die in a...
I got a bit of a bonus on my last case. For a minute, I fantasized about relocating to a part of town where one didn’t have to look both ways before stepping onto the sidewalk, then about hiring an assistant to help out with my workload. Then I realized that what I’d thought were two zeroes was actually the sorriest excuse for an eight I’ve ever laid eyes on. From now on, I’m not accepting doctors as new clients. Perhaps I should’ve hired an archaeologist to figure out whether there’s a...
OLYMPIA - After two days of hearings that drew hundreds to the state capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee’s carbon reduction proposal has the full attention of Washington lawmakers. In an effort to curb climate change while raising money for transportation and education, Inslee is proposing a statewide cap on carbon emissions that would require polluters to buy credits to continue polluting at today’s levels. Carbon prices would start at $12 a ton and would bring in an estimated $1 billion in the program’s first year. The main idea behind cap-a...
Dear Editor, My sister passed away last week after residing at the Booker Rest Home for the past eight months. She had lived with my husband and me in our home for nearly three years until her physical and medical requirements simply became too great. Over the years I have visited many nursing home and care facilities and I inspected many, many more in attempting to locate a suitable facility for my sister. I settled on Booker because it was clean, the staff were friendly, and most important was that there was no smell. My sister had a...
Dear Editor, I believe students should limit their cellphone use at the basketball games. I think this because when I look around, many of the high school and middle school students are not paying attention to the game. They are on their phones playing a game, SnapChatting or texting each other when they are only ten feet away. It is embarrassing and outrageous that they can be so oblivious to their surroundings. In fact, some would miss playing in the band if Mr. Green did not go get them. If constant use of their phones is so important then...
