Child categories
| Category | Path |
|---|---|
| Editorial | /Opinion/Editorial |
| Letters-to-the-editor | /Opinion/Letters-to-the-editor |
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Support local causes this holiday season ...
If you’re looking to enjoy the holidays, you’re not alone. Across the Columbia Basin, people will be baking turkeys, holiday shopping, decorating their homes, and reminding children to behave or they’ll get coal in a stocking.
LETTER: Homelessness demands compassion, not control
In July 2025, President Trump signed “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” The order frames homelessness as a crisis of addiction, mental illness, and public disorder. It directs federal agencies to support states that expand civil commitment programs and prioritize treatment over housing. While it promises funding incentives, it risks reducing human beings to problems of “crime and disorder” rather than neighbors in need. For the veteran without a home or the family priced out of housing, this framing misses the mark. Utah rushed to comply, announcing a 1,300-bed homeless services campus in Salt Lake City. Leaders say it will provide treatment, recovery, and transitional services. Supporters call it bold action; critics warn it could become a warehouse for the poor. The campus may help those with severe health needs, but it risks overlooking the many who are homeless simply because housing costs outpace wages.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: Focusing on civic literacy...
Over the course of the last year, we’ve published several stories and opinion pieces related to civic discussions and literacy. There’s a reason for that.
Ephrata Superintendent message to the community
Tiger Community: Our world seems more divided than ever. Everywhere we look, differences spark conflict, quick judgments dominate conversations, and it can feel like understanding is impossible. These are challenging times—and our kids see it too.
LETTER: The high cost of school construction: A call for reform
Excessive soft costs • 35-45% of school construction budgets are consumed by soft costs – engineering, design and planning – before a single nail is driven or cement poured. • These costs must be reined in and redirected toward actual construction.
COLUMN: The military oath
So we all know from the get-go, the oath of enlistment is the same across all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. It is codified in 10 U.S.C. §502. “I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
COLUMN: Head west, they say
This column came together probably as quickly as my decision to move from Columbus, Ohio to Moses Lake. When I graduated from Denison University in May 2024, I remember being overcome with emotion after receiving my degree.
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR: In appreciation of educators ...
An experience I recently had with a school district, quite honestly, has left me gob-smacked a bit. I am in awe of the teachers and administrators at school districts throughout the region and what they have to deal with. Let me get back to the beginning, though. Journalists often cover a wide variety of topics and are constantly looking for ideas for stories that will matter to readers. As such, when we hear of events of interest, we sometimes ask to attend so we can either cover it, or, as in this case, learn how to cover a topic better.
COLUMN: College football playoff selection was a mess
It’s not a normal day in December if college football teams are not throwing their hands in the air after being left out of the college football playoff. This year the drama surrounded what the playoff committee should do about Miami, Alabama and Notre Dame. After conference championship weekend, it ended up being Miami and Bama getting the nod and the Fighting Irish being left out. While I agree that the committee got it wrong, what has been more disappointing to see is Notre Dame and other schools reactions to playing in bowl games and not in the playoffs. ND was one of nine schools declining the invitation to play a bowl game this season. Moreso in the Fighting Irish’s case, this mentality around not playing in a bowl game shows a quitter's attitude because you did not do what you needed to do to make the playoffs.
COLUMN: The perfect path to the Super Bowl for the Seahawks
One of the best time periods of the sports calendar is here – playoff football. As the college football playoff semifinals conclude, fans from across the country can remain comfortable on the couch as wild card weekend kicks off for the NFL. 12 teams will battle it out on their respective ends of the bracket to earn a chance to play at least one more game. Most importantly, to inch closer to claiming football immortality by hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in Santa Clara, California, the host of Super Bowl 60. As the top seed, the Seattle Seahawks will play the lowest remaining seed in the NFC after this weekend.
