Column

Iowa likes to brag their caucuses are first in the nation, but here’s a little secret: This year Washington Republicans beat Iowa to the caucus room by two days.

Dear Kiantha,

Idaho legislators return to Boise on Monday to begin the next legislative session. Usually, there is little doubt that some far-right legislators will push hot-button, culture-war bills that seek to address imaginary problems.

Dear Kiantha,

Querida Kiantha,

Did you get your chicken check from the attorney general of Washington in December?

On the day before my sister Julie died, I lay down on her bed and held her gingerly in my arms, afraid that any pressure would hurt her. She had lost so much weight that she looked like a stick figure I might have drawn when we were kids. As her body had wasted, her tumors had grown – now several of them bigger than baseballs. Her abdomen looked like the lunar landscape, with protrusions everywhere, the sources of her pain plainly visible.

Dec. 27—OPINION AND COMMENTARY — Editorials and other Opinion content offer perspectives on issues important to our community and are independent from the work of our newsroom reporters. Michael Houseman never envisioned a future in compost. He's the kind of guy who wears a beard, a comfortable hoodie and a Tacoma Rainiers cap. He comes home from work dirty, and it suits him; he has no qualms. ...

When voters elect an attorney general, they are hiring a lawyer to represent the collective legal interests of the state. Turning over that duty of legal representation to an unelected political advocacy group is inherently problematic.

Dear Kiantha,

Only 33% of nursing home residents have received the updated coronavirus vaccine, according to data released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This dismal number is particularly concerning as COVID-19 hospitalizations are rising around the country, putting this vulnerable group at risk for preventable tragedy.

The new year will bring some changes to the letters to the editor. Starting Jan. 1, we will only publish letters about local issues.

Six initiatives promoted by Let’s Go Washington look like they’ve gathered enough signatures to advance to the Legislature. Even a coordinated effort by progressive groups to disrupt signature gatherers failed, in a victory for direct democracy. Voters are ready to exercise their sovereign power over a government drifting to the far left and drag it back to the center.