Opinion

Guest Opinions

Silver Valley Community Resource Center: Sound aolutions for the Bunker Hill Superfund site

Sat., April 4, 2020

People of Idaho and Washington, it is time for public hearings and transparency to overcome the failures of the nation’s largest lead Superfund site. Make those calls, send emails to Gov. Little, it is our moral obligation to protect our children and care for the environment!

Eileen Delehanty Pearkes and Graeme Lee Rowlands: River treaty still crucial to Columbia’s health

Fri., April 3, 2020

The renegotiation of the U.S.-Canada Columbia River Treaty is an opportunity to reimagine and reshape relationships, not only with our northern neighbors, but also with the river itself.

Kurt Miller: In these times of crisis, know that the grid is in good hands

Thu., April 2, 2020

More than likely, we have yet to face the worst effects of the COVID-19 virus, but the region’s electric utilities have a plan to keep your electricity flowing and affordable, both now and into whatever future lies ahead.

Economy will not survive long shutdown

Wed., April 1, 2020

The effects of the COVID-19 virus in the Inland Northwest will be enormous on many dimensions. While policies certainly should focus on public health, economic impacts and societal effects cannot be ignored in the process.

Robin Pickering: To the parents protesting SB 5395: Concerning Comprehensive Sexuality Education

Tue., March 31, 2020

To the parents who believe that you are capable of providing your child with all they need to know about sexuality, relationships, anatomy, how to counteract messages they receive online, puberty, and affirmative consent, etc. … I believe you. Or, rather, I believe some of you. I also believe that some of you are capable of teaching your child trigonometry. But most of us aren’t.

Morhaf Al Achkar: Who lives and who dies?

Thu., March 26, 2020

I could soon be the physician following a policy that determines who would be denied medical care. At the same time, I could be one of those forbidden care if I needed it.

Tom Toles

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Syndicated Columns & Other Voices

Leonard Pitts Jr.: It was a quiet death

Mon., March 30, 2020

A few words on the quiet death of an Italian priest.

Leonard Pitts Jr.: Viruses do not carry passports

Mon., March 23, 2020

Nor do they have birth certificates or other markers of citizenship.

Mary Schmich: It’s OK not to feel OK right now. But here’s how to feel better.

Sun., March 22, 2020

It’s OK to be scared. It’s OK to be confused, anxious, angry, lonely.

Letters

Thank you Spokesman-Review

Fri., April 3, 2020

Thank you Spokesman-Review for your continued commitment to getting the paper out during these confusing times. Knowing I’ll be coming home after work and be able to read the latest news has calmed me and helped me maintain a sense of normalcy.

Adjust school terms

Fri., April 3, 2020

I read with sadness your article "Losing Senior Year." From the ways things are going, it seems unlikely schools will return to class as scheduled on April 27. Articles I have read say that remote learning isn't going very well since schools and families were not set up to do it.

Fairground screening

Fri., April 3, 2020

I would like to send thanks and appreciation to our local health care providers. Feeling poorly last weekend my wife and I traveled to the fairgrounds to get tested for COVID-19. I have to share what a very pleasant and positive experience it was.

Testing importance

Fri., April 3, 2020

Here’s a thought about the importance of getting tested for the coronavirus if you get sick: the value of immunity. I’m aware of recommendations that you not get tested unless you are sick. Today, If you get a cold or flu symptoms, it could actually just be a cold or the flu and you wouldn’t necessarily know if you had a mild case of the coronavirus or not. However, getting tested to confirm (or not) that you have the virus can answer this valuable question since the majority of people being infected with the virus recover.

Solutions are needed

Thu., April 2, 2020

The current crisis dictates we cast budget worries aside to save our economy, help the millions of people suffering, and prevent social unrest. Although I am concerned with our mounting national debt, when the house is on fire, we cannot worry about the water bill.

Republican irony

Thu., April 2, 2020

Experts? We don't need no stinking experts! Now our very lives depend solely on the knowledge and wisdom only experts can provide.

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Editorials

Editorial: Don’t let local news become a victim of coronavirus

Sun., March 29, 2020

Without local journalism, social distancing becomes social isolation. Yet the COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a cruel blow to local news sources. Never have newspapers and their readers needed each other more.

Editorial: Innovia makes the right changes to preserve public trust

Sun., March 22, 2020

The Innovia Foundation has served this community well for decades and largely done an excellent job reflecting its values. That’s why the revelation this month that the foundation had been a conduit to give money to a white nationalist group shocked the community so deeply. One mistake that has been quickly corrected, however, shouldn’t undermine the public’s trust. A study by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Council on American and Islamic Relations revealed Innovia had made a $5,000 donation to a group called VDARE over the opposition of its outgoing CEO. In all, the foundation made several grants totaling less than $40,000 to the group.