I have been spending some time handicapping races recently. First, the Longacres Mile that is coming up at Emerald Downs Aug. 21 and also the paths of a few up and coming south King County politicians.
There are a lot of similarities between handicapping political races and horse races. You have to understand form, fitness and the conditions of the race. Getting into the right race at the right time is the key to winning. Not that I have ever actually bet on a horse race, of course. Well, maybe a few times.
Times are tight, the economy – again – is in trouble and no one knows what to do.
It couldn’t be a worse time to ask for money.
Nevertheless, an issue on the Primary Ballot does just that. King County Proposition 1 – the Veterans and Human Services Levy – asks voters to approve a tax levy of 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to support a wide variety of services to those who need them most.
The art of compromise and arguing about money — it is the stuff of American politics and family fun.
The debt ceiling debate underlined a basic axiom of our form of government as the hot talk bounced back and forth between the chambers of our federal houses.
When I first heard about the shooting at the car show on the West Hill of Kent I began to think about writing a column.
The last week has been a fun-filled ride spent listening to a series of public hearings about master planned developments and marijuana.
I attended five days of hearings concerning the development agreements for YarrowBay's two master planned developments in Black Diamond and there was a pubic hearing Tuesday in Kent City Council Chambers about the moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries and collective grows.
Could yours be the perfect invention to aid U.S. combat soldiers in Afghanistan? Have you created a vaccine that could possibly rid the world of one of its deadly diseases? Do you think that you could possibly be the next Bill Gates? Perhaps your ideas or inventions are not as grand as these, and you need a little assistance with funding your idea and making your dream a reality. The federal government may be able to help you.
Willows Place has been around the city of Kent. It’s been outdoors, indoors at local restaurants and at a church in the community. Now you’ll find Willows Place at New Beginnings Church, 214 Washington Ave. N. Willows Place is not really a place, but a Thursday night meal, fellowship and a few hours of safe shelter.
The way we talk is changing day by day and in many ways staying the same.
Social media programs are the hot topics these days. New programs pop up and everyone gets all zippy about them — especially me. They're fun, or, as close as I get to having fun.
Many appear to think I am Mr. Grumpy for some reason. I have always considered myself to be a bouncy ray of sunshine, but there are others with opposing viewpoints.
I don’t mind opposing points of view as long as they don’t oppose mine. I think that’s what makes me very American.
Independence Day makes me think of my grandma.
Fourth of July on our farm meant grandma would bake wild blackberry pies and make homemade vanilla ice cream. Grandma and I would go pick the berries. The truth was grandma would pick them and I would eat most of what made it into my bucket. The best part of that deal was I didn’t get in trouble and still got to eat all the pie I wanted, which was a lot.
The United States has a very different law enforcement system than almost any other country in the world. While most other countries have a central or national police force, we have more than a whopping 17,000 separate local police departments. People from other countries think this is inefficient and outmoded. But, the reason we have so many departments is for one simple reason—local control.
A mural that was hung on a fence on one of the busiest corners of Kent’s East Hill for months has recently been removed.
My friend and colleague Dean Radford, editor of the Renton Reporter, wrote a story recently that attracted my attention.
Apparently, some of the Valley Medical Center board members decided a code of ethics, or how to act like mom said, was a good item.
When I first read about the 75 medical marijuana supporters who visited the Kent City Council chambers last week, I sympathized with their cause, and with the Kent officials who were forced to shut down the marijuana dispensaries.
If you noticed the front page of this edition of the Kent Reporter or checked the website, medical marijuana became the hot news item Tuesday.
I had been planning to begin a series of stories on the subject in the next two weeks. The city changed that plan in short order by sending letters to four local medical marijuana businesses stating dispensing marijuana to more than one patient at a time is illegal under state law. The city requested the businesses shut down.
When the doors closed May 25 in Olympia on the 135-day legislative session, the spent lawmakers left an historic blood and guts battle in the Capitol, and the strain of the session was echoed by all.
Law enforcement and the communities we serve have gone through a lot over the past several months. Controversial and high-profile cases involving police use of force have led to soul searching and difficult questions. As a law enforcement administrator who is very proud of my chosen profession, and of my fellow deputies and officers, I would like to offer a few thoughts I invite everyone to consider.
Free speech is so much fun.
I received an email a couple of weeks ago concerning a sign in front of a business in Kent. The person sending the email was upset about the language on the sign.
In a couple of weeks the round-one bell will ring for the political main event that will wrap up in the Nov. 8 general election.
The sweet science of politics.
The last few weeks since I have come to the Kent Reporter I have spent a considerable amount of time thinking about community journalism and what it means in the newspaper world of today.
