Articles by Guest Contributor
Let’s rethink natural gas bans
Sometimes being first isn’t good. Such is the case with legislation making Washington the only state to ban natural gas in new homes and commercial buildings. Thankfully, the legislators ended their session in Olympia and left that bad idea on the table. However, it is destined to come back next year. The issue is complicated…
Badger Club takes on the tough issues to drive civil discourse
Was there really a federal internment camp in Benton County during the second World War? (No, but there was a federal prison camp near Horn Rapids. It housed federal prisoners who were sent to harvest the orchards and other crops left when residents were ordered out to make room for the Manhattan Project.) Would a…
U.S. leads in emissions reduction,
clean energy innovation
The Biden Administration’s approach to energy is the last thing America needs – especially when the United States is already leading the world in emissions reductions. President Biden is forcing our nation to adopt global standards the rest of the world is already failing to meet while eliminating opportunities for hard-working Americans. Sadly, his proposals…
More trees or fewer? The balancing act of the Trillion Trees Act
Every year on Arbor Day school children across the United States are told about the many benefits trees provide to people and the environment. To drive the point home, schoolchildren are given saplings to plant, so they can watch them grow and feel a connection to the environment. Invariably there are cute pictures of kids…
Teens can cause car wrecks but it’s parents who pay
From time to time, it is important to take stock of our own personal liability exposure and find ways to mitigate it. Liability exposure can creep into our lives in subtle ways that can have profound effects on our financial security. One such way that a person can expose himself or herself to additional liability…
Commuting in the Tri-Cities: It’s about the car
Let’s face it – the Tri-Cities is a car town, or set of car towns. The number of miles Tri-Citians travel daily owes its origins to the settlement of not one, but three cities, or four, counting West Richland, in an area that has some distance between the communities. There are other reasons, too, which…
Can you opt out of state’s new Long Term Care Act and tax? Should you?
Washington state has adopted a first-of-its-kind law that both provides a new long-term care benefit and pays for the new benefit with a new tax collected by employers. Its formal name is the Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program. Many employers and employees are scrambling to understand the implications of this new law. This column…
Covid-19 slowed but did not stop progress on Hanford cleanup
An act of God. Or, among lawyers, a force majeure. Many contracts have force majeure clauses to govern what happens when faced with circumstances beyond anyone’s control. The global Covid-19 pandemic certainly falls into this category. How much did Covid-19 affect Hanford’s cleanup mission? Not much in the big picture. Some tank waste pumping will…
Hanford plant is on cusp of melting waste after an eventful 2020
The Hanford site team has consistently supported our nation during unprecedented times and this year has been no different. The innovation and determination of our workers, from the most experienced leaders to those just starting their careers, have ensured success throughout our site history during both the national security mission of the past and today’s…
What does a new administration mean for Hanford?
What does having a new president in office mean for Hanford? Specifically, what does it mean to have President Joe Biden, a former vice president and longtime U.S. senator, in the Oval Office? What does it mean to have Jennifer Granholm, the former governor of Michigan, at the helm at the U.S. Department of Energy…
