We’ve lot Bud McBride, lost his incredible art and his warm friendliness, his interest in the environment and history of this place. I will treasure every piece of my collection of his pottery, reminiscent of tribal art and nature.

We got acquainted with the McBride brothers in the Klee Wyk Studio at their farm property on Red Salmon Creek. The studio was destroyed for being in the path of I-5. Bud spent the winters on the farm making pottery for Crow Valley Pottery, his spring and summer studio on Orcas Island.

He was one of the first “bell-ringers” about the

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On Feb. 14, the Peninsula School District is holding a levy vote for a significant portion of school district operations. The replacement levy will provide the necessary funding to keep our schools running at the current levels.

For more than 60 years, the Peninsula Athletic Association, a nonprofit recreation program, has flourished from a partnership with the Peninsula School District. The use of the district facilities has been a vital part of the success of our athletic programs, clinics and classes for both children and adults.

We are aware of the staff and resources it takes to keep the gyms

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Over the last year, the price of natural gas has dropped 35 percent to $2.40 per unit on the open market. I didn’t see a 35 percent rate decrease filed by Puget Sound Energy, but it did file for another annual increase.

From its peak, natural gas has dropped dramatically, by 80 percent, over the last five years. How many rate decreases have we experienced during that same period? Should there be some correlation between the price of natural gas and utility rates?

Every year, PSE files for a 6 to 10 percent increase, knowing it will be reduced slightly

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The Eatonville School Board placed Proposition 2 on the Feb. 14 ballot because it decided that “qualified directors are hard to find” (board Resolution 595).

Proposition 2 radically changes the district from five to three directors from equal geographical areas and two at-large directors who, by law, could even be next-door neighbors.

This radical change could empower small interest groups from a specific geographic area of our diverse school district to gain control of the board by securing a voting majority through election or board appointment. A diverse school board reduces the risk of group-think and wrong-headed decisions that could

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Thanks to state Sen. Mike Carrell (Viewpoint, 1-26) for trying to repeal the “franchise fee” imposed last year by Pierce County on Lakewood sewer ratepayers.

That “fee” is an unlawful tax which will, in due course, be struck down by a class-action lawsuit, if not legislatively abolished. Lakewood ratepayers will wind up paying attorneys fees, but at least Pierce County Councilman Dick Muri, at whose urging the fee was imposed, will be held accountable.

Hundreds of people are killed and thousands more are injured each year by red-light runners. Unfortunately, this disregard for traffic safety laws frequently goes unpunished.

We have directly experienced the torment and grief these careless incidents create. On Thursday, Jan. 26, we will remember the 10th anniversary of our daughter Sarah’s death at the hands of a red-light runner.

In 2002, a man traveling 55 mph ran a red light and struck Sarah’s car, killing her. Only 31 years old, Sarah, a high school science teacher, was robbed of her bright future, her two children deprived of a loving mother.

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Wednesday’s TV news mentioned (several times) the best-supporting-actress nomination of Melissa McCarthy. What is our society, our sense of propriety, coming to that we find a scene of a person (either gender) defecating in a sink to be of notable/award-winning quality?

Yes, I saw the movie. I found parts to be humorous but too many parts to be gross for the sake of being so. What would be the impression on a future reader of American history of a society that found such movies to be appealing?

What was the story of why Rome fell? Decadence, anyone?

Mitt Romney’s claim that President Obama is promoting class warfare is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black. As someone who left the Republican Party because of its divisive rhetoric and shameless lies – i.e., Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and Glenn Beck – I find this laughable, especially in light of Romney’s tax bombshell.

Make no mistake, class warfare began with reckless deregulation and was waged in earnest by the super rich when they crashed our economy with impunity. Not only did the perpetrators of the global meltdown escape prosecution in what amounts to legalized fraud, they’ve

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