Gov. Chris Gregoire gave Washington wines a plug Monday while signing the capital construction budget, which includes money for a wine research center in Richland. She recalls a trade mission to Europe when she responded to a question about California wines: “They make jug wine. We make fine wine.”

I’m not sure I’d go quite that far. Having visited many California wineries in Napa and Sonoma, I think there’s quite a lot of good wine being made there. California has far more wineries than Washington (about 3,500 to 740), and accounts for about 90 percent of U.S. wine production. But, as Gregoire implied, Washington wineries focus on quality, not quantity.

I recently returned from a very quick trip to Washington wine country, from Yakima, through Prosser and on to Walla Walla. Here are a few highlights: Read more »

Mental illnesses can be scary – think of the screaming meltdown an American Airlines flight suffered last month. The bizarre behavior of some people with severe psychiatric disorders has amplified public perceptions that they are dangerous.

This narrative got another boost Friday when a one psychiatric patient at Western State Hospital killed another, reportedly by jamming a pen or pencil into his ear. In response, the Department of Social and Health Services released the following fact sheet:

Fact 1: The vast majority of people with mental illness are not violent.

Here is what researchers say about the link between mental illness and violence:

- “Although studies suggest a link between mental illnesses and violence, the contribution of people with mental illnesses to overall rates of violence is small, and further, the magnitude of the relationship is greatly exaggerated in the minds of the general population (Institute of Medicine, 2006).”

- “…the vast majority of people who are violent do not suffer from mental illnesses (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).”

- “The absolute risk of violence among the mentally ill as a group is very small. . . only a small proportion of the violence in our society can be attributed to persons who are mentally ill (Mulvey, 1994).”

-”People with psychiatric disabilities are far more likely to be victims than perpetrators of violent crime (Appleby, et al., 2001). People with severe mental illnesses, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or psychosis, are 2 ½ times more likely to be attacked, raped or mugged than the general population (Hiday, et al.,1999).”

Fact 2: The public is misinformed about the link between mental illness and violence.
Read more »

If Mother Earth were a political candidate, she wouldn’t be happy with her polling numbers.

Just in time for Earth Day, a Harris poll shows that the percentage of Americans concerned about the planet has dropped from 43 percent to 34 percent – in just the past three years. Another survey shows that 49 percent of us think economic growth is more important than environmental protection. Only 41 percent think the opposite.

The Christian Science Monitor editorial board suggests that the slumping economy is a big factor in those attitudes.

According to the Harris poll, American adults are less likely now than three years ago to take the following “green” actions: Read more »

Today is 4/20, which has been described as the unofficial holiday for pot smokers.

So here’s my question: Isn’t every day an unofficial holiday for pot smokers?

Why is 4/20 so special to potheads, and what does it have to do with Louis Pasteur? Go here to find out.

When I read the story Thursday about how the Vatican plans to rein in its more uppity nuns, I wondered what my friend – a former priest at a Tacoma parish – thought about it. Here’s his take:

It is amusing  that a group of conservative men have been appointed to change the bylaws of a group of women concerning matters that generally deal with sexual orientation.

Granted, a group of nuns may not know as much about sex as the standard adult Catholic female population, but they still probably know a hell of a lot more than the

…

Read more »

Blogger Kris LoPresto has a fun article on Huffington Post in which he presents 53 reasons why a new “Star Trek” TV series is needed.

Among them: (2) “We finally have the technology to make Star Trek look cool” and (40) “A truly epic Starfleet vs. Klingon battle in high definition.”

But the one I relate to the most is No. 4: “New episodes mean new social ideas to tackle. Gene Roddenberry would enjoy the series taking on new social and political questions of today.” Read more »

This editorial appears in Wednesday’s print edition.