Inside Opinion

A historic day for Washington state and civil rights

TNT Editorial Board — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:15:00 +0000

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

With Gov. Chris Gregoire’s signature, Washington today becomes the seventh state to recognize gay marriage. It’s a historic day for same-sex couples seeking equal treatment under the law for their relationships.

But they shouldn’t rush out and order invitations and wedding cake; it’s unlikely they can start getting married anytime soon. Opponents have vowed to place at least one measure on the November ballot to overturn the legislation that passed the state Legislature last week largely along party lines.

Referendum backers only need to gather 120,557 signature to get on the ballot; …

A needless shadow over Puget Sound cleanup efforts

Cheryl Tucker — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 02:40:39 +0000

This editorial will appear in Sunday’s print edition.

It was probably inevitable that a Washington Post report on congressional earmarks would turn up something on U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair.

As a veteran member of Congress who has risen to leadership roles, he’s as well-positioned as anyone to bring home the bacon – more politely known as earmarks – to his district and state. For most folks, that’s fine – a perk that goes along with having a congressman with lots of seniority.

But here’s where it gets dicey with Dicks: More than $15 million that he secured …

Stealing from slain officers’ kids about as low as one can go

TNT Editorial Board — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:53:52 +0000

This editorial will appear in Friday’s print edition.

It’s hard to believe, but there is a bright side to the tawdry tale of a Lakewood police officer accused of embezzling money meant for the families of four murdered fellow officers.

It was yet another Lakewood officer, Jeremy Vahle, who got suspicious that money might have been diverted from the Fallen Officers’ Fund, a trust established to help the families of the four Lakewood officers shot to death in November 2000: Sgt. Mark Renninger and officers Tina Griswold, Ronald Owens and Greg Richards.

Instead of sweeping the embarrassment under the rug …

Westboro Baptist: Reptilian and parasitic as ever

Patrick O'Callahan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 22:08:09 +0000

I wrote this – half-in-anger, half-in-parody – about a year ago. Seems timely to repost it now that this lovely clan is reportedly coming to Tacoma in hopes of befouling the funeral of the Powell boys.

“Thank God for 4 more dead troops. We are praying for 4,000 more.”
– The Westboro Baptist Church

The First Amendment doesn’t protect only the speech we hate; it also protects speech that bubbles up from the pipes of human septic tanks. We can’t fault the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the right of Westboro Baptist Church members to spit their venom …

A public school accountability bill? Still a chance

TNT Editorial Board — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 03:30:13 +0000

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

Education reform – serious education reform – remains alive in the Legislature. No thanks to the Legislature’s education chairwomen.

State Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, have used their peremptory power to squish two measures that would have nudged Washington toward the national mainstream.

One bill would hold educators genuinely accountable for student performance; the other (now dead) would have authorized a limited number of charter public schools.
Both strategies are strongly encouraged by the Obama administration and have been embraced by states trying to shake public …

Drug companies should step up to disposal problems

TNT Editorial Board — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 02:10:51 +0000

This editorial will appear in Wednesday’s print edition.

We’re all guilty of it – squirreling leftover medicine away on the off chance we might need it someday. When we go to use it, we discover it’s years past its expiration date. So we dump it in the garbage can or, if we’re feeling more responsible, flush it down the toilet.

Neither option – keeping it or dumping it – is a good one. When unused medication isn’t disposed of, it can poison children. When it’s disposed of improperly, it can poison the environment.

What’s needed is a safe, easy, low-cost …

Josh Powell’s pretense of innocence ends in atrocity

TNT Editorial Board — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 03:44:45 +0000

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

‘There but for the grace of God,” is a conventional and charitable attitude toward people who get in trouble with the law. The idea is that good guys and bad guys share a common humanity that the good guys do well to acknowledge.

It doesn’t work, though, in the case of Josh Powell. Some people really don’t have a human conscience.

Powell, who burned his children alive Sunday, appears to have been a sociopath – an exceptionally stealthy one.

For more than two years, he’s been the only “person of interest” in …

Don’t waste state funds on predators’ ‘blank check’ defense

TNT Editorial Board — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:04:58 +0000

This editorial will appear in Monday’s print edition.

As state lawmakers grapple with how to close a $1 billion-plus budget gap, one place they’ve been looking for savings is the Special Commitment Center for violent sex predators on McNeil Island.

Some legislators want to save money by moving the SCC to a mainland site, cutting out the extra expense involved with ferrying to and from the island. But no community is clamoring to host 284 dangerous sex predators, and even if an existing facility could be found it likely would require expensive renovation and security upgrades.

A recent Seattle Times …

Lawmakers: Stop the bleeding of college opportunity

TNT Editorial Board — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:00:13 +0000

This editorial will appear in tomorrow’s print edition.

Higher education must bear its share of the pain as the Legislature squeezes another billion-plus dollars out of the current state budget. It should not bear more than its share.

It’s a longstanding legislative tradition to use the state’s higher education system – universities, community and technical colleges – as a rainy day fund when the economy turns bad and cash reserves run out. College opportunity isn’t protected by the Washington Constitution, though it should be, and it’s often the path of least resistance for lawmakers trying to protect their political darlings …

2-year colleges truly do transform lives

Cheryl Tucker — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:41:13 +0000

The editorial board met this week with the presidents of the local two-year colleges – Tacoma Community College, Pierce College (Fort Steilacoom and Puyallup), Bates Technical College and Clover Park Technical College. Their schools have already absorbed big budget hits, and they wanted to convey their concerns about what yet more cuts could mean for the students they serve.

They were preaching to the choir; we’re well aware of the impact these schools can have in turning around the lives of people who might otherwise languish in low-wage jobs – if they can find work at all.

The presidents told …