In Girdwood, Alaska, we’ll long remember the snowstorm of Dec. 6, just three months ago. But it won’t be for the school cancellations. We’ll remember it as the night dozens of residents traveled a snow-packed highway to testify at a public meeting — about housing.

Four years ago, we brought the community a new version of the Wenatchee World’s Progress Edition. It focused on telling the stories of the people who helped make the Wenatchee Valley a great place. A lot of stories and photos in that edition came out of Wenatchee’s Make a Difference Day. It …

While government can incentivize the purchase and use of electric vehicles, a lasting transformation of the nation’s automobile fleet will depend on the free market.

As an experienced real estate expert, it's clear to me that interest rate changes can have a significant impact on the housing market. Recently, interest rates increased by 3%+ topping 6%, and it's important for buyers and sellers to understand the potential effects on the market.

Dear World Editor:

On the heels of state lawmakers inventing a fantastical new reinterpretation of the Washington Constitution to avoid complying with the Public Records Act, some senators and representatives want to double down on secrecy. They’ve introduced companion bills that would erect new barriers again…

A string of historic bipartisan victories during the last Congress — including an update of the Electoral Count Act and transformational investments in infrastructure, semiconductor manufacturing, veterans protections and new energy transitions — demonstrate that Congress really can work in …

At the most basic level, good public policy aims at helping communities thrive. By definition, that means working toward less suffering, less misery.

Welcome to a new level of crazy in the culture wars.

My beloved wife of 27 years had to die alone.

If you are neither a lawyer nor an economist nor somebody who is likely to earn a $250,000 profit from the sale of stocks in a given year, the kerfuffle over Washington’s capital gains tax might be confusing.

Everyone Deserves a Paradise

This last Monday the 16th, I listened once again to Martin Luther King Jr’s speeches given April 4, 1967, and April 3, 1968. Many of his words still apply to our society today.

There is no free lunch, as the adage goes. That’s applicable for purchases large and small. In the case of Gov. Jay Inslee’s housing proposal, the price-tag in question is very large indeed.

A large part of the appeal that enabled Joe Biden to win the presidency was his promise to end the Trump administration’s often disruptive practices and restore normalcy to Washington.

In the waning hours of the 117th Congress on December 23, 2022, the Omnibus Spending Bill was passed. Buried deep within that bill was legislation known as The Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act (H.R. 4164/S. 2256). Not something that grabbed the headlines at year’s end.

The popular understanding of budgets is that, despite coming across like cold ledger sheets, they are deeply human documents, a numeric portrait of priorities — in other words, the things we care about.

Some state lawmakers, apparently, could use a class in Civics 101.

Bout for Griner. A mistake

The 2023 legislative session began on January 9th. This session takes place following elections within the new legislative district boundaries and will include development of the three state budgets (operating, transportation, and capital) for the 2023-2025 biennium.

Many Western states have declared they will achieve all-renewable electrical goals in just two decades. Call me naïve, but haven’t energy experts predicted that wind, sun and other alternative energy sources aren’t up to the job?

I am writing this letter in regard to Waste Management services. It has been 5 weeks since we received garbage services. We tried calling several times with no answer. I did finally get a hold of them (through Chat), and they said that pickup has not been done due to weather. It's funny how …

The quote is an all-inclusive summation of American health care.

I heard it again the other day, an apparent mantra of right-wing blogs and talk radio. That schools no longer “do the flag salute.” Certainly, it is not a statement a current parent would make aware that the time-honored pledge clearly remains.

I sent the following email to Sen. Brad Hawkins this morning.

In the two years since Joe Biden entered the White House with a vow to restore "the soul of the nation" and pursue bipartisan solutions, many of his most publicized efforts often seemed in danger of failure.

Last month, nuclear fusion topped headlines around the world when scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced an essential milestone in developing this nascent technology. They achieved “ignition,” meaning more energy came out of a reaction than was needed to…

“Still decades and hundreds of billions of dollars away”: that was the sobering refrain from the recent nuclear fusion announcement that has already taken decades and cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars to get to this point of … wait for it … still being decades and hundreds of bi…

In a mad rush before the end of the year, Congress finally passed an omnibus federal spending bill. Washington’s congressional delegation made sure that important projects around the Puget Sound will receive a federal financial boost, to the tune of $44 million.

Homelessness beat climate change for top billing in Gov. Jay Inslee’s budget proposal this year. That’s a noteworthy statement from a governor whose trademark has been combating climate change — and confirmation that homelessness has become the top concern of the state’s voters.

The date may only have been Jan. 2, but Monday Night Football may turn out to be the most excruciating hour of broadcast television Americans will see all year.

Highways Improve the Economy. Highway 28 from Wenatchee to Quincy is no longer acceptable. Surely, there can be no more beneficial government expenditure than to make it four lanes all the way. Only, instead of trying to squeeze all four lanes through that narrow spot at Rock Island Dam, it …

Political prognosticators are facing a mountain of unknowns for the coming year, starting with whether President Joe Biden will seek a second term. There are other cliffhangers, including whether former President Donald Trump will be indicted and whether Rep. Kevin McCarthy will succeed in g…

A King County Auditor’s report on programs that offer alternatives to jail for people who have run afoul of the law highlights a fractured system without accountability. There is no way to tell if officials’ promises are truly being kept.

The article in the Dec. 24th edition about the record low temperature for December 21 of -6 at Wenatchee needs some clarification. This was recorded at Pangborn Field and the temperature record at Pangborn Field goes back to 1959. The record low temperature at the Tree Fruit Research Center …

With memories of your warm holiday feast and leftovers crowding your refrigerator, take a moment to consider these sobering Washington state statistics.

Last year’s column successfully predicted Democratic Senate gains and a smaller-than-expected Republican House takeover. Here is our not-totally-serious forecast for 2023:

It is that time of year when a little voice in our head reminds us that it is time to start thinking about giving to charitable nonprofits doing good work in our community and world. Sometimes there is another voice in the background asking, “How do I know they are doing good things with my money?”

Wednesday was the darkest day of the year.

From the beginning... being checked into the Emergency Room at the Mares Building, diagnosed after a CAT Scan with a perforated appendix, Ballard Ambulance ride to confluence Health Hospital and subsequent surgery in the wee hours of Sunday morning for said appendix removal... absolutely won…

As I recently biked the Loop, I noticed again how we continue the sprawl up our pristine sage hills with new roads being cut accommodating even higher mini-mansions. I applaud and support the efforts to purchase and save our precious valley features. However, these efforts can only do so muc…

The World's lead story (Thursday, 15 December) about the warehouse fire left out an important fact, reported by NCW Life: the building was being used as a marijuana grow facility. Might that not be somewhat pertinent to the story? The dangerous smoke the community was subjected to from the f…

I don't know if other mid-Columbia PUD's have apprentice programs like our Chelan County PUD, but Nevonne McDaniel's Dec. 3., Wenatchee World article about that program was excellent.