Editorials

Data centers have a bad rap right now. They earned it. The rapid spread of the energy-consuming, water-gulping, land-grabbing plants has caught residents and politicians alike off guard, all around the country. That was the plan. They have expanded stealthily and often well out of the public purview, sometimes with politicians’ clandestine assistance, until they […]

By Melanie J. Rowland Editors note: This letter was sent to Gov. Bob Ferguson in response to the July 2026 final report on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission investigation of the actions of several commissioners with regard to public records and the Open Public Meetings Act. See story, page B6. When I […]

Many of you have been wondering, and let us know you have been wondering, what happened to our summary of the 911 call log that is provided by the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office. We have been running what we call the “911 blotter” — a compilation of calls to central dispatch that originated from the […]

The Aug. 4 primary election results settled a few things, raised a few questions and created some uncertainty. And that’s just the races that affect us locally and regionally. November’s general election ballot will more complicated and consequential, posing choices we didn’t have to consider this month. Now we know … Out of the hot […]

Imagine if the entire populations of Okanogan, Ferry and Pend Oreille counties had to clear out overnight. Suddenly, in a rural expanse cumulatively larger than several American states, all of those households would be forced to relocate, some of them for weeks or months. They would need food, clothing, shelter, health care, money, transportation, ways […]

Once again, it’s not our smoke. As in past years, we are living in the plumes of fires all around us, suffering with substandard air quality that originated somewhere else. It can affect our health, possibly threaten our livelihoods if we are in the hospitality business, and disrupt our daily routines to the point that […]

Rural hospitals across the country are, so to speak, in a world of hurt. Costs continue to outrun revenues, federal reimbursements often don’t cover the actual cost of care, inflation erodes everyday efficiency. It can be difficult to find staff. In some red states, conservative ideological legislation has driven away health care professionals and/or forced […]

Before the big ballot in November comes the smaller— but important — Aug. 4 primary election. While many contests for elective positions will automatically advance to the general election because there only one or two candidates, a few races of local interest stand out. Perhaps most intriguing, if cumbersome, is the 11-way battle to replace […]