May 29, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK It blew right by you, didn’t it? The biggest news of the month, I mean. Arguably the biggest news in millions of years. But you surely can’t be held responsible for missing it. It was gone from the news cycle in the blink of an eye. Really, it was […]
OPINION
Secrets of the world’s best education system
March 27, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK The news of Methow Valley School Superintendent Mark Wenzel’s departure invites us to think about our schools, and not just here in the valley. Wenzel came to the job as a non-traditional candidate with a self-described “passion for learning.” To its credit, the school board took a chance on […]
Nightmareliner
Feb. 20, 2013 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK “The Dreamliner was supposed to become famous for its revolutionary design. Instead, it’s become an object lesson in how not to build an airplane.” – James Surowiecki, The New Yorker Hate government regulation? Love outsourcing jobs? Boeing’s Dreamliner is the airplane for you. This aircraft’s the hottest thing in […]
The heat’s on in Ultima Thule
June 27, 2012 BY SOLVEIG TORVIK ILULISSAT, GREENLAND – If you want to see what a warmer climate portends, come to Greenland. There’s more going on here, though, than just a rapidly melting ice cap and spectacular scenery bathed in crystal clear Arctic light. Greenland’s hot – in more ways than one. Since 1951, its […]
MAY 29, 2013
Bridge games BY DON NELSON Thousands of cars passed over the Skagit River bridge on Interstate 5 last Thursday (May 23), and remarkably only two of them (carrying a total of three people) went into the water when a portion of the bridge collapsed after it was nicked by a truck carrying an oversized load. […]
May 22, 2013
Don’t be silent BY DON NELSON The intense and confidential work of narrowing down potential candidates for the Methow Valley School District superintendent’s position to a short list is nearly done. The public’s part will begin soon. The school board is interviewing finalists this week in executive sessions. Beginning next Wednesday (May 29), the candidates […]
May 15, 2013
Who ya gonna call? BY DON NELSON Monday afternoon my stomach hurt, and not from anything I ate. I was reading, with fascination and outrage, various accounts of how the U.S. Justice Department secretly obtained the phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors over a two-month period. It was a blanket subpoena that included […]
April 10, 2013
Fast talk BY DON NELSON I’m just speaking anecdotally here, but I think the most effective traffic control device in the valley is that old, barely running purple police car that the Winthrop Marshal’s Office parks next to the ball field during our high-occupancy season. How many times have we seen incoming motorists mash the […]
May 8, 2013
FOCUS ON FACTS Dear Editor: In an April 24 letter to the editor Betty Wagoner reports that “a friend who lives in Arlie, Mont. … states that the wolves have completely destroyed the elk herds in his area.” That sounded quite untrue, so I checked the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks website and read their […]
June 5, 2013
Thanks to LBHS baseball team for extraordinary season By Don Calvert We live in an era when our world can spin way too fast and even out of control at times. So it is nothing short of priceless when a wonderful event occurs that makes the world stand still for those lucky enough to be […]
