Opinion

Editorial | Driving over the edge of politics | Dennis Box

I can certainly tell the political season has entered the full bore mental twilight zone. Calls have been coming in at the office that in other situations I would consider the person partially paranoid, suspiciously psychotic or the more technical term — political-campaign nuts.

Balancing work, community service and the Kentlake Site Council | Kris Hill

I’m the kind of person who doesn’t say no very often. So, when Principal Joe Potts asked me to be on the Kentlake Site Council little more than a year ago, I couldn’t think of a good reason to say no. I agreed to participate.

Gang solutions in King County challenging | Editorial

The other day I was flipping through the cable channels and came across the movie “Colors” with Robert Duvall and Sean Penn. The movie is all about two Los Angeles police officers working in the Gang Unit. They deal with generational, entrenched gang issues in certain neighborhoods, and the overall tone of the movie is how hopeless and difficult reducing gang violence can be.

This puzzle we call government | Dennis Box

The political wind machine is shifting into high gear with about a month before the election verdicts are handed down from the voters.

Get the state out of selling liquor | Andrea Keikkala

The Kent Chamber has taken a stand on Initiative 1183 due to input from our members who encouraged us to support the initiative.

Listening and blackberry pie | Dennis Box

The most recent verbal fencing match that broke out Sept. 20 at the Kent City Council meeting during a public hearing was a picturesque portrait of the communication problems that pop up with indecipherable codes and laws.

The color pink does run – a lot | Kris Hill

It’s no secret that I hate the color pink. True, I have come to see it as a neutral color since my daughter Lyla arrived almost two years ago, but still it’s not a color I have in abundance in my wardrobe.

The new world of online dating | Dennis Box

We are considering a new series of enterprise reporting written by TJ Martinell who works out of the Covington-Maple Valley-Black Diamond Reporter office. The subject is online dating.

Memories remain ten years after 9/11 | Editorial

I had just gotten out of the shower when the first plane hit. I was listening to Howard Stern tell a story about not having sex with Pamela Anderson when he was interrupted by his producer saying he didn’t want to spoil the fun, but had some news.

The right stuff for politics | Editorial

Every once in a while I get the crazy idea it would be fun to be a political consultant — until the political season starts and I see the frenzy on the faces of the candidates and their helpers.

Editorial cartoon  by Frank Shiers

Wildfires in Washington | Frank Shiers

Wildfires in Washington | Frank Shiers

  • Sep 11, 2011
  • BY Wire Service
Editorial cartoon  by Frank Shiers

Books, books and Kent Friends of the Library book sales | Editorial

I grabbed a few books from my overstuffed shelves the other night while lying in bed. On the wall next to my bed is a book shelf that extends from the floor to the ceiling and it is stuffed with every book I can get on it.

South King County gangs facts and figures | Justice Bobbe Bridge

Gang violence seems to be everywhere today, even right here in our own suburban neighborhoods – and it’s mobile, moving across city borders. So, how can south and east King County communities work together to deal with it?

Understanding a sports writer | Editorial

The life and times of the newspaper business has been a rocky road over the past few years both from the inside and outside.

The chicken and the egg | Editorial

I was driving around Kent a few days ago and noticed chickens scurrying around behind a house. Chickens have become a popular item on city council agendas lately. Seattle passed an ordinance allowing residents to raise chickens and the Tukwila City Council on Monday was working on a similar ordinance.

A gift of playing and teaching with the Maple Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra | Dennis Box

There is a lot of talk about teaching and teachers these days. Educating kids has been a political punching bag for decades, particularly since the 1980s when we started hearing stories that our kids were all dummies and children from some country over there all earned a PhD at 3 years old.

The fun-filled art of handicapping political races | Editorial

I have been spending some time handicapping races recently. First, the Longacres Mile that is coming up at Emerald Downs Aug. 21 and also the paths of a few up and coming south King County politicians. There are a lot of similarities between handicapping political races and horse races. You have to understand form, fitness and the conditions of the race. Getting into the right race at the right time is the key to winning. Not that I have ever actually bet on a horse race, of course. Well, maybe a few times.

Vote yes on Prop. 1 to help vets and the poor | Editorial

Times are tight, the economy – again – is in trouble and no one knows what to do. It couldn’t be a worse time to ask for money. Nevertheless, an issue on the Primary Ballot does just that. King County Proposition 1 – the Veterans and Human Services Levy – asks voters to approve a tax levy of 5 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to support a wide variety of services to those who need them most.

Compromise, taxes and the stuff of American politics | Editorial

The art of compromise and arguing about money — it is the stuff of American politics and family fun. The debt ceiling debate underlined a basic axiom of our form of government as the hot talk bounced back and forth between the chambers of our federal houses.

A story without a happy ending | Editorial

When I first heard about the shooting at the car show on the West Hill of Kent I began to think about writing a column.