Columns

Editor’s Column: Lemon juice is not an invisibility cloak

The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” —Touchstone, in As You Like It by William Shakespeare. In the 1990s two Cornell scientists were inspired by a would-be thief who believed that by covering his face in lemon juice he’d be[Read More…]

June 9, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Tourism is good, stopping economic leaks is good, too

There’s been a lot of talk about tourism in the last few months. How can we attract people to our communities? What will make day trippers and weekend travelers and long-term guests come visit? We’ve packed our summer calendars with festivals and activities that will appeal to residents and visitors[Read More…]

May 5, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Start listening, stop labeling

Everything you see or hear or experience in any way at all is specific to you. You create a universe by perceiving it, so everything in the universe you perceive is specific to you.”—Douglas Adams The simplified version of this is “your perception is your reality.”

April 27, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Kudos to first responders

Former Herald Times editor Jeff Burkhead would be horrified to know we’ve been functioning without a functional scanner in the office for… um… a really long time. Our analog scanner was woefully outdated. Most everyone switched to digital years ago.

April 20, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: More on civility; and how stuff gets in the paper

Craig city councilman John Ponikvar emailed me last week to let me know I’m not alone in my quest for greater civility in the public arena. Ponikvar has introduced “the Rules of Civility” to Club 20, and both the City of Craig and the Moffat County Commissioners have signed resolutions[Read More…]

March 9, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Opinions are like ___?

Fill in the blank. The point is, everybody’s got one. I usually use noses, although other body parts might be more apropos. The technical definition of an opinion is “a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.” In 1275 British monarchs established De Scandalis[Read More…]

March 3, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Can we be civil?

When I was a child and got emotional or argumentative with my mother, she used to tell me, “Go to your room and don’t come out until you can be civil.” I complied for years before I finally understood the definition of “civil.” It’s a concept I think we all[Read More…]

February 24, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Weighing in on Better City proposals

As mentioned in a previous column, one of the hardest parts of reporting on a story is seeing all sides of an issue and not being able to choose a position. Nowhere is this more difficult than when reporting on a project that impacts the community. I understand the disgruntled[Read More…]

February 9, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: It’s time to learn (or relearn) civics

I blew it last week. I neglected to explain the parameters of a “workshop” meeting—which is a public meeting, but one not open to public comment or questions and answers. I knew this, but only because someone explained it to me in a meeting once upon a time. How is[Read More…]

January 26, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Pioneering

We pride ourselves in this part of the country on our pioneering spirit. Many of us can trace our family heritage back to well before Colorado became a state in 1876, and some of us even before it was officially a territory. We’re familiar with the term “pioneer” as someone[Read More…]

January 19, 2017 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: When should you speak up? Before you’re angry and before it’s too late

Sometimes it’s necessary to air a grievance or speak up to right a perceived wrong, but when and how we choose to make our complaints and concerns known is crucial to achieving the best outcome. If you thought there was a terrible problem with the mechanical components of an airplane[Read More…]

December 15, 2016 by editor Comments are Disabled

Editor’s Column: Step away from the fake news

There’s a kerfuffle afoot about the prevalence of “fake news,” particularly in social media (which is where 62 percent of U.S. adults get their news nowadays). Unfortunately, as we’ve all been told all our lives, you can’t believe everything you read. You can’t even believe everything you see anymore, what[Read More…]

December 2, 2016 by editor Comments are Disabled