I found myself in yet another journalistic quandary this week. I received an inflammatory letter from one elected official accusing another elected official and an employee of making a unilateral decision to spend taxpayer dollars to investigate the letter writer’s department following complaints. However, since the letter did not include any[Read More…]
Opinion
OPED: Climate models and global warming
RBC | In this article, I summarize scientific consensus on the state of the global climate and explain the basis for climate predictions. Climate projections are based on computer models, and few people in the general population understand how the models work. If there’s been a failure in climate science, perhaps[Read More…]
OPED: Finding joy in 2019
MEEKER | What do you do when you have company coming over, piles of laundry everywhere, dishes in the sink and absolutely no motivation whatsoever to tackle the ever looming and neverending chore monster? There is the old trick of throwing the clean laundry in the closets or hiding dirty dishes[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Open meetings demand open discourse
Are the commissioners, returning and new, abiding by Colorado’s Open Meetings Act, aka the “Sunshine Laws”? Based on video and audio recordings, and comments from all three commissioners after Monday’s meeting, it would appear that two of our county commissioners made a decision about the future of the county attorney[Read More…]
Letter: Fire district 1/2 mill holiday, admin building update
Dear Editor: Rio Blanco Fire Protection District (Meeker Fire Rescue) would like to thank our community for its tremendous support past, present and future. The board of directors voted a ½ mill holiday at for the 2019 budget. Similar ½ mill tax holidays have been approved by the Board since[Read More…]
Guest Column: The science of climate change
RBC | This is the first in a series of articles on climate change. My purpose is to review the evidence that climate change is damaging ecosystems and disrupting the economy. Its costs are rising rapidly, and we have a very short time in which to prevent catastrophic effects on[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Got the mid-winter crankies? Please don’t share.
A quote from one of my all-time favorite novels reads: “…while golf and fishing are Scotland’s most popular outdoor sports, gossip is the most popular indoor sport. And when it rains as much as it does in Scotland, people spend a lot of time indoors.” That quote reminds me of[Read More…]
OPED: Untangling the tales of my ancestry
RBC | Happy New Year! I’ve officially swapped my Facebook habit for an obsession with genealogy, triggered by a do-it-yourself DNA kit I got for Christmas. That’s right, I paid $60 for someone to tell me I’m about as white as they come—the fact that I turn the color of a[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: Ten easy ways to make our communities even better in 2019
1. Read the newspaper. Informed citizens make better community members. (FYI: an in-county subscription to the print edition will save you almost 25 percent off the single copy price and you get the online edition for free.) 2. Attend public meetings and participate in community events. Hold your elected (and appointed) leaders[Read More…]
Editor’s Column: What will you do with the new year?
It’s time to start the annual debate about New Year’s resolutions, whether we’re for or against them. I think some folks are so discouraged by past failures they swing all the way to the other side of the spectrum, denying and defying the notion that making resolutions is a good[Read More…]
OPED: Getting ‘real’ for 2019
RBC | I did it, folks. Three whole weeks without Facebook. I ventured back on for the first time Christmas morning and while it was nice to see and hear from people, I realized I haven’t missed anything worthwhile. I seem to be craving a deeper connection these days, so much[Read More…]
Letter: Goodbye and thank you from Karen Arnold
Dear Editor: My term has rolled by and as they say, a new chapter awaits. Maybe I’ll start a plant hospital. I received my resident’s training in the treasurer’s office and have plenty of experience, although I did have some patients (patience) not fare well. Road trips will be the[Read More…]