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Local Commentaries

Leadership runs dry in Tidioute water crisis

On March 18, the community of Tidioute was issued a boil water notice. As of the writing of this letter — four weeks later we are still under a boil water notice with seemingly no end in sight. Since the start of this water debacle we have received no official statement from our Mayor ...

Post-COVID, the world is still trying to catch its breath

We talk about recovery as though it’s something everyone experiences the same way. That’s not true. In many places, recovery never came. Food costs more. Medicine costs more. And for millions of people, just getting through the day is still a struggle. I’ve been in those ...

Daffodils, omelets and Rosemary Clooney

Is it finally Spring? I think Mother Nature might have made up her mind. She has been sort of a brat about it: “Oh let’s give them a nice day that soars above 78 degrees but plunges them down to 19 overnight. And tomorrow, bright sunshine but keep it at a high of 36. That should keep them ...

Embrace tax fairness to address America’s economic anxiety

What would an extra $1,000 mean for your family’s financial security? Would it help cover essentials, pay bills, or repair your home or car? At a time when affordability is top of mind for many Americans, every extra dollar matters. The most recent consumer sentiment report confirms that ...

Continuing education in humor serious business

Long car drives are good for sweeping out the sticky cobwebs. Lottsa time to think. On my way back from the writing conference I recently attended in Dayton, I had 375 highway miles to review the stimulating weekend, to relive many new stories. The conference’s real name is the Erma Bombeck ...

Having some taste watching the money

Recently, there was an article published by the Times Observer, “RDA Approves Loan for City Business.” On Facebook, this resulted in a spirited flood of comments, mostly from people recognizing that a 3% loan for a high-failure restaurant over 15 years is a negative investment from the ...