Columns – The Columbian

Columns – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com Mon, 06 Apr 2026 20:30:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://www.columbian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/columbian-insignia-2025-1-150x150.png Columns – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com 32 32 Crisp: Car drives itself better than you https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/06/crisp-car-drives-itself-better-than-you/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:01:48 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761039 No one has ever accused me of being overly eager to adopt emerging technologies.

]]> Other Papers Say: Subsidized sugar not guaranteed https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/06/other-papers-say-subsidized-sugar-not-guaranteed/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:01:42 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761181 The following editorial originally appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

]]> Kluth: Trump can’t admit U.S. has suffered setback in Iran https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/06/kluth-trump-cant-admit-u-s-has-suffered-setback-in-iran/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:01:42 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761179 On April Fools’ Day, the American president addressed the nation and the world to send not one message about the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran a month ago, but all possible messages at once.

]]> Estrich: Dysfunction is typical Washington politics https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/06/estrich-dysfunction-is-typical-washington-politics/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:01:23 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761180 It’s business as usual — almost — in the midst of a war abroad and an affordability crisis at home and the longest partial government shutdown in history.

]]> Millhiser: Court won’t back Trump on birthright citizenship https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/06/millhiser-court-wont-back-trump-on-birthright-citizenship/ Mon, 06 Apr 2026 13:01:11 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761185 If you’ve been worried that this Supreme Court might give President Donald Trump the power to strip citizenship away from Americans, you can go ahead and exhale.

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]]> Brown: What visitors think of Vancouver https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/04/brown-what-visitors-think-of-vancouver/ Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:02:28 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2761472 April marks the unofficial start to the tourist season in the Pacific Northwest. The cruise ships are back on the Columbia River and Puget Sound, the beaches are busy with spring breakers, and it’s nearly impossible to get a weekend camping reservation at prime state parks.

]]> Westneat: WA rich OK with taxing rich Million-dollar earners live in Dem districts, haven’t pushed back https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/04/westneat-wa-rich-ok-with-taxing-rich/ Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:01:54 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760765 If you’re really rich, and mad that you’re going to have to pay the new millionaires state income tax, it turns out you have your immediate neighbors to blame.

]]> Donnelly: Mental health heroes need state support https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/04/donnelly-mental-health-heroes-need-state-support/ Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:01:43 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760722 No wonder our state has a mental health crisis. Washington is ranked near the bottom for its service to mental health, warn psychiatrists at the University of Washington. Treatment beds for those needing immediate customized care are virtually nonexistent.

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]]> Klas: Hopes of Dreamers at risk https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/04/klas-hopes-of-dreamers-at-risk/ Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:01:14 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760721 As a high-achieving college kid, Alex Vallejo wasn’t surprised by the kind of young people he met at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ national conference in Salt Lake City three years ago. Like him, there were other computer-science students who were in their school robotics clubs. Like him, there were other web developers and students who worked two jobs while getting top grades. All predictably impressive.

]]> Other Papers Say: TV merger a threat to freedoms https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/04/other-papers-say-tv-merger-a-threat-to-freedoms/ Sat, 04 Apr 2026 13:01:05 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760764 The state of American democracy took another dark turn under the Trump administration last month. The Federal Communications Commission effectively rubber-stamped Texas-based Nexstar Media Group Inc.’s merger with Tegna Inc., creating a broadcast behemoth capable of reaching four in five American television households.

]]> Thorbecke: AI news masks labor crisis https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/03/thorbecke-ai-news-masks-labor-crisis/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:01:20 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760447 Singapore-based Crypto.com said recently that it was cutting 12 percent of its workforce, the latest company among a growing cohort to cite artificial intelligence adoption for job losses.

]]> Westneat: No fallout from bad government in WA https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/03/westneat-no-fallout-from-bad-government-in-wa/ Fri, 03 Apr 2026 13:00:05 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760449 A decade ago, when King County first asked voters for $392 million in property taxes for the Best Starts for Kids program, the only group opposing it called itself “Smart Choices King County.”

]]> Burcum: 2 deaths, zero accountability https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/02/burcum-2-deaths-zero-accountability/ Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:01:13 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760419 An alarming question remains unanswered after the deaths of Minnesotans Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year: Does the United States now have a federal immigration force that can kill Americans in front of the public yet operates beyond accountability’s reach?

]]> Rubin: Iran war distracts from Chinese threat https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/01/rubin-iran-war-distracts-from-chinese-threat/ Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:01:34 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759968 KINMEN, Taiwan — From this tiny outer island of Taiwan, which lies less than two miles from the Chinese mainland, one can view the high-rise towers of the Chinese port city of Xiamen.

]]> Harrop: Democrats, don’t take Trump’s bait https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/apr/01/harrop-democrats-dont-take-trumps-bait/ Wed, 01 Apr 2026 13:01:32 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2760035 Sure, the No Kings marches drew millions rightly protesting Donald Trump’s assaults on our democratic institutions. But Democrats must dig deeper and ask how Trump could actually win another term after trying to overturn the 2020 election results with a violent attack on the Capitol.

]]> Bloomberg: Economy, public lose in data war https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/31/bloomberg-economy-public-lose-in-data-war/ Tue, 31 Mar 2026 13:01:16 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759958 We have a saying here at Bloomberg, and it’s one we brought with us to New York City Hall: “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” The federal government is now in danger of proving just how much truth those words hold.

]]> Levitz: War in Mideast puts Trump’s populism to test https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/30/levitz-war-in-mideast-puts-trumps-populism-to-test/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:01:56 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759617 When Donald Trump won the 2016 Republican primary, he didn’t just defeat a field of rivals; he toppled a dynasty.

]]> Schram: Trump’s poor choices sabotage his dreams for substantial legacy https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/30/schram-trumps-poor-choices-sabotage-his-dreams-for-substantial-legacy/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:01:55 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759331 From the moment Donald Trump began the first legacy-shaping lap of his 2.0 presidency, things started looking and feeling nothing like he wanted them to be.

]]> Local View: Legislators need to hear community’s voices https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/30/local-view-legislators-need-to-hear-communitys-voices/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:01:54 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759324 As our news feeds get louder about the crises in our country, more people are starting to wonder how we can protect ourselves politically.

]]> Other Papers Say: Democrats’ ‘affordability’ needs work https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/30/other-papers-say-democrats-affordability-needs-work/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:01:40 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759326 The following editorial was written by Bloomberg Opinion:

]]> McCloskey: Universal child care isn’t perfect https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/30/mccloskey-universal-child-care-isnt-perfect/ Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:01:16 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759325 Free child care is starting to take root in the United States. But is it good for kids?

]]> Brown: Checking on the charter review https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/28/brown-checking-on-the-charter-review/ Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:02:57 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759489 After some of the most spirited contests in last November’s election, voters elected 15 members to the Clark County Charter Review Commission. Required by the county charter, this group is elected every five years to review the county’s foundational document and suggest changes to voters.

]]> Avalos: Sexual assault made possible, thrives in silence https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/28/avalos-sexual-assault-made-possible-thrives-in-silence/ Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:01:58 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759054 Dolores Huerta broke her silence 60 years after Cesar Chavez had assaulted her. In her statement, Huerta said, “I carried this secret for as long as I did because building the movement and securing farmworker rights was my life’s work.” She did not want to hurt the movement.

]]> Drucker: Joe Kent a cautionary tale He’s a conspiracy theorist, not principled dissenter to Iran war https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/28/drucker-joe-kent-a-cautionary-tale/ Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:01:25 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759043 Joe Kent is a cautionary tale.

]]> Other Papers Say: Reforms sign of failed policy https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/mar/28/other-papers-say-reforms-sign-of-failed-policy/ Sat, 28 Mar 2026 13:01:17 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2759041 The Trump administration’s sudden interest in reforms to a guest worker program for farmers is a case of the chickens coming home to roost.

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