Opinion – The Columbian

Opinion – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com Thu, 27 Aug 2026 01:19:16 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.1 https://www.columbian.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/columbian-insignia-2025-1-150x150.png Opinion – The Columbian https://www.columbian.com 32 32 In Our View: Oppose costly recision of Roadless Rule https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/in-our-view-oppose-costly-recision-of-roadless-rule/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:03:46 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795919 Scientific studies — and common sense — suggest that human access to wilderness areas increases the risk of wildfires. As a report from the U.S. Forest Service states, “as the density of roads increases so does the probability, number, and frequency of wildfire ignitions.”

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]]> McQuade: Fraud war targets wrong crimes https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/mcquade-fraud-war-targets-wrong-crimes/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:01:38 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795805 The Trump administration’s so-called war on fraud is, well, a bit of a fraud.

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]]> Letter: Keep Perez in Congress https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-keep-perez-in-congress-7/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:52 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795861 Washington’s 3rd Congressional District faces a crucial political choice this cycle. We’ve seen the barrage of ads, the miles of yard signs, and the flood of out-of-district money. Why? The political wizards of their Washington want to turn our Washington into a rubber stamp. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has put, and will always put, our local jobs, timber and working families above any partisan line.

]]> Letter: Perez represents all of district https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-perez-represents-all-of-district-2/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:45 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795863 Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces continued criticisms from both the left and right because of the way she has voted. People have stated they wouldn’t support her because of one vote. If they had attended one of her town meetings they would have learned why she voted the way she did. Yet in spite of the criticisms, she is committed to represent all of her constituency.

]]> Letter: Larger vehicles pose danger https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-larger-vehicles-pose-danger/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:41 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795853 Without wanting to prejudge the investigation into the case of the wheelchair user who died (“Man using wheelchair dies after being hit by truck in central Vancouver,” The Columbian, Aug. 20), the photo which accompanied the story in The Columbian was depressingly familiar.

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]]> Letter: City officials are not listening https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-city-officials-are-not-listening/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:40 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795857 I’ve driven and ridden McGillivray Boulevard for 35 years. Reducing it to one lane will lead to massive tailgating and congestion. The assumption that traffic will divert to Mill Plain is a pipe dream. There are simply no facts demonstrating otherwise.

]]> Letter: City wastes money on transit https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-city-wastes-money-on-transit/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:31 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795798 It’s gotta be me! Really, me, not our city or county officials, but me. I just cannot believe that C-Tran is spending millions of dollars on The Vine, Fourth Plain, Mill Plain and now Highway 99 so they can run those huge articulated buses nearly empty up and down those avenues.

]]> Letter: Treat employees like they matter https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-treat-employees-like-they-matter/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:09 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795848 Not long ago, I was talking with someone who indicated that her husband had just retired. He was very disappointed that there didn’t seem to be a real “thank you” or “wish you well” when he left after 30 years with the organization. This seems common, but I don’t think it has to be this way.

]]> Letter: Support Perez for Congress https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/26/letter-support-perez-for-congress-37/ Wed, 26 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795859 As many alert readers of The Columbian have recently observed, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is not an ideal Democrat. She does not always follow her party on certain votes and usually has a reason for not doing so. But she serves us in a very politically divided district, and obviously cannot please all her constituents with every vote.

]]> In Our View: Paid parking is finding its place in Vancouver https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/in-our-view-paid-parking-is-finding-its-place-in-vancouver/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:03:51 +0000 According to Vancouver officials, concerns about changes to parking policy have proven to be unfounded. Evidence from seven-day paid parking in the downtown core suggests that expanding the policy would benefit both businesses and customers.

]]> Jarvis: Cancer vaccine closer than ever https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/jarvis-cancer-vaccine-closer-than-ever/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:01:00 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795504 Scientists are on the cusp of fulfilling a decadeslong quest: to use vaccines to teach the immune system to spot and destroy cancer cells.

]]> Letter: Braun is weak on defense https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-braun-is-weak-on-defense/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:54 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795652 John Braun loves to tout his experience in the Navy as evidence of his leadership, but his leadership is sorely lacking when it comes to actually speaking up for our sailors who are low on food and drinkable water on the USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships in the area. He’s silent on the fact that Trump and Hegseth’s Iran debacle has depleted over 90 percent of key long-range missiles, hideously eroding our defense posture and hence our national security.

]]> Letter: City works hard on homelessness https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-city-works-hard-on-homelessness/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:42 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795659 It has to be a tough job daily to manage homeless programs (“Cleanup of downtown Vancouver encampment leaves many who are homeless looking for shelter, answers,” The Columbian, Aug. 19).

]]> Letter: Questions persist at McGillivray https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-questions-persist-at-mcgillivray/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:34 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795662 The article about the McGillivray Boulevard changes is very informative about the coming changes (“McGillivray Boulevard improvements moving forward as Vancouver approves construction contract,” The Columbian, Aug. 18).

]]> Letter: Freedom is on the ballot https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-freedom-is-on-the-ballot/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:21 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795655 Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich asks, “which party is better for you, your family and America?” Well, it can’t be a Democratic Party that did nothing to stop Joe Biden’s wide-open border and is frightened of its own communist shadow. Communism only benefits the power-hungry collective at the top. They reject our Constitution, government, capitalism, homeownership, homeschooling, our border, ICE, jails, police and more. Basically, they hate everything our forefathers secured for the people.

]]> Letter: Perez is best for 3rd District https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-perez-is-best-for-3rd-district-5/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:03 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795648 Listen to what people say themselves, not what any third party or biased source tells you.

]]> Letter: Perez is fiscally responsible https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/25/letter-perez-is-fiscally-responsible/ Tue, 25 Aug 2026 13:00:01 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795497 Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, has been taking fire from the National Republican Congressional Committee. Their posts claim that she voted to raise her constituents’ taxes by $3,400 per year. The same organization claims that she “voted for the largest tax hike since World War II.” Such dubious claims are designed to have thoughtful voters question her record; but shouldn’t responsible claims have some semblance of being true? Searching Perez’s voting record on some 282 votes shows she has never voted for such a tax increase.

]]> In Our View: Cheers & Jeers: Critical cleanup; bad borers https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/in-our-view-cheers-bad-borers/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:03:22 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795229 Cheers … and jeers: To cleanup work. City of Vancouver officials last week cleaned up a large encampment along Jefferson Street near downtown, temporarily removing residents in order to conduct cleaning and maintenance. The work is necessary, with encampments fostering a space for biological hazards.

]]> Lincicome: Burden of tariffs is worst for small businesses https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/lincicome-burden-of-tariffs-is-worst-for-small-businesses/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:01:50 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795069 Mere hours after the Trump administration’s latest tariff scheme launched on July 24, the government was sued again by the same small businesses that already had defeated prior White House tariff shenanigans, most notably at the Supreme Court.

]]> Westneat: MAGA dragging down Washington GOP https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/westneat-maga-dragging-down-washington-gop/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:01:31 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795033 “This article (and especially the comments) should be mandatory reading for all the conservatives in Washington state.”

]]> Schrager: Betting on sports isn’t investing https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/schrager-betting-on-sports-isnt-investing/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:01:27 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795040 If the bad news is that members of Generation Z can’t afford to buy a house until they are middle-aged — which isn’t really bad news, honestly, but anyway — then the good news is that at least they are investing their money in high-performing assets. Or so we thought.

]]> Estrich: Trump’s aide isn’t the issue https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/estrich-trumps-aide-isnt-the-issue/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:01:25 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795066 She is the human printer, controlling the flow of paper to the president and transcribing his social media posts. She thinks she owes her life to Donald Trump. She is always by his side. Her name is Natalie Harp. She is among the most recent troubling news.

]]> Blas: Trump’s Iran strategy unlikely to work https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/blas-trumps-iran-strategy-unlikely-to-work/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:01:18 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795253 Over the years, I’ve witnessed firsthand countries going broke under U.S. economic pressure: Iraq, Venezuela and Cuba. The scenes I saw in Baghdad, Caracas and Havana were all very similar. The national currency became worthless, inflation skyrocketed and unemployment spiraled higher. And yet, American economic sanctions alone failed to force political change.

]]> Letter: Please model Christ’s values https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/letter-please-model-christs-values/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:00:51 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795058 Recently when I saw “The Odyssey,” I realized that lies, judgment, prejudice, cruelty, and war in the pursuit of greed and power have destroyed civilization before. Sadly, we are watching a repeat of how this is gradually destroying us today.

]]> Letter: Iran war is a failure https://www.columbian.com/news/2026/aug/24/letter-iran-war-is-a-failure/ Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:00:49 +0000 https://www.columbian.com/?p=2795032 Do you want Iran to have a nuclear bomb? No rational American would answer yes. So, Donald Trump bought into Netanyahu’s plan to decapitate Iran’s leadership and foment regime change. CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the plan “farcical,” to which Secretary of State Marco Rubio added “in other words, it’s B.S.” Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said, “They (the Israelis) oversell, their plans are not always well-developed.”

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