Category: Opinion

Opinion

How real estate shapes a community

By Raphael Barta
Reader Contributor

In a prior existence, I lived in Vancouver,  British Columbia, where I was a vice president for the ski resort development company Intrawest. At the …

Our turn: Together we can do better

By Mark Sauter
Reader Contributor

Last month the Bonner County Fire Chiefs Association (BCFCA) held three public forums. The BCFCA pointed out, in multiple, evidence-based ways, how Emergency Medical Services …

Engage Sandpoint: A missed opportunity

By David Phillips
Reader Contributor

Projects fail for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes the expectations are set too high; sometimes the allocated time or resources are insufficient; sometimes the tools …

City waterfront giveaway

By Kody Van Dyk
Special to the Reader

The city of Sandpoint draft Parks Master Plan identifies disposing of city-owned green space located east of the Edgewater Best Western Hotel. …

The Baloney Detective

By Tim Bearly
Reader Contributor

Images of an Orwellian dystopia are often evoked when we hear the term “big government.” The mere uttering of the phrase can function as a …

Touched by the change

By Robin Lantrip
Reader Contributor

It started with a brisk chill in the morning air. The meadow began dressing in longer birch and fir shadows. The evening scent held a …

Working toward civil discourse

By Brenda Hammond
Reader Contributor

The Bonner County Human Rights Task Force recently sent a questionnaire to all the candidates for city office, asking their positions on a number of …

Letters

  • Regarding S.P.O.R.T.S… Dear Editor, My comments are regarding Lawrence Fury’s statement that people with police and military pensions are “on the public dole” (re S.P.O.R.T.).  Perhaps he would be less offended if he changed his view of these pensions to deferred compensation for those who spent their lives doing a job most people ...
  • Montana Makes Sense… Dear Editor, It appears Montana is ahead of Idaho in recognizing that we need to start managing our forests before we lose all of them to fire! U.S. Senator Steve Daines and U.S. Congressman Greg Gianforte, both of Montana, are working to bring back forest management on our National Forests, with ...
  • Ellen Weissman for State Rep… Dear Editor, Ellen Weissman exemplifies the values we all cherish. She has served the needs of families and youth as a teacher. She is currently serving our seniors as director of the Sandpoint Area Senior Center. Ellen as always focused on the personal needs of each individual, regardless of age, political ...
  • Vote Yes for Scotchman Peaks… Dear Editor, The Forest Service developed its proposed Scotchman Peaks Wilderness by engaging the public in an open, transparent process, and the resulting recommendations are ones that I have long supported. This May 15, Bonner County voters will be asked if this area should be designated by Congress as wilderness. I ...
  • No Personal Playground… Dear Editor, Jim Peterson wrote a disappointing letter in support of the proposed Scotchman wilderness. He wrote that he supports the wilderness because it “poses no threat to our timber-based economy, motorized recreation or mountain biking and no existing roads will be close.” Even though he describes his website, Evergreen, as ...
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