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

  • Wanting clarity from Avista… Dear Editor, Avista is increasing electric rates for North Idaho, saying it’s to “cover costs accumulated in 2016.” However, another testimony claims it’s planning to spend $24.2 million between 2017 and 2019 on additions to Colstrip, a coal-fired power plant in Montana. So, which is it? And what is being “added” ...
  • Deepest Gratitude… Dear Editor, Ninety years of entertaining Sandpoint was highlighted last Saturday by a very talented crew, a handful of staff and volunteers and enjoyed by a special audience of those reminiscing and celebrating the evening. The celebration started with a special art show reception in the Panida Little Theatre with art ...
  • Gun Laws Do Save Lives… Dear Editor, The gun lobby and its followers claim that laws designed to stop gun violence fail -- even in the recent wake of two white Americans using automatic rifles slaughtering 84 citizens and injuring hundreds more. Turn to Australia (a country with a similar gun culture)  which in 1996, after a ...
  • The Tip of the Iceberg… Dear Editor, With Republicans in control of the House and Senate and Trump in the White House, you would think Congress could manage to pass some of their wish-list legislation. Yet, it’s difficult to see any constructive success, aside from: failed attempts at dismantling health care and threats to abolish Social ...
  • NFL Players… Dear Editor, As a veteran who risked his life for our country, I don’t believe that those NFL players taking a knee or banding together during the playing of our national anthem are being disrespectful of our flag. They are exercising their First Amendment rights to peacefully protest issues — a right ...
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