Americans are facing the most urgent economic crisis since the Great Depression. Small businesses are shutting down by the thousands, unemployment has rocketed into double digits and the virus causing this mayhem is far from contained.
As we go into our summer season, the world has changed, and so must we. We have two major issues to address: our financial position and our branding as a tourist town. If we do it right, each will complement the other.
COVID-19 is a tough challenger, in part, because it’s an invisible virus. Some people have minimal to no symptoms, or assume they’re just suffering from allergies or a cold, yet they shed the virus and spread it around our community. Others end up so desperately sick they require critical ca…
Hello, and welcome to the White House, where everything is fine and we are encouraging Americans to be warriors and get out there, get back to work and face the coronavirus head-on. Please excuse this recorded message. We are currently experiencing a coronavirus outbreak that is being handle…
There’s a longing these days for a return to normal—to the days when we were regulars at restaurants, rec centers and coffee shops; back when we were hugging and hanging out freely.
Americans are paying a fearsome price for the government’s strict lockdowns of American life and commerce, and now comes evidence that targeted lockdowns aimed at protecting those who are most vulnerable to the coronavirus would be better for public health and the economy.
It’s high time people start applauding the amazingly successful job President Donald Trump and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner have done handling the coronavirus outbreak in America.
Thank you. You helped us and your community by staying home and abiding by the shelter-in-place and it made a difference. You saw the significant number of COVID cases in our community and you helped bend the curve. We became the county with the largest per-capita incidence rate of COVID in …
A quick note to high school seniors across the country:
We are now at a point where we must consider opening up our economy and social life in a responsible way. A way that reassures those concerned over the resurgence of the virus, while allowing others to put food on the table. A way that restores our lives and livelihoods, while managing the r…
The Ketchum City Council gave approvals for the massive Marriott Hotel at the entrance to Ketchum, including waivers for height, density, setbacks and minimum lot size for a PUD. That was done despite clear opposition of the public during the hearing process. The council received hundreds of…
It seems the Fox News network—which is as much a “news network” as I am a “banana cream pie”—is trying to kill off its audience.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Blaine Country as of Sunday, April 19, was 469, but only 50 were considered “active and infectious.” The number of new cases peaked on April 2, more than two weeks ago. Since then, the daily average number of new cases is four. Our “curve” of total cases…
I’ve been a practicing pulmonary and critical-care physician here in Idaho for 21 years. Every year, I see dozens of very ill people.
We on the front lines want to thank you. We appreciate your support and your patience through these trying times. I am optimistic that we are making progress battling the COVID-19 virus.
On Monday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted this sensible declaration, Trump-splaining presidential powers as they relate to the coronavirus pandemic:
Anxiety bubbles up like a spring that trickles through the mind. Fed by tributaries of dread and helplessness, it becomes a fearsome river, draining strength and happiness.
More than a century ago, close to 700,000 Americans died from the so-called “Spanish flu,” which swept across the world with lightning speed. In the end, the disease infected more than one-third of the earth’s population, resulting in 20 million to 50 million deaths. The virus likely infecte…
Anxiety bubbles up like a spring that trickles through the mind. Fed by tributaries of dread and helplessness, it becomes a fearsome river, draining strength and happiness.
The Sawtooth Mountain Range of Idaho is perhaps best known for its sharp tooth-like peaks. Many of the peaks possess imaginative and descriptive names, such as The Rotten Monolith, Elephant’s Perch, The Coffin, The Finger of Fate, The Birthday Cake, Warbonnet, The Raker, and The Arrowhead.
Americans are daydreaming a return to normal, eyeing the calendar—May? Maybe June?—as if a switch will get flicked and the coronavirus pandemic and its life-altering impact will fade to memory.
breaking
The board of trustees of the Blaine County School District is committed to transparency in dispatching its obligations to our students, parents, teachers, staff and community. To that end, I want to address some of the concerns that have been expressed by concerned members of the community.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced families across the country to shelter in place and spend more time together in close quarters. Though it has yet to be included in federal health guidelines, I have argued from the start that, to be safe, family members should steer clear of each other an…
The Sawtooth Mountain Range of Idaho is perhaps best known for its sharp tooth-like peaks. Many of the peaks possess imaginative and descriptive names, such as The Rotten Monolith, Elephant’s Perch, The Coffin, The Finger of Fate, The Birthday Cake, Warbonnet, The Raker, and The Arrowhead.
Americans are daydreaming a return to normal, eyeing the calendar—May? Maybe June?—as if a switch will get flicked and the coronavirus pandemic and its life-altering impact will fade to memory.
breaking
The board of trustees of the Blaine County School District is committed to transparency in dispatching its obligations to our students, parents, teachers, staff and community. To that end, I want to address some of the concerns that have been expressed by concerned members of the community.
The coronavirus pandemic has forced families across the country to shelter in place and spend more time together in close quarters. Though it has yet to be included in federal health guidelines, I have argued from the start that, to be safe, family members should steer clear of each other an…
The coronavirus tried to kill me, but my body returned the favor. When the virus entered my body, it invaded cells, hijacking the control centers. It seized the factory and replicated to create more assailants. The virus swarmed, infecting new cells. My violated cells became zombies, forced …
Atkinsons’ Market in Ketchum has always been a social gathering place where people can gather in the aisles, share a laugh and talk about their kids.
While we’re all sheltered in place and socially distanced, nervously monitoring the daily rise in coronavirus cases and hoping for the best, even the busiest among us will have some additional time. That’s what happens when you can’t run errands, when there are no sports practices or piano l…
The nonprofit industry is the third largest in America. In Blaine County, nonprofit organizations employ hundreds of people and serve thousands. They provide food for the hungry, safety for the abused, care for our seniors and shelter for stray pets. They also provide the community with ente…
Video of penguins waddling about the empty Shedd Aquarium rotunda lit up the internet this week, giving Chicagoans and people across the country a brief respite from news of the worsening coronavirus pandemic.
As our lifestyle in the Wood River Valley has changed for the foreseeable future, our community stands together, as always, supporting one another during times of need. While the community is responding appropriately and we strive to keep Blaine County at the peak of its resilience, there ar…
We are experiencing unprecedented times as COVID-19 impacts our community. The city of Ketchum has taken numerous actions to address the pandemic, but we have two requests of our community: Slow it down and Do your part.
One of the best things people across the country can do to combat the coronavirus pandemic is “social distancing.” It sounds like a new-age ritual you pay Gwyneth Paltrow $1,000 to learn about, but it’s actually an effective public health technique aimed at slowing the spread of a contagious…
Betty Bell, 95, died last week, which came as a shock to everyone who thought we would see her faithfully and stubbornly riding her bike up the hill into downtown Ketchum, well, forever.
A space study issued in 2016 put the new Ketchum fire station on Lewis Street.
Since the coronavirus outbreak began, I have followed the lead of every American with a Twitter account and become an expert virologist.
Idaho’s prisons are overcrowded, and that’s costing us a lot of money. But it’s money that must be spent to protect the safety of every Idahoan. However, we’re also planning to invest in community programs to help keep former inmates out of prison. That can save us much more in the long run.
While Sen. Bernie Sanders is now the front-runner in the Democratic presidential primary, there’s still ample confusion over which of the remaining candidates stands the best chance of beating President Donald Trump in November.
As Gov. Little’s salmon workgroup begins a second year, members search for clarity. Their challenges are genuine, coming from a conflict between the looming extinction of Idaho’s wild fish and the cultural and political attachment to four 50-year-old federal dams.
Idaho’s working families—not to mention every taxpayer in the state—received some welcome news last week from Washington, D.C. You don’t hear that often, but this time it’s true. The D.C. Federal Court of Appeals unanimously rejected Arkansas’ so-called “work requirements” attached to Medica…
Right-wing radio host Rush Limbaugh, who daily demonstrates what would happen if a landfill learned to vent its decomposition gases into a microphone, has smartly weighed in on Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg: “America’s still not ready to elect a gay guy kissing his husband…
The Hailey City Council recently considered the important issue of area of city impact. Hailey’s area of city impact, has not been updated since 1994, and state law and good planning practices tell us this work should be done every 10 years. I stated in my opening remarks, “Success in Bellev…
What is the proper role of government? Some people believe that government must continue to grow and to increase its funding of health care, education, housing, food, cell phones and nearly every other thing people might use or consume over the course of their lives. For some, government sub…
The case against Jussie Smollett — which now, thanks to a special prosecutor, is actually a case again — fits nicely into this moment in our history.
Recently, the Idaho Department of Fish and Game changed its rules to allow any hunter or trapper to kill up to 30 wolves per year. And the state is considering a proposal to open much of the state to nearly year-round wolf killing.
Kudos to Gov. Little for issuing an executive order to provide for paid parental leave for state employees. In his words, “this will enable families to spend time together in those critical weeks after a child enters the family.” This order will impact the 25,000 state employees who work for…
OK, I need the following people to come here: liberals, Democrats, progressives, liberal-leaning centrists, alleged independents, guy at the coffee shop who doesn’t believe in “political labels” and anyone else who hasn’t taken membership in the Cult of Trump.
There are few certainties in life, but, as we all eventually learn, having to face a serious challenge at some point is one of them. For some people, it might be loss. For others, it might be failure. Life’s tests of our strength and determination come in many forms.
It’s not surprising to hear people calling for an end to the Iowa caucuses. Or at least for an end to the privileged place the state occupies in the nomination calendar.
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