Tag Archives: Voices

Voices

OPINION | Connecting Washington Labor History and the Hollywood Strike

How Washington’s history with labor movements gives Washingtonians a unique perspective on recent labor strikes.

by Christopher Lara

Hollywood officially ground to a halt when the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild and American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) began a strike after negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) fell apart.

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Voices

OPINION | Local News Nourishes Local Democracy

by Mary Coltrane and Dee Anne Finken

News of the police raid at the Marion County Record in Marion, Kansas, on Aug. 11 ignited outrage across the nation. Similarly newsworthy was the announcement days later by the county’s top prosecutor, Joel Ensey, that he had insufficient evidence to justify the search or seizure of the newspaper’s property or material.

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Voices

OPINION | What The Latest Mifepristone Ruling Really Means

by Megan Burbank

On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Food and Drug Administration should revoke its approval for mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in medication abortions. The case has drawn widespread attention, given the impact it could have on access to mifepristone and spurred confusion about whether medication abortion is still available.

It is. Before we get into the nitty-gritty, it’s important to be clear on this point: Mifepristone remains legal and accessible in states where abortion is, and will remain that way until the case makes its way to the Supreme Court. If you take away just one piece of information from this column, that should be it. But if you want to know more, let’s dig in.

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Voices

OPINION | Working With COVID

by Jesse Kennemer

For a food service worker, even a mild case of COVID in the “post-pandemic era” can lead to critical loss of personal income or even losing a job. This is before even taking into consideration the potential health impact of the infection itself, especially in the long-term.

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Voices

OPINION | WSDOT Must Be More Transparent About High-Speed Transportation Project

by Arvia Morris and Iris Antman

To address expected population growth, promote economic development, and develop a more sustainable transportation system, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has been studying an ultra-high-speed ground transportation (UHSGT) system between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Portland, Oregon, for the past six years and is required to report progress to the Washington State Legislature. Its most recent report to the Legislature is shockingly substance-free, casting doubt on WSDOT’s ability to communicate effectively about this enormous infrastructure commitment. Most egregiously of all, the report does not include any updated cost estimates, which is not only essential information but is also required by law in updates such as this.

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Voices

OPINION | Demanding Media Accountability in a Time of Broken Trust

by Ken Gillgren

Way back in 1970, when I was a senior in high school, I attended an elective class on mass media and learned you can’t assume something is true just because it showed up in The New York Times. The entire class was about the ways in which logical fallacies, appeals to emotion, and other tools for influencing public thought and opinion have long lurked in the channels of mass media — including those we have come to see as authoritative, and the presumptive “guardians” of public integrity and truth.

Yet even though I’ve long been aware of this troubling pattern, I was still enraged to read the insensitive, fear-mongering “hit piece” in The Seattle Times entitled, “Lawsuits say Rainier Beach parking lot where 5 were shot a magnet for violence.”

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