Columnists - The Journal

‘Disappointed’ Adventure Inn deal for bridge housing fell through

I was disappointed that the proposed purchase of the Adventure Inn in Durango had fallen through, as reported in The Durango Herald on March 30. Bridge housing, as the name implies, is a cri...

DATE: Apr 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Patriotism: ‘Working to live up to ideals country founded on’

I see many people proclaiming themselves to be patriots. They wear the American Flag lapel pin. They may have flag bumper stickers. Possibly they have actual American flags or Gadsden flags ...

DATE: Apr 14, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Let’s play climate change game: ‘Adapt/Move/Die’

Let’s play a game, the climate-change game that every living thing on Earth has no choice but to play, starting . . . now. The game is called Adapt/Move/Die, and the rules are simple. The ob...

DATE: Apr 12, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Pepper Trail: ‘Still so many places worth saving’

For a long time, climate change was largely perceived as a distant threat. But Oregon writer-biologist Pepper Trail, 70, who often writes for the opinion service Writers on the Range, said h...

DATE: Apr 10, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Consider ‘candidates’ views on health care, proposed solution’

The 2024 elections may well be decided by voters this fall based on economic conditions but health care is turning out to be an unexpected central campaign issue. The League of Women Voters ...

DATE: Apr 7, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

NM fire survivors ‘who generously spoke vital to work’

In February 2023, I signed a lease on a dusty studio apartment in Las Vegas, New Mexico, just outside the burn scar of the largest wildfire in New Mexico history. Based on the railroad ties ...

DATE: Apr 5, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

State budget: Do not follow rules well, it appears’

We must be thoughtful. Colorado’s budget is constitutionally required to be balanced, so last week, the House debated exactly how to do that. It’s never easy. The budget is called the “Long ...

DATE: Apr 3, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Importance of securing a source with absolute best water quality’

The unsung heroes of Colorado’s water sectors are the local public water providers. At the turn of the century, our town mothers and fathers repeatedly made strategic and visionary decisions...

DATE: Mar 31, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Poetry takes only a mind looking for answers’

Poetry is first and foremost a connection between oneself and their world. Poetry, now more than ever, is incredibly important. It is vital to our understanding of our existence. When I read...

DATE: Mar 31, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Super Bowl ‘ad failed to capture’ foot-washing, Holy Week message

During the Super Bowl last month, a Christian organization ponied up millions of dollars for a commercial that confused more people than it inspired. That is too bad, during this Holy Week, ...

DATE: Mar 29, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Bears Ears’ ‘integrity matters less than political gamesmanship’

Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument rarely leaves the news. The political tussle over this stunning expanse of red rock canyons exemplifies all the cultural dissonance in the rural West. Thr...

DATE: Mar 27, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion

‘Not understanding how women prefer depraved, demented old guy as Trump’

Now, I’m a guy and don’t understand women, something two former wives and a daughter have frequently told me. But listening to President Joe Biden’s recent State of the Union Address and fol...

DATE: Mar 24, 2024 | CATEGORY: Opinion