Author - The Durango Herald

On changing climate: ‘The new normal’ does not apply

Ah, “the new normal” – how many times have you heard those words in the past few years? Endless security lines at airports? Bitter partisan politics? Working multiple jobs with no benefits? ...

DATE: Jun 15, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Reflections from ground zero Local is an eyewitness to first days of the 416 fire

While sitting around my house on Day 11 of the 416 Fire and not being able to leave because of the mandatory evacuation order (if you leave, you can’t return), I have been reflecting on the ...

DATE: Jun 15, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

PERA reform

State’s pension plan is getting worse, and teachers are suffering the most

DATE: Jun 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Chain pharmacy pricing: a tough pill to swallow

If Wal-Mart tried charging five times more than local grocers for bread, milk and bananas, its customers would promptly start buying locally. Yet a new report from the Consumers Union shows ...

DATE: Jun 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Blow: Trump leading Republican Party to ruin

In one way, Donald Trump’s presidency has been a raging success: He stole a political party. Among most of the people who we used to call Republicans, among the people who like Tr...

DATE: Jun 5, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

James: Self-raised, but who cares?

Anyone who knows me very well will tell you that I’m not the most fastidious man that ever lived. My second wife – I’ve been encouraged not to refer to them as ex-wife No. 1 or N...

DATE: Jun 4, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Hunters and gun owners must speak out for common sense

These days it’s impossible for an American citizen fortunate enough to have been born with a functioning mind not to worry about guns and the men who love them, and the innocent victims some...

DATE: Jun 2, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Harney: Racial disparities notable in mortgage rejections

WASHINGTON – For millions of Americans hoping to buy or refinance a home, it’s a crucial make-or-break question: Will the lender say yes to our mortgage application, turn it down or charge u...

DATE: May 28, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

McQuade: Time to ignore pundits and act like Americans

We’re a nation, America, and it would be healthy for us to act like one again, rather than like two diametrically opposed nations attempting to bunk together. If you’re a student of history,...

DATE: May 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Writers on the Range: Speak up now to prevent oil development in ANWR

Last December, Congress tucked a provision into the new tax law that mandates oil drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is among the nation’s most treasured natural lan...

DATE: May 26, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Dionne: A challenge to our nation’s Christian apologists

WASHINGTON — Maybe it takes a royal wedding to offer lessons in what a good sermon sounds like. Maybe it takes one of the world’s most elitist institutions – a monarchy, for goodn...

DATE: May 24, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns

Blow: Time to change political tactics on gun control

The school shooting has become an American motif, a previously unthinkable option for the odd, the alienated and the spurned, a way to find voice through violence. We had yet anot...

DATE: May 23, 2018 | CATEGORY: Guest Columns