Columnists - The Durango Herald

Rankin: Are education policies helping or hindering student (and teacher) success?

President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) into law in 2001. Since that time, Colorado has tested students and used the tests and other assessments to evaluate the effectivene...

DATE: Jul 11, 2017 | CATEGORY: Joyce Rankin

Kristof: Liu Xiaobo has suffered so others may be free

Dear Liu Xiaobo, You may be the man I most admire. For decades you’ve struggled and suffered to advance human liberty, at the cost of your own – and now, it seems, at the cost of ...

DATE: Jul 11, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nicholas Kristof

Krauthammer: No return on North Korea, the Rubicon has been crossed

WASHINGTON – Across 25 years and five administrations, we have kicked the North Korean can down the road. We are now out of road. On July 4, North Korea tested an intercontinental...

DATE: Jul 10, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Neighbors have difficult conversation

DEAR ABBY: I live in a 55-plus community. I was 49 when we moved here. We have lost 49 neighbors during the past five years. Others are in nursing homes. While walking my dog...

DATE: Jul 10, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Grocery stores dogged by unauthorized pets

I love dogs and I have two that go almost everywhere with me. But I just came home from Walmart and City Market and there were three dogs in each grocery store, either carried, riding in the...

DATE: Jul 9, 2017 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Bill to protect airline passengers doesn’t go far enough

Here we go again. Congress is trying to pass yet another Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, a rare opportunity to help airline passengers by enacting meaningful...

DATE: Jul 9, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Sisters’ lifelong rivalry escalates into silence

DEAR ABBY: Our daughters aren’t speaking. One says she really doesn’t “like” the other. These are mature women who have had their differences throughout their lives. But they have tolera...

DATE: Jul 9, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

McClellan: Verlena’s last summer, and hopes of seeing first snowfall

By Martha McClellan This is a gift we are receiving from Verlena Collentine, sharing her last months of life with us. Her journey through ovarian cancer (the “silent killer”) has ...

DATE: Jul 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

McClellan: Choice should be difficult, but not because of unnecessary hospital hurdles

Sixty-six percent of Colorado voters approved the End of Life Options Act last November. This is the law that allows physicians to prescribe life-ending medication to terminally ...

DATE: Jul 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Duthie: Honesty and disclosure at the heart of effective justice

I have always believed that the criminal justice system is based on a pursuit of the truth. The facts, circumstances, background and evidence are unique to each client’s case that a criminal...

DATE: Jul 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: On the Law

Butcher: Small towns the place to challenge immigration policy

This month, Rosa Sabido, a 53-year old woman of “impeccable character,” became the 11th person nationwide currently in sanctuary in a church. The other churches providing sanctuary sit in me...

DATE: Jul 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Gangloff: Shrink Bears Ears? Teddy’s rolling over in his grave

There isn’t a lot of “there” there in Interior Secretary Zinke’s recent report to President Trump of the Bears Ears National Monument - he recommends that it be shrunk, be broken into smalle...

DATE: Jul 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Photos: Thousands take to the streets for ‘No Kings’ march and rally in Durango

Photos: Navajo Trail OpenFriday was the first day of the Navajo Trail Open at Hillcrest Golf Club

Friday was the first day of the Navajo Trail Open at Hillcrest Golf Club

Photos: Durango Fire Protection District opens Station 2

Photos: Hundreds gather to honor fallen Bloomfield Police officer Timothy OntiverosA solemn procession stretched for blocks Monday morning along West Apache Street in Farmington – a display of unity, grief and honor for Bloomfield Police Officer Timothy Ontiveros, 32.About 7 a.m., a large contingent of law enforcement, motorcyclists, friends and grieving family prepared to embark on the motorcade to the 9 a.m. service at the Bloomfield High School football stadium to celebrate the life of the officer.