Editorials
Opinion
More Hispanics than ever before are starting small businesses across America
Aikta Marcoulier Each year from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, Americans celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month as a time to recognize the many contributions, diverse cultures and extensive histories of…
Opinion
Protect the Dolores River Canyon Country to preserve the legacy of the Ute Mountain Ute
Silverton House-Whitehorse With its sweeping vistas and rugged terrain, the Dolores River Canyon Country is more than just a breathtaking landscape. To the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, this land represents…
Editorials
Our view: Re-seat Wheeler for another term
The deadline to vote in the La Plata Electric Association election is quickly approaching on Tuesday and is worthy of your attention. One seat in each of LPEA’s four districts…
Guest Columns
America’s nuclear ‘downwinders’ deserve justice
It’s been nearly 80 years since the first atomic bomb was tested in New Mexico. Communities have been reeling ever since. Aspen Coriz-Romero Anila Lopez Marks For generations, Americans who…
Letters to the Editor
Constitution Week is Sept. 17-23
Sept. 17, Constitution Day (and Citizenship Day) is the beginning of Constitution Week, Sept. 17 through 23. This year marks the 237th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution by…
Letters to the Editor
Biden and Harris got us out of Afghanistan; Trump made sure the Taliban took over
Biden’s greatest achievement was the evacuation of our troops from Afghanistan. Presidents Bush, Obama and Trump all failed to get us out of Afghanistan. Biden got us out with minimum…
Letters to the Editor
Make respect real again
Politically, I respect the gifts of conservatism and the gifts of liberalism. They each have useful contributions and ideas for us to hear, measure and blend. Where things go awry…
Guest Columns
Chip sealing not appealing
Cross Those of us who live in Durango West and beyond are not happy (Bayfieldians, too). During the month of August we had to endure the chip sealing road project…
Letters to the Editor
A response to school bond letter
Jason Mietchen’s letter to the editor (Sept. 6) had a number of interesting points ranging from good observations to misinformed facts to snark. Mr. Mietchen is absolutely correct that the…
Letters to the Editor
Salka is true advocate for families
I want to share my experience with Matt Salka and why he has my full support for reelection as county commissioner. When my son was diagnosed with cancer, our family…
Letters to the Editor
The characters of this year’s presidential candidates
The many policy issues in November’s presidential election pale in relevance compared to the stark difference in character between the presidential candidates. Donald Trump has a long reputation as an…
Editorials
Our view: Mental health services will benefit from gun, ammunition purchases
Colorado’s Legislature has referred to the voters the question of applying a 6.5% excise tax to the purchase of firearms and ammunition to fund multiple mental health prevention and treatment…
Editorials
Our view: ‘Yes’ to funding water projects with gambling taxes
In 2019, Colorado voters approved a tax on sports betting for the benefit of water conservation and protection projects, with the ballot language as Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights requires estimating…
Letters to the Editor
Jeff Hurd for Congress
As a native son, Jeff Hurd knows our Western Slope of Colorado. He raises his family in Grand Junction, where he is known as a genuine and hardworking leader. He…
Letters to the Editor
Vote ‘yes’ on Initiative 310
I am writing to encourage Colorado voters to vote yes on Initiative 310, open primaries/ranked choice voting. I live in Alaska, where this system was approved by voters in 2020…
Letters to the Editor
Bayfield Manager Katie Sickles works in my best interests
I am disheartened to read of the ongoing attacks on Bayfield Town Manager Katie Sickles by Trustees Alexis Hartz, Tom Au and Kat Katsos, et al. As a six-year resident…
Letters to the Editor
Trump gets pass time and time again
I never cease to be amazed at the pass that Donald Trump gets in the mainstream media despite the consistently outrageous things he says, but this one really takes the…
Letters to the Editor
Listen to young visionaries about Next Steps
That downtown Durango’s youngest business owners favor exploring the city’s Next Steps proposal for a more pedestrian friendly, walkable city is telling. This fits with the idea of urban design…
Letters to the Editor
It’s still about Uncle Micky
According to Lindsey Graham, Don Trump is “Bat (dung) crazy.” But that was then, before the wholesale of souls who made a bargain with the devil that Trump’s fascism is…
Editorials
Our view: ‘Yes’ to allocating lodgers tax to child care, housing
The La Plata County Commissioners are proposing to allocate 70% of the lodgers tax collected annually to support tourism related workforce housing and child care, something that is permitted by…
Editorials
Ellen Stein signs on as Opinion Contributor for election
Ellen Stein Ellen Stein, The Durango Herald’s and The Journal’s opinion page writer and editor between 2016 and 2018, is serving as the two newspapers’ Opinion Contributor for the November…
Guest Columns
This may really be the most important election of your lifetime. Too bad your vote doesn’t count
As you may have heard, the upcoming presidential election is the most important in our lifetime. They say that every four years, of course. But this time, it’s probably true.…
Guest Columns
University of Colorado regents’ resolution on ‘intifada’ undermines free speech and inclusivity
In the dystopian novel “1984,” George Orwell depicts a regime that manipulates language to control thought. By eliminating language of dissent and rebellion, this regime replaces plain language with “Newspeak”…
Letters to the Editor
Next Step is the wrong step
Next Step is a step in the wrong direction for our downtown. Surely, you all remember the city’s last great project idea, an unsightly overpass over the Animas River and…
Letters to the Editor
Safety on the river trail? Anyone?
Just wondering when the city is going to decide there needs to be some monitoring on the river trail. For the umpteenth time this week (it’s only Wednesday), a helmetless…
Letters to the Editor
A mom’s endorsement for Matt Salka
As a mother raising my children in La Plata County, I care deeply about the future of our community. I want my kids to grow up in a place where…
Letters to the Editor
Trump ‘belittled and demeaned those who served’
As the daughter of a career Air Force officer, and the proud grandmother of an active duty airman, I will never understand how any current member of the military, any…
Letters to the Editor
Reelect Tim Wheeler to another LPEA term
La Plata Electric Association is in the beginning of a historic period that will shape the future of energy in our region. On April 1, 2026, LPEA will exit its…
Letters to the Editor
2024 Alliance Summit is a must-attend event
I would like to take a moment to emphasize the importance of attending the upcoming Alliance Summit focused on “People, Place, and Purpose.” As has traditionally been the case, this…