Opinion Columns - The Durango Herald

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Mass firings cut the muscle, not the fat

The stories are heartbreaking. U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and other federal workers – some of them within weeks of ending probationary periods – fired. And not for cause; the...

DATE: Feb 26, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A pacifist one day, warmonger the other: Decoding Trump’s plans

Why does Donald Trump want so badly to stop both Ukraine and Gaza wars? Is it because he is the most devoted pacifist since Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King? No, it is not. Biden sowed ...

DATE: Feb 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

A retreat from Democratic values: Vice President JD Vance’s Munich disgrace

In April 1928, Joseph Goebbels, later the Third Reich’s chief propagandist, wrote a newspaper essay addressing the question of why the National Socialists, despite being an “anti-parliamenta...

DATE: Feb 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

We are one, together we can birth a nation that ‘yet must be’

What if we are all one? Connected in ways some folks experience directly, and often. Something that isn’t empathy nor compassion, but are physical threads that are as real as tall buildings,...

DATE: Feb 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Bumper Sticker of the Month (BSoM)

Thanks for all your submissions. This month’s choice was submitted by Steve Parker. Please email your favorite bumper stickers to letters@durangoherald.com for a chance to be featured as BSo...

DATE: Feb 23, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

It is up to the American public to defend the places we love

In Southwest Colorado, our public lands are the backbone of our communities. The meandering Dolores River provides solitude and wilderness alongside grazing lands for local ranchers. Canyons...

DATE: Feb 21, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

President Donald Trump’s policies put us in economic danger

Donald Trump’s platform was clear when he was running for president. He promised to make bold improvements – quickly raising revenue by imposing tariffs on foreign goods, slashing prices at ...

DATE: Feb 19, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Not a political statement: The president’s signature is no John Hancock

Our new president is sure signing his name a lot already. And he seems to want to show us each time he signs something. Unfortunately, his signature is not only illegible but also disturbing...

DATE: Feb 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Family planning knowledge is important for women, girls and the environment

Last month, I wrote about the coalition of rich and poor countries, of foundations and nonprofits that delivered family planning to 46 million women – FP2020. Its successor, FP2030, has cont...

DATE: Feb 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Why Emil Bove’s battle against Danielle Sassoon is so self-defeating

It was easy to predict that a diktat from Donald Trump’s Justice Department would, at some point in his second term, prompt resignations from career prosecutors with conservative legal bona ...

DATE: Feb 16, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Some thoughts on Love, Durango style

It was a holiday gathering in a lovely house at the edge of a forest. Late afternoon sun. Snow falling. A fireplace. I looked deep into the fire, sensed the snowfall outside and tuned in to ...

DATE: Feb 14, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Will nuclear formally be put on the table?

Legislative bill this year has more than one sponsor, including two Democrats. It might actually survive its first committee hearing. State Sen. Larry Liston, a Republican from El Paso Count...

DATE: Feb 12, 2025 | CATEGORY: Opinion

Durango High School girls basketball wins bigDHS girls basketball defeat Montrose in Sweet 16 game at DHS on Wednesday

DHS girls basketball defeat Montrose in Sweet 16 game at DHS on Wednesday

Photos: Horsing around

Photos: Winter storm leaves over a foot of snow

Photos: FLC hoops at WhalenSkyhawks women’s and men’s basketball teams lose to Colorado Mesa

Skyhawks women’s and men’s basketball teams lose to Colorado Mesa

Photos: Fashion at its bestSnowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Snowdown Fashion Do’s and Don’ts

Photos: Snowdown on SaturdaySnowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Snowdown’s Canine Fashion Show and Outlaw Josie Pete’s Golf

Photos: Snowdown Rock-em-Sock-em Snowbots pillow fights

Snowdown Light Parade can boast another successful yearLights flashed, fire trucks wailed and a foam cannon spewed suds

Bright lights, screaming fire trucks and children bundled up so thoroughly it seemed like an army of Michelin men had taken over downtown Durango. Yep. It’s the much anticipated Snowdown light parade, this year distinguished by a crowd of onlookers peppered with scrabble tiles, Clue characters and playing cards.

Locals flocked to Main Avenue on Friday to get a look (and maybe a Smartie or two) at the floats parading through town on various, creatively decorated vehicles. There were some obvious standouts at this year’s board game-themed parade. After a fire truck’s opening sirens came the Purgatory car, toting a brightly lit ski bum moonlighting as a DJ, likely giving the women of Durango some unpleasant déjà vu. Best dressed had to go to the Colorado Department of Transportation’s bulldozer, wearing the most believable Hungry Hungry Hippos costume seen yet. Biggest crowd pleaser? The dancers boogieing to Chappell Roan’s “HOT TO GO!” while the crowd sang and wiggled along. But what got the biggest rise out of the onlookers was the white plumes of motorcycle exhaust, courtesy of the Harley-Davidson club. The smell of burning octane was a convincing enough reason for people to briefly unclutch the rails and step away from their coveted positions at the front of the fence. Last but not least, another machine spewing its interior into the crowd: a foam cannon, the first one to make an appearance in the history of Snowdown. Much better received than exhaust, it extracted gleeful screams from kids and adults alike. jbowman@durangoherald.com