Columnists - The Durango Herald

Bullied girl starts to cut herself

DEAR ABBY: My granddaughter “Ruby” was cyber-bullied. I suspect a friend of hers who is her on-again, off-again friend. When the girl is “off,” she is cruel, but Ruby is attached to her....

DATE: Oct 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Bikes could stop vicious cycle of bear-trash dependency

I’m glad the city now has a $100 fine for first-time offenders who let bears get into their trash. However, the garbage cans behind the Durango Community Recreation Center have been knocked ...

DATE: Oct 1, 2017 | CATEGORY: Action Line

Can legislation eliminate unjust travel fees?

Imagine a world where your cruise line or airline pays you if it fails to keep its schedule, you aren’t penalized for a canceled reservation if your hotel is able to resell the room and tick...

DATE: Oct 1, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Couple lonely in old age

DEAR ABBY: I am 74, and my wife is 71. We are lonely. All of our friends have died, and we have no relatives in this state. We both have health issues that keep us mostly housebound. Tha...

DATE: Oct 1, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby

Littwin: To understand Trump’s NFL feud, you have to know that he wins even when he’s losing

For those keeping score at home, Donald Trump is winning. I know. He just got killed on the latest Obamacare-repeal attempt. And he looks like a fool, if a madly dangerous one, in...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: Mike Littwin

Leiter: Shutting out the public hurts natural resource management

A subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources recently held a hearing curiously titled: “Examining impacts of federal natural resources laws gone astray.” The title r...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Steltzer: Protecting people through the science of studying plants

The plants that cover our earth are vital to our national defense. We see their beauty and shade. But they also pump and filter water, clean the air, create soil and regulate flooding when h...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Keillor: The gentle people shall prevail

I passed through Houston on Monday and found a lot of cheerful stoicism (“It could’ve been worse”) a month after Harvey had messed with Texas. Some boarded-up windows downtown, s...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

One-time close loans give you more options to build a home

The process of acquiring land, financing the construction and obtaining a permanent loan is cumbersome, costly, and requires a large investment in the project. A new type of loan...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: On Real Estate

How does DATO plan its marketing, operations?

As a non-profit, business-type organization, the Durango Area Tourism Office is contracted by both the city and county to provide tourism marketing services. These services are paid from rec...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Tourism Effect

Kozak: Trigger warnings and censorship

I’ve long considered one of the pillars of a liberal arts education to be the active questioning of one’s own cherished beliefs, positionality and worldview. Learning happens by i...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: From our Congressman

Wife takes out anger on husband

DEAR ABBY: I’m a 55-year-old guy stranded in a tough marriage situation. My wife has had a serious falling-out with her father. After his wife of more than 50 years passed away, he immed...

DATE: Sep 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: Dear Abby