Columnists - The Durango Herald

Parting thoughts on a troubling issue important to the future of Colorado

As I have attended the Joint Budget Committee hearings, I have come to understand even more the issues that face Colorado. Prisons and youth detention homes are very expensive to ...

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

Bill Roberts is (finally) retiring!

Please join in celebration of his service to the Herald and our community

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

Do not ‘repeal’ health coverage without replacing it

Though it’s clear that not everyone likes the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare), recent surveys show that key parts of the legislation are popular with a vast majority of Americans rega...

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

Guest surveys count; fill out those comment cards

It’s a good thing Jayne Holland didn’t skip the guest survey after a recent stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta. When the property solicited her opinion through a comment card in her s...

DATE: Jan 8, 2017 | CATEGORY: The Travel Troubleshooter

Local community rallies in wake of recent hate crime

On Dec. 12, I received an email from our Adult Program director in Cortez. The email subject was simple: “Bus Vandalism.” When I opened the attached pictures, it was clear that this was not ...

DATE: Jan 7, 2017 | CATEGORY: Creating Community

The people saved the ethics office, not the tweets

That went over well. In the darkness of night on a federal holiday, House Republicans voted to kill the Office of Congressional Ethics. That would have shut down independent investigations o...

DATE: Jan 6, 2017 | CATEGORY: Froma Harrop

From wisdom to gratitude, aging has positive aspects

It was a couple of days after the election, and I ran into a friend walking on the river trail. Being disappointed in the election outcome, we said things like, “I’ve been here before,” “I f...

DATE: Jan 5, 2017 | CATEGORY: Authentic Aging

In dark of winter, I’m dreaming about seasons, possibilities ahead

Author and philosopher Albert Camus once wrote: “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” Because Camus was a philosopher, I can ...

DATE: Jan 5, 2017 | CATEGORY: From the Extension Office

Where’s the line between accident and criminality?

When a child dies because somebody did something stupid, should medical examiners certify the manner of death as an accident because no harm was intended? Or homicide – stupidicide, we somet...

DATE: Jan 4, 2017 | CATEGORY: Coroner's Report

In uncertain times, just go with what you know

I‘ll have to apologize. It may be that time of the year for articles, columns and TV programs that recap the past year or more boldly cast predictions on what the new year might bring, but I...

DATE: Jan 3, 2017 | CATEGORY: A Take on Tourism

Trying to understand the new world order in 2017

On all fronts, the actual future confounds the imagined future. WASHINGTON — One insistent question that will shape 2017 is whether we’re witnessing the gradual decay of the post-...

DATE: Jan 2, 2017 | CATEGORY: Robert Samuelson

Should the Bridge to Nowhere get a new name?

Now that the Bridge to Nowhere actually goes somewhere, what do we call it? – Rob Kolter Whenever a bridge is constructed, the strangest thing happens to elected officials. They g...

DATE: Jan 1, 2017 | CATEGORY: Action Line