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Courtesy WA Cares

Opinion

Editorial: Needed fixes made for long-term care program

Reforms to WA Cares provide fairness and help ensure a benefit millions will need in the future.

Steve Hobbs, who was sworn in as Washington Secretary of State, Monday, Nov. 22, 2021, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash., poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held his office. Hobbs, a former state senator from Lake Stevens, Wash., is the first person of color to head the office and the first Democrat to serve as Secretary in more than 50 years. He replaces Republican Secretary of State Kim Wyman, who resigned to accept an election security job in the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Opinion

Editorial: Hobbs looks to build on past election chief’s work

Steve Hobbs, facing voters this year, is working to fortify systems to secure and promote elections.

FILE - In this May 17, 2018, file photo, new graduates line up before the start of the Bergen Community College commencement at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. There’s no single policy or action that will alleviate America’s $1.74 trillion student loan debt crisis while simultaneously preventing students from taking on unaffordable amounts of future debt. Higher education financing experts are divided on the exact combination of solutions, but all agree it will require a multipronged approach. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Extend the reprieve on student loan payments

Suspending payments would allow time to improve programs for student loans and financial aid.

Electric Time technician Dan LaMoore adjusts a clock hand on a 1000-lb., 12-foot diameter clock constructed for a resort in Vietnam, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Medfield, Mass. Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. local time Sunday, March 14, 2021, when clocks are set ahead one hour. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

Opinion

Editorial: Congress, let’s not do the time warp again; ever

Support may be growing in Congress to end our twice-yearly time change and adopt DST for good.

FILE - In this March 9, 1995 file photo, trainer Marcia Hinton pets Lolita, a captive orca whale, during a performance at the Miami Seaquarium in Miami. The new owners of the Miami Seaquarium will no longer stage shows with its aging orca Lolita under an agreement with federal regulators. MS Leisure, a subsidiary of The Dolphin Company, said in a news release it completed acquisition of the Seaquarium on Thursday, March 3, 2022. (Nuri Vallbona/Miami Herald via AP, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Give last captured Salish Sea orca shot to return

The orca, taken from Penn Cove in 1970 to a Miami aquarium, should live out her days in…

Nursing home. Old woman man living in senior house. Doctor nurse care elderly people. Happy retired, gerontology patient vector illustration. Old senior, nursing and caregiver, retired healthcare

Opinion

Editorial: Nursing home residents need volunteer advocates

The pandemic has depleted the number of volunteers who look out for long-term care residents.

Everett is planning to build connections for existing bike paths, including between Broadway and the trestle's bike/pedestrian path alongside U.S. 2 off of Hewitt Avenue. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Fill ‘pothole’ in state’s transportation package

Having to fill a $2 billion gap in the $16.8 billion plan, lawmakers should avoid cutting projects.

FILE - The sun shines near the Space Needle, Monday, June 28, 2021, in Seattle as Seattle and other cities broke all-time heat records, with temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 Celsius). Weather extremes like this will increase in frequency and intensity in North America the coming years as global warming accelerates, according to a United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren,File)

Opinion

Editorial: Chance to slow, adapt to climate change dwindling

A United Nations panel report warns that climate change is speeding up, making it harder to adapt.

A relative holds photo of a soldier killed defending Donetsk airport in 2014-15 in a war conflict with Russia-backed separatists during a commemorating ceremony in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 20, 2019. Ukraine has asked the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to expand its monitoring mission in the country, Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said Monday after a meeting with the organization's chairman. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Opinion

Editorial: Our part in helping Ukraine and Ukrainians

Its citizens are determined to fight for their freedom; we can assist by aiding refugees and others.

This crash in Seattle resulted from a chase that started in Snohomish County after the robbery of a marijuana retail store Thursday night. (Snohomish County Sheriff's Office) 20220218

Opinion

Editorial: Legislature, Congress must update cannabis rules

Ten years after state voters legalized marijuana, the industry and public need more protection.

Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell observes testing of election equipment to tally ballots in the March 10, 2020 presidential primary. (Rachel Riley / The Herald file photo)

Opinion

Editorial: The work to restore the confidence of voters

Election offices have seen a jump in records requests, while lawmakers consider election reforms.

This is what viewers of the public meeting held by the Washington State Redistricting Commission saw during most of its five-hour session. (Washington State Redistricting Commission)

Opinion

Editorial: State’s redistricting panel needs more than tweaks

Proposals for public and official review of its maps are a start, but the commission needs a revamp.

Opinion

Editorial: Those caring for disabled need better compensation

Better pay elsewhere has discouraged some from working to care for those with disabilities.

Brendan Fellows works on an assignment at the Advanced Manufacturing Training & Education Center Wednesday morning at Everett Community College on June 3, 2020. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Students best use of state’s unexpected revenue

For the sake of families and the state economy, bolster K-12 schools and post-secondary education.

Rita Mangum, 21-year CT technologist at her station at the newly opened Western Washington Medical Group imaging center also host a MRI machine and soon to be installed x-ray machine in Everett. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Report offers surprises in our medical care costs

A Washington Health Alliance report finds wide differences in what care costs across the state.

Third grade teacher Lisa Thompson walks by her ten students, separated at six-foot distance, at Eagle Creek Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 in Arlington, Washington. The students wear masks, are six feet from each other in class and after recess ends, get a mask break. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Local health officials should set mask policy

The state schools chief says local health district policy should replace the state’s mask mandate.

Ian Terry / The Herald Warland Hewitt Wight rides through traffic in Everett on Tuesday, March 13. Wight, a full-time bicycle messenger, had his bike stolen and then recovered with the help of courthouse marshal, Mike Anderson. Photo taken on 03132018

Opinion

Editorial: Transportation plan can move Washington ahead

The $16.8 billion, 16-year plan makes needed investments for roads, transit, bikes and pedestrians.

While emcee Bob Drewel and panelists Cameron Calder (right) and Kathy Coffey listen, panelist Janice Green (center) speaks Wednesday night at the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County's Civil Discourse Forum held in the Wilderness Room of the Jackson Center at EvCC. (Dan Bates / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Celebrating our partners in ‘defense of democracy’

The Herald’s honor by the League of Women Voters is one we share with many in the community.

A bus drives toward the mountains near Camp Silverton in an undated photo.

Opinion

Editorial: Kids need a week in the woods for outdoor learning

Camp Silverton is gone, but a bill in the Legislature may provide outdoor education to students.

Opinion

Reminder: Ballots due today for school levy elections; vote yes

Ballots are due today for the special election, which includes levies for most of Snohomish County’s school districts.…