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Activists rally at the I-1639 ballot drop even on July 6, 2018. Photo courtesy Washington Alliance for Gun Responsibility

Opinion

Editorial: Lawmakers testing public’s patience on gun laws

There were more than 24,000 firearm deaths last year, yet state and national lawmakers seem immovable.

FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 26, 2019 file photo, Puppies play in a cage at a pet store in Columbia, Md. A federal judge on Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 threw out a lawsuit that challenged Maryland’s newly enacted ban on the sale of dogs and cats by retail pet stores, a statute billed as a check against unlicensed and unsanitary "puppy mills." (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Opinion

Editorial: State needs better watch on pet store puppy sales

Legislation would limit sales to existing stores while work continues to better regulate breeders.

Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, left, walks around the town of Malden with Mayor Chris Ferrell, right, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020 in Malden, Wash. Franz toured the town and made the case for more funding for firefighting resources. Most of the buildings in Malden, which is about five miles west of Rosalia, were destroyed by wind-driven wildfire on Labor Day. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review via AP)

Opinion

Editorial: Make preventing, fighting wildfires a priority

A $125 million request would fund firefighting, healthy forests and protect homes and communities.

(Dan Bates / The Herald) In a Seattle Hill area neighborhood, Penny Creek Elementary students arrive safely home Wednesday afternoon on their school bus, driven by Durham driver Sean Curran.

Opinion

Editorial: Getting back to going back to school

Resuming in-person classes at schools will require a focus on resources and responsibility for all.

FILE - In this Aug. 17, 2018 file photo, family and friends who have lost loved ones to OxyContin and opioid overdoses leave pill bottles in protest outside the headquarters of Purdue Pharma, which is owned by the Sackler family, in Stamford, Conn. The company that has made billions selling the prescription painkiller OxyContin says it is considering bankruptcy as one of several possible legal options, in an email to The Associated Press. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)

Opinion

Editorial: Purdue, family should see no profit from OxyContin

The drugmaker’s bankruptcy plan does not provide just compensation for its part in the opioid crisis.

climate

Opinion

Editorial: Lawmakers must choose path on a price on carbon

Two proposals have split support among environmentalists and industry, and not how you might guess.

Dr. Chris Spitters, Interim Health Officer, Snohomish Health District, fields questions during the press conference Tuesday afternoon at the Public Helath Laboratories in Shoreline on January 21, 2020. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Public health may see better funding, reforms

Now would be a good time for Snohomish County to reread a 2016 report on its public health…

Pallet, CEO, Amy King Thursday afternoon at Pallet in Everett on January 21, 2020. (Kevin Clark/The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Everett should wait on ‘no-sit, no-lie’ ordinance

With a shelter project just months away, the threat of fines and jail seem ill-timed and inhumane.

A magazine ad from the 1930s uses an illustration of a physician who recommends Lucky Strike cigarettes as "less irritating."

Opinion

Editorial: Reject Big Tobacco’s plea to clear nicotine’s name

Altria wants the FDA to help it promote new products as ‘healthier’ alternatives to smoking.

Rep. Tarra Simmons, D-Bremerton, holds blank voter registration forms as she poses for a photo Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020, at her home in Bremerton, Wash. Simmons, believed to be the first formerly incarcerated person to win election to the Statehouse, is now working to help restore voting rights to people in Washington state who are out on parole or probation after serving prison time. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Opinion

Editorial: Restore voting rights to those who served time

Denying the vote to those who owe fines keeps many from fully rejoining their communities.

Everett Comics owner Charlie Knoedler and his wife Tracy talk with Everett Police Officers as they drop by to talk about the recent theft of a 4-foot tall Funko Batman Statue on Monday, Oct. 5, 2020 in Everett, Washington. The statue was stolen in a “smash and grab” early Sunday. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Training, support must follow policing mandates

The Everett Police Department’s use of an intervention training program should be a model for others.

The 2022 Bolt EV, foreground, and EUV are displayed, Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, in Milford, Mich. Whether people want them or not, automakers are rolling out multiple new electric vehicle models as the auto industry responds to stricter pollution regulations worldwide and calls to reduce emissions to fight climate change. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)

Opinion

Editorial: Goal or mandate, encourage move to electric cars

Legislation has advanced to set a goal that new sales after 2030 be of electric vehicles only.

Mobile phone personal data and cyber security threat concept. Cellphone fraud. Smartphone hacked with illegal spyware, ransomware or trojan software. Hacker doing online scam. Antivirus error.

Opinion

Editorial: Adopt protections for internet users’ personal data

State legislation would offer consumers more control in how their information is used and sold.

The Lynnwood Link light rail extension breached the 25% milestone for construction in Mountlake Terrace shot on Wednesday December 16, 2020. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Cost increase can’t risk ST3’s ‘spine’ to Everett jobs

A $11.5 billion shortfall shouldn’t be used to justify cuts that would limit light rail service here.

Project Roxy is a proposed 2.8 million square foot distribution center that would be built on a 75-acre parcel at the Cascade Industrial Center. The rendering depicts the proposed project at 4620 172nd Street in Arlington from a northwest perspective.

Opinion

Editorial: Update tax break for Cascade Industrial Center jobs

Legislation would allow the incentive to be offered again, while encouraging family-wage jobs.

Side view of a woman sitting in a car holding a steering wheel and looking on the road. Young African American woman driving the car. Cropped shot of an unrecognizable woman driving her car

Opinion

Editorial: Unpaid traffic tickets shouldn’t bring loss of jobs

Suspension of driver’s licenses for unpaid fines forces inequitable economic hardships on many.

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman arrives to talk to reporters, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. The Washington Supreme Court on Thursday unanimously struck down Eyman's Initiative 976, a measure that would have steeply discounted the price of car registrations at $30 while gutting transportation budgets across Washington state. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Opinion

Editorial: Judge’s rebuke of Eyman protects initiative process

Along with a $2.6 million fine, the ruling places restrictions on Eyman’s future initiative campaigns.

toon

Opinion

Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, Feb. 10

A sketchy look at the news of the day.

Marysville Pilchuck soccer player Edgar Martinez (Kevin Clark / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Schools need to retire Native American mascots

Legislation would bar the use of demeaning Indian names and mascots by public schools and teams.

Aylani Lewis, holds up a banner sporting over 600 salmon cutouts, as she and the Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary students walk around the ballroom at The Billy Frank Jr. Pacific Salmon Summit at Tulalip Resort & Casino on Monday, March 19, 2018 in Tulalip Reservation, Wa. The summit, hosted by the Tulalip Tribes, is a new effort to jump-start cooperation between the tribes and Washington state government to restore salmon populations. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

Opinion

Editorial: Indian rights leader’s statue should stand in D.C.

Billy Frank Jr., who won recognition of fishing rights and protected fish habitat, should be honored.