Thank you for this article and I do hope we will be able to pass a ban that will be in effect next year.

There are two things that are hard about this. One is that I am sympathetic for people who have been earning money from the sale of fireworks. But for every problem there is a solution. They can invest in something else to sell. They could possibly invest in drone light shows and families could slowly build up a little supply of drones to make their at home light shows; they could add music to their light shows. Perhaps every neighborhood could have a light show. It would not only be safer, quieter and cleaner, but it would also encourage creativity, something sadly lacking right now.

Another concern I have is disappointing the children who actually like the noise and bright lights. It is, of course, an opportunity to help raise awareness of our responsibility to one another in community to keep our land clean, safe, and to respect the needs of others by not blasting their ears and frightening their animals. Looking for alternatives, we may encourage children to sing together in choirs again. It could be combined with light shows. Maybe every 4th of July. People could be coming up with creative ways to have fun that are harmless. They might actually think of linking it to what they are pretending to celebrate, i.e. the birth of a free and just Nation (still in the making).

We pay a small fortune for our phone and Internet service, and I worry about those who cannot afford that because this has become a necessity for education and employment.

Google has been a disappointment in so many ways for years now and have used many ways to avoid their distractions from advert responses to any search, but I had no Idea how extensive their reach is into so many products!!! 

Perhaps you like graft and cheating, Richard. I do not wish to be hoodwinked by anyone or any party and I  do not believe party affiliation proves anything, but, as you seem to wish to blast Dems, you may like the crude, rude, thieving, deceiving Republican cheat occupying our White House now:

"The report, released Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, shows Trump received hundreds of millions of dollars from crypto venture World Liberty Financial, which he and his sons helped launch in 2024. 

"The president also raked in more than $600 million in royalties from meme coin sales and millions more from holdings in dozens of corporations, according to the 927-page report — which is nearly 700 pages longer than his 2024 disclosure."

https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5949500-trump-financial-disclosure-crypto/

Conflict of interest is not in his vocabulary, neither is integrity and many other vitures are absent there. How about you, Richard? What are your values? Should our City and County representatives follow his lead?

We have been upset by this humongous, never used by us, waste can costing us money and taking up space in our garage. I had been meaning to do something about it when I could get a moment to do so. Thank you for this informative article. It will help as I respond to this situation with others in our community.

Our family does not generate waste for that can and, as aging folks, taking two giant cans alone (we actually only take the recycle bin out once a month but pay for twice a month), down our long, bumpy, pinecone strewn drive in all kinds of weather is not easy. I think of the single elders who do not generate this much waste and are on fixed incomes being forced to pay for this and am angered by the thought.

I am completely in favor of paying the waste collectors well for their hard curbside labor, but I doubt the money is going to them. I also support recycling, but we would do much more good in this direction if we added pressure to companies to stop packaging with plastic in conjunction with personal efforts to recycle. "A Whopping 91 Percent of Plastic Isn’t Recycled" (https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/whopping-91-percent-plastic-isnt-recycled/). "Pollution is a negative externality; the polluter benefits from cheaper production methods (by not paying for pollution control), but society bears the costs in terms of environmental degradation, health problems, and reduced quality of life." (https://pollution.sustainability-directory.com/question/what-are-the-economic-incentives-for-pollution-reduction/).

Thank you Dolores and EJ for your informative and insightful article about this critical "public resource," our only local hospital. 

You make several points that are symptoms of an underlying cause of the continued lowering quality of life for our shared community, i.e. privatization. Privatization of public spaces means money is the goal, not care. Greed and fear can lead us down a delusional path. Public good is not a result of and cannot come from selfishness and a desire to maximize financial profits. How can people hell bent on "making a killing" prioritize saving lives in an emergency room? 

I imagine many people who read Northwest Citizen participate in the world of stocks, and Blackstone is one example of that world. There was a time I understood stocks to be a way to invest in good growth and make reasonable financial gains for future security (and some people still practice that), but now I know this world of stocks has mostly become a heartless, irresponsible, near white collar criminal industry. It is destructive in every way imaginable. It cares nothing for environmental degredation. It cares nothing for employee safety or quality of life. It cares nothing for the safety and prosperity of communities. It cares nothing for the balance, unity, and wholesome growth of the individuals partaking of this monsterous greed machine. It cares nothing whatsoever for future generations. 

The solution to this crisis is not only transparency; we need to acknowledge that the worship of bloated bank accounts and extreme individual wealth is not healthy, not at all to be desired or encouraged. Public good comes from public funds (taxes), a desire to serve, absolute transparency, and ethical oversight. 

I am responding to this excellent article on Memorial Day, so I am also thinking of our veterans. My father's cousin and best friend, Marion Franklin Rodgers, gave his young life at 1pm, April 7, 1945 fighting authoritarian, racist regimes when the B17 in which he was a tail gunner was  shot down over Kaltenkirchen, north of Hanover Germany; all nine men were killed. My two uncles gave up their youths, one suffered from WWII wounds for his entire life, the other fought in WWII, Koria, and Vietnam- they were fighting for democracy and all that it stands for.

Racial profiling is a classic authoritarian practice greatly threatening our current , fragile democracy. Let us recognise it and eliminate it in every way we can.

Thank you for this valuable information, Dolores. It would be great to have the questions you posed answered. Because of your article, I did a little research and found that there has been a long concern over emergency room care issues called er boarding. There was even a bipartisan study but the current regime closed it and ignored their recommendations.

Of course, single payer health care, eliminating "middle agents" would be the best plan with more public financial support. However, considing that this regime is increasing our national debt by trillions for uncalled for wars, costly tariffs, costly prosecutions that are more like persecutions, unnecessary renaming, frivolous and expensive "redecorating," golfing, traveling and filling their mouths with extravagant meals footed by the taxpayers who are borrowing to feed their families and canceling their vacation travel plans, we will have coffers too empty to help us when we finally see their backsides exiting our public spaces. 

Thank you, Jon, for your work on our behalf. When I read your articles, I wish that the COB would hire you as a consultant instead of forcing you to make records requests. And thank you for going the extra mile for our environment (

It is critical that we get the support people need to fill out these papers. This is an "information gathering tool...answering the human, social, cultural and economic pieces of what to do about a climate change watershed." It also will help generate funding to protect and enhance vulnerable areas.We do not want to shortchange all of the future stakeholders by following what Council Member Elenbaas is suggesting, i.e. a settlement. 

How can we support getting help for folks to fill out the paperwork?

When the objective is to increase profits over delivering the best service, process, or product, we as consumers can assume we will have less value and be valued less as individuals; we may even be considered disposable by the insurers (not by our doctors).

We should encourage our Representatives to get this bill to the floor and pass:

Seniors Deserve SMARTER Care Act of 2025

Section 2 of this bill prohibits implementation of the Wiser model.