Guest Columns https://tj.durangoherald.com/section/columnists-guest-columns/feed/ Latest local news from The Durango Herald. Fri, 14 Aug 2026 21:00:40 -0600 en-us 30 https://tj.durangoherald.com/our-view-decline-to-sign-animal-cruelty-ballot-initiative/ Don’t sign animal cruelty ballot initiative Tue, 27 Apr 2021 09:56:25 -0600 C0F7358B-12C5-2EDF-E053-0100007F2C09 https://tj.durangoherald.com/rigney-sen-gardner-act-now-to-preserve-the-lwcf/ Rigney, Osprey Packsdu1-i-syn At Osprey – a leading manufacturer of outdoor gear employing over 115 people in the U.S. – we believe that adventure is open to everyone. Nowhere does that feel more true than in Colorado, which our company... Mon, 13 Aug 2018 17:04:17 -0600 7359CD4B-D5F1-1949-E053-0100007FDCF1 https://tj.durangoherald.com/james-self-raised-and-it-shows/ Tom Jamesdu1-i-syn Anyone who knows me very well will tell you that I’m not the most fastidious man that ever lived. My second wife – I’ve been encouraged not to refer to them as ex-wife No. 1 or No. 2... Thu, 07 Jun 2018 18:03:23 -0600 6E11897D-6FB0-740A-E053-0100007FBC09 https://tj.durangoherald.com/noxious-weed-management-underway-in-mancos/ Heather Alvarez of Mancosdu1-i-syn In May, the town of Mancos received a letter from Montezuma County urging us to better manage the noxious weeds that have proliferated over the last few years on town-owned parks, and to encourage property owners... Thu, 07 Jun 2018 18:03:16 -0600 6E11897D-6FAF-740A-E053-0100007FBC09 https://tj.durangoherald.com/parker-roseannes-ouster-shows-times-are-changing/ Parkerdu1-i-syn WASHINGTON – Roseanne Barr’s appeal has so long eluded me that her further fall from disgrace has failed to dislodge even the slightest pebble of pity, though pitiful she is. It seems too facile to call her merely racist,... Mon, 04 Jun 2018 18:03:33 -0600 6DDA2E8E-B50D-4C9E-E053-0100007FC6B4 https://tj.durangoherald.com/the-globalization-of-threats-is-an-unavoidable-fact/ du1-i-syn WASHINGTON – Those who find “globalists” to be villains should attend to recent events in Congo. In the remote region of a remote country, government agencies and international institutions identified by sterile acronyms are working to prevent the spread... Fri, 25 May 2018 15:05:34 -0600 6CF69B93-575D-1761-E053-0100007FABEE https://tj.durangoherald.com/singletary-speedy-credit-card-transactions-dangerous-for-consumers/ MIchelle Singletarydu1-i-syn WASHINGTON – In hawking its iPhone X, Apple produced a pretty fly commercial. Fly as in stylish. Or, “totally lit,” as teens say. Apple’s “Fly Market” ad highlights how easy it is to pay with your face. Three... Thu, 17 May 2018 19:03:10 -0600 6C6CA201-3BEB-6DE1-E053-0100007F005A https://tj.durangoherald.com/brown-access-to-international-trade-critical-for-colorado-ranchers-and-farmers/ Don Brown If you live in Colorado, or if your business is touched in any way by any aspect of the agricultural industry, the ongoing national discussion about trade agreements and import tariffs should mean a lot to you. Colorado... Thu, 03 May 2018 20:04:12 -0600 6B57E661-1E02-29E6-E053-0100007F5000 https://tj.durangoherald.com/waldman-and-sennott-the-crisis-in-journalism-has-become-a-crisis-of-democracy/ By Steven Waldman and Charles Sennott Shortly after starting as a newspaper reporter in the coal-fields region of eastern Kentucky, Will Wright wrote an alarming article about how residents hadn’t had running water for five days. One woman talked about... Thu, 19 Apr 2018 17:26:49 -0600 6A3814EF-2848-3A4E-E053-0100007F4EF6 https://tj.durangoherald.com/tingey-reauthorize-the-lottery-continue-funding-our-way-of-life/ Sarah Tingey Colorado’s public lands have enormous influence on our state’s culture and economy, and the state’s place for adventure is also why I’m proud the business my husband and I own, Alpacka Raft, is located here. Our company, employees... Mon, 09 Apr 2018 17:35:35 -0600 696E3650-B315-5313-E053-0100007F0848 https://tj.durangoherald.com/cooper-teachers-wanted-iso-collaborators-team-players-life-long-learners/ Scott Cooper It’s hiring season for the Dolores School District. “Teachers wanted!” Every spring we are recruiting for the best teachers willing to embrace the challenges of educating our outstanding students. The most important indicator of a student’s scholastic success... Thu, 05 Apr 2018 17:03:24 -0600 690CA066-4044-2377-E053-0100007FC737 https://tj.durangoherald.com/jollon-gun-violence-is-a-public-health-issue/ According to the Colorado Health Information Dataset, 781 people died from gunshot wounds in Colorado in 2016, more than died from motor vehicle accidents. Of those killed with guns, 605 died by suicide. In La Plata County during the same... Mon, 02 Apr 2018 15:50:27 -0600 68E59078-75A9-3685-E053-0100007FC506 https://tj.durangoherald.com/thiessen-liberals-dont-hate-america-and-conservatives-are-not-racists/ Marc Thiessen WASHINGTON – I’m a rock-ribbed conservative who wants Republicans to keep control of Congress. But I’m not unhappy that Republican state Rep. Rick Saccone lost the special election in Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. Why? Because he insulted my... Thu, 29 Mar 2018 17:24:04 -0600 68938291-A39F-372B-E053-0100007FC66C https://tj.durangoherald.com/the-utah-headliners-foia-is-the-speedometer-not-the-cop-writing-tickets/ du1-i-syn The Utah Headliners Sunshine Week is here, and we who value government transparency are again celebrating the laws that allow us to know what our local, state and federal governments are doing. But laws aren’t as popular as they... Mon, 12 Mar 2018 18:02:14 -0600 6740F59D-5D88-2E9D-E053-0100007FE2F6 https://tj.durangoherald.com/gerson-billy-graham-was-consumed-by-grace-and-gratitude/ Michael Gerson, Washington Post Columnistdu1-i-syn WASHINGTON – He was easily the most influential evangelical Christian of the 20th century – a man at home in the historical company of George Whitefield and John Wesley. But this would be hard to... Mon, 26 Feb 2018 17:28:06 -0700 6627A687-9ABD-5BE7-E053-0100007F68EE https://tj.durangoherald.com/samuelson-what-does-commonsense-immigration-look-like/ Robert Samuelson WASHINGTON – We are a nation of immigrants who are uneasy about immigration. There is a long history of resentment against immigrants, dating to the Irish in the 1840s and the Chinese a few decades later. This contrasts... Mon, 05 Feb 2018 17:03:35 -0700 6480614E-9780-4CD5-E053-0100007FD7B9 https://tj.durangoherald.com/gerson-trumps-conspiracy-theories-endanger-democracy/ Michael Gerson WASHINGTON – Just as Bill Clinton’s 1998 State of the Union address is known as the speech after the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke, Donald Trump’s 2018 State of the Union address is likely to be remembered as the... Thu, 01 Feb 2018 17:26:15 -0700 642B596F-2B2E-4D05-E053-0100007F1480 https://tj.durangoherald.com/samuelson-does-main-street-remain-hostage-to-wall-street/ WASHINGTON – The stock market is going gangbusters, but whether this reflects the economy’s underlying strength or runaway speculation stumps many experts. Hence, the need for this column: a primer on the red-hot stock market. Will it sustain the economy... Mon, 29 Jan 2018 17:03:08 -0700 63F35E17-5D74-24D8-E053-0100007F1CA1 https://tj.durangoherald.com/samuelson-china-and-the-global-race-for-new-technology/ Robert Samuelson WASHINGTON – The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial “Science & Engineering Indicators,” a voluminous document describing the state of American technology. There are facts and figures on research and development,... Mon, 22 Jan 2018 17:03:09 -0700 6366278F-44A8-730E-E053-0100007FCD45 https://tj.durangoherald.com/will-in-oregon-progressivism-spills-over-at-the-pump/ WASHINGTON – Frank Lloyd Wright purportedly said: “Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in L.A.” Today, however, Oregon is the state with the strangest state of mind, which has something to do with it... Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:03:11 -0700 6312F515-ABB5-77C4-E053-0100007FD5D4 https://tj.durangoherald.com/rankin-teacher-to-class-can-you-hear-me-now/ Joyce Rankin “It’s just common sense.” How many times have you heard this phrase and thought “If only more people would just use common sense?” I was thinking that during a conversation with Dan Snowberger, Durango School District 9-R Superintendent.... Thu, 18 Jan 2018 17:03:11 -0700 6312F515-ABB6-77C4-E053-0100007FD5D4 https://tj.durangoherald.com/thiessen-the-10-worst-things-trump-did-in-his-first-year/ Marc Thiessen In his first year in office, President Donald Trump has done many positive things, but his record of conservative achievement has been overshadowed by a whole series of self-inflicted wounds. On Dec. 27, I gave my list of... Mon, 15 Jan 2018 17:03:13 -0700 62C662F9-3084-12EE-E053-0100007FA1F7 https://tj.durangoherald.com/samuelson-the-curious-disconnect-between-politis-and-the-economy/ WASHINGTON – For President Trump, a lot is riding on the economy in 2018. If it continues to do well, it should bolster his popularity and his claim that he understands it better than his critics. But if it slows... Tue, 09 Jan 2018 09:59:37 -0700 624CAB74-160F-1B87-E053-0100007FA746 https://tj.durangoherald.com/parker-with-her-new-role-gretchen-carlson-wins-again/ Kathleen Parker WASHINGTON – If karma is a b—h, then justice is a beauty queen. After recent revelations that the CEO of the Miss America Organization and its pageant scriptwriter were talking trash about past winners, the board fired them... Thu, 04 Jan 2018 17:03:14 -0700 61F992CA-42C3-1F36-E053-0100007FFD1A https://tj.durangoherald.com/the-10-best-things-trump-has-done-in-his-first-year/ As we approach the end of President Donald Trump’s first year in office, the list of extraordinary things he has done – for both good and ill – is nothing short of remarkable. Trump inspires such deep emotions in his... Mon, 01 Jan 2018 16:09:27 -0700 61BBE3F4-6256-449D-E053-0100007F3F80 https://tj.durangoherald.com/rankin-preparing-colorados-students-for-an-unforeseen-future/ Joyce Rankin I attended the Summit on Education Reform in Nashville, Tennessee. Jeb Bush opened the conference and repeated a quote from the first conference in 2008: “The country’s school system is an 8-track in an iPod world. The irony... Fri, 29 Dec 2017 05:03:08 -0700 616C88B3-B9F3-62C7-E053-0100007FF4F1 https://tj.durangoherald.com/samuelson-gop-tax-cut-erodes-budget-discipline-even-further/ Robert Samuelson – The Washington Post WASHINGTON – What I most dislike about the Trump/Republican tax plan is the shameless cynicism with which it has been peddled. Recall how it works: The government borrows $1.5 trillion over a decade and... Mon, 25 Dec 2017 17:03:24 -0700 60F2E744-0F81-53F7-E053-0100007F0CB0 https://tj.durangoherald.com/childs-rep-tipton-do-you-remember-home/ The sun is just up here in Western Colorado, another brilliant blue sky day, which makes me think of you in Washington, far from the canyons, mesas and mountains where you grew up. It must feel choking sometimes, the press... Mon, 18 Dec 2017 17:33:43 -0700 60A717F6-CF86-168B-E053-0100007FD82D https://tj.durangoherald.com/sheek-christmas-spirit-is-found-year-round-in-cortez/ Karen Sheek If you believe the old Christmas carol, this is “the most wonderful time of the year.” I believe that it is. I love all things Christmas – the lights, the music, the food, the hustle-bustle of the holiday... Thu, 14 Dec 2017 20:58:58 -0700 6059E0A4-A873-263A-E053-0100007F92D2 https://tj.durangoherald.com/another-swing-of-the-boom-bust-cycle-is-underway/ du1-i-syn WASHINGTON – We don’t necessarily need an economic boom, but that’s what we may be getting. Since the 2016 election, the stock market is up roughly 24 percent, reports Wilshire Associates. The price of the cybercurrency bitcoin soared more... Thu, 07 Dec 2017 18:03:32 -0700 5FC9FED5-E7E8-6C91-E053-0100007FAAAA