In Our View

Robotic hand playing hopscotch on a keyboard. Artifical intelligence, text generators, ai and job issues concept. Vector illustration.

Editorial: Keep a mindful eye on government use of AI chatbots

A public media report on government use of chatbots, including by Everett, calls for sound guidelines.

 

Gov. Bob Ferguson responds to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi's demands that the state end so-called sanctuary policies. (Office of Governor of Washington)

Editorial: Governor’s reasoned defiance to Bondi’s ICE demands

In the face of threats, the 10th Amendment protects a state law on law enforcement cooperation.

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Donald Trump shake hands after a joint news conference following their meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, Aug. 15, 2025. Amid the setbacks for Ukraine from the meeting in Alaska, officials in Kyiv seized on one glimmer of hope — a U.S. proposal to include security guarantees for Ukraine in any potential peace deal with Russia. (Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Editorial: We’ll keep our mail-in ballots; thank you, Mr. Putin

Trump, at the suggestion of Russia’s president, is again going after states that use mail-in ballots.

 

Rep. Suzanne DelBene and South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman chat during a tour and discussion with community leaders regarding the Mountlake Terrace Main Street Revitalization project on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at the Traxx Apartments in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Editorial: Gerrymandering invites a concerning tit-for-tat

Democrats, among them Rep. Suzan DelBene, see a need for a response to Texas’ partisan redistricting.

Rep. Suzanne DelBene and South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman chat during a tour and discussion with community leaders regarding the Mountlake Terrace Main Street Revitalization project on Tuesday, May 28, 2024, at the Traxx Apartments in Mountlake Terrace, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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Window cleaner using a squeegee to wash a window with clear blue sky

Editorial: Auditor’s Office tools provide view into government

Good government depends on transparency into its actions. We need to make use of that window.

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Window cleaner using a squeegee to wash a window with clear blue sky
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: Newman for Edmonds; Paige for Mountlake Terrace

Both lead strong fields of candidates for the city councils of each south county city.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
Washington state's Congressional Districts (Washington State Redistricting Commission)

Editorial: State lawmakers right to skip Gerrymandering Games

While red and blue states look to game the midterms, Washington is wisely staying out of that fray.

Washington state's Congressional Districts (Washington State Redistricting Commission)
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: A recap of The Herald’s primary endorsements

Primary elections, setting the November ballot, are no time for voters to sit on the sidelines.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: In strong field, Sterba best for Mukilteo council post

James Sterba is a veteran Boeing engineer who offers a strong financial background.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: Franklin’s considered approach warrants third term

The incumbent mayor has used innovation and concern for all residents to guide her leadership.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: Elect Hem, Rhyne, Burbano to Everett council seats

The Aug. 5 primary will determine the top two candidates for Council Districts 1, 2 and 4.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
Traffic moves northbound in a new HOV lane on I-5 between Everett and Marysville on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Editorial: Check state’s transportation road map from now to 2050

A state commission’s Vision 2050 plan looks to guide transportation planning across the state.

Traffic moves northbound in a new HOV lane on I-5 between Everett and Marysville on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.

Editorial: Perkins, in strong field, best for Marysville council

The fifth-grade teacher hopes to improve outreach and participation with neighborhood meetings.

2024 Presidential Election Day Symbolic Elements.
Authorities search for victims among the rubble near Blue Oak RV park after catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday, July 6, 2025. The half-mile stretch occupied by two campgrounds appears to have been one of the deadliest spots along the Guadalupe River in Central Texas during last week’s flash floods. (Jordan Vonderhaar/The New York Times)

Editorial: Tragic Texas floods can prompt reforms for FEMA

The federal agency has an important support role to play, but Congress must reassess and improve it.

Authorities search for victims among the rubble near Blue Oak RV park after catastrophic flooding on the Guadalupe River in Kerrville, Texas, on Sunday, July 6, 2025. The half-mile stretch occupied by two campgrounds appears to have been one of the deadliest spots along the Guadalupe River in Central Texas during last week’s flash floods. (Jordan Vonderhaar/The New York Times)
A Volunteers of America Western Washington crisis counselor talks with somebody on the phone Thursday, July 28, 2022, in at the VOA Behavioral Health Crisis Call Center in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)

Editorial: Dire results will follow end of LGBTQ+ crisis line

The Trump administration will end funding for a 988 line that serves youths in the LGBTQ+ community.

A Volunteers of America Western Washington crisis counselor talks with somebody on the phone Thursday, July 28, 2022, in at the VOA Behavioral Health Crisis Call Center in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
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Editorial: Using discourse to get to common ground

A Building Bridges panel discussion heard from lawmakers and students on disagreeing agreeably.

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, June 27, 2025. The sweeping measure Senate Republican leaders hope to push through has many unpopular elements that they despise. But they face a political reckoning on taxes and the scorn of the president if they fail to pass it. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times)

Editorial: GOP should heed all-caps message on tax policy bill

Trading cuts to Medicaid and more for tax cuts for the wealthy may have consequences for Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, June 27, 2025. The sweeping measure Senate Republican leaders hope to push through has many unpopular elements that they despise. But they face a political reckoning on taxes and the scorn of the president if they fail to pass it. (Kent Nishimura/The New York Times)
Alaina Livingston, a 4th grade teacher at Silver Furs Elementary, receives her Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic for Everett School District teachers and staff at Evergreen Middle School on Saturday, March 6, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)

Editorial: RFK Jr., CDC panel pose threat to vaccine access

Pharmacies following newly changed CDC guidelines may restrict access to vaccines for some patients.

Alaina Livingston, a 4th grade teacher at Silver Furs Elementary, receives her Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination clinic for Everett School District teachers and staff at Evergreen Middle School on Saturday, March 6, 2021 in Everett, Wa. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Making adjustments to keep Social Security solvent represents only one of the issues confronting Congress. It could also correct outdated aspects of a program that serves nearly 90 percent of Americans over 65. (Stephen Savage/The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY SLUGGED SCI SOCIAL SECURITY BY PAULA SPAN FOR NOV. 26, 2018. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED.

Editorial: Congress must act on Social Security’s solvency

That some workers are weighing early retirement and reduced benefits should bother members of Congress.

Making adjustments to keep Social Security solvent represents only one of the issues confronting Congress. It could also correct outdated aspects of a program that serves nearly 90 percent of Americans over 65. (Stephen Savage/The New York Times) -- NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY SLUGGED SCI SOCIAL SECURITY BY PAULA SPAN FOR NOV. 26, 2018. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED.
In this Sept. 2017, photo made with a drone, a young resident killer whale chases a chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near San Juan Island, Wash. The photo, made under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permit, which gives researchers permission to approach the animals, was made in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center, SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research and the Vancouver Aquarium's Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Endangered Puget Sound orcas that feed on chinook salmon face more competition from seals, sea lions and other killer whales than from commercial and recreational fishermen, a new study finds. (John Durban/NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center via AP)

Editorial: A loss for Northwest tribes, salmon and energy

The White House’s scuttling of the Columbia Basin pact returns uncertainty to salmon survival.

In this Sept. 2017, photo made with a drone, a young resident killer whale chases a chinook salmon in the Salish Sea near San Juan Island, Wash. The photo, made under a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) permit, which gives researchers permission to approach the animals, was made in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center, SR3 Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research and the Vancouver Aquarium's Coastal Ocean Research Institute. Endangered Puget Sound orcas that feed on chinook salmon face more competition from seals, sea lions and other killer whales than from commercial and recreational fishermen, a new study finds. (John Durban/NOAA Fisheries/Southwest Fisheries Science Center via AP)