Bits ’n’ Pieces

From east, west and beyond

East, west or beyond, sooner or later events elsewhere may have a local impact. A recent sampling:

President Joe Biden recently signed his first veto, rejecting a bill that would have prevented managers of retirement funds from considering environmental impacts, such as climate change, CNN said.

By Lorraine H. Marie Reader Columnist

from the banking industry, the Associated Press reported. The recently failed Silicon Valley Bank’s CEO sold $3 million worth of bank shares days before the institution collapsed.

sidelines,” Tymko wrote in the correspondence with Inslee, as it awaited a range of decisions from local officials — even as residents from Newport to Sandpoint and beyond continued their vocal opposition to the project based on fears of emissions affecting regional communities.

Even as far back as the summer of 2019, Tymko told the Reader in an interview that the company was “in a holding pattern” related to zoning, and had already been put two years behind schedule because of “yet another delay tactic” — in that case, the appeal of a land sale.

“We have never experienced anything like this in any of the countless number of communities we have successfully done business in,” Tymko wrote to Inslee later that year.

Fast forward to December 2021, when Sinova Global officials first joined with Tennessee Gov. Lee to announce that the company would relocate to its current site in the state.

“[D]ays like this are why we ran for governor — to bring economic opportunities to parts of the state that needed them like the economically distressed counties,” Lee said, according to a report from the Jackson Sun, which covers west Tennessee.

The Spokesman reported March 20 that Tymko in an interview said Pend Oreille County’s comp plan process and wrangling over utilities were critical to moving on from the Inland Northwest.

“[Local opposition] was no hindrance,” Tymko told the Spokesman. “We are always concerned about what people say about us but the group had no effect on us, no effect on the state.”

Construction of the Sinova plant is expected to take two years to complete.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir and Commissioner for Children’s Rights Maria Lvova-Belova, both accused of war crimes for kidnapping Ukrainian children. Russia claims its relocation of the children was patriotic and humanitarian. Newsweek reported March 20 that former-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as deputy head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, threatened retaliatory missiles against the ICC, located in the Netherlands.

South Carolina lawmakers have proposed executing women who have abortions (House Bill 3549, the “South Carolina Prenatal Equal Protection Act of 2023”), with no exceptions for rape or incest, various media reported.

The Biden administration announced approval March 13 of the Willow ConocoPhillips oil drilling project in Alaska. The Guardian called the project a “carbon bomb.” Pressure to approve Willow came from Alaskan native and Democratic Congresswoman Mary Peltola, who cited the need for jobs. As well, White House officials concluded the oil company would win in court to fulfill its lease. It would be an estimated six years before oil is produced.

Given rapid increases in clean energy production, The Guardian reported Willow is “weirdly incongruous,” like “investing big time in fax machines or cassette players.”

While their profits surged, fossil fuel corporations increased production only 2%, despite Europe wanting to buy from sources other than Russia. Energy companies and their investors are not sure prices will stay high long enough for them to make a profit from drilling new wells, The New York Times reported.

According to a Federal Reserve Bank survey of 141 oil companies, 60% of those surveyed said “investors don’t want companies to produce a lot more oil” since it “will hasten the end of high oil prices,” and they need $56 a barrel to “break even.”

Biden is encouraging Congress to allow regulators to impose stronger penalties on executives of failed banks, including recovering compensation from senior bankers of those banks, and simplifying their removal

Former-President Donald Trump wants people to protest criminal charges against him regarding hush money paid during his 2016 presidential campaign, according to Politico. Newsweek’s report on a Georgia grand jury investigation of Trump’s electoral interference there included a juror saying, “If every person in America knew every single word of information we knew, this country would not be as divided as it is right now.”

Fox News Corporation faces another defamation lawsuit for $2.7 billion by election tech company Smartmatic, according to The Guardian. The Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit asks for $1.6 billion. A Fox News producer has also filed suit against the media company, saying she was coerced into giving misleading deposition testimony. Smartmatic claims Fox News made more than 100 false statements about their involvement with the 2020 election, using “actual malice,” which led to lost business.

Former-Texas politician Ben Barnes, 85, recently told The New York Times that he was part of a team in 1980 that delivered a secret message to Iran on behalf of Ronald Reagan’s campaign: Do not release 52 American hostages until after the presidential election. The goal was to make then-President Jimmy Carter appear ineffective and boost challenger Reagan’s chances of gaining office. Reagan won, and the hostages were let go upon his inauguration

Blast from the past: The U.S. occupation of Iraq began 20 years ago on March 20, 2003. Iraq’s anger with the U.S. was illustrated in 2008 when Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi threw one of his shoes at visiting then-President George W. Bush, saying, “This is a farewell kiss from the Iraqi people, you dog!” He then lobbed his other shoe: “This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq.” Today al-Zaidi says that, while the Americans are gone, Iraq’s problems have compounded and militias flourish. A first-draft ghost writer of Bush’s autobiography told a reporter in 2004 that Bush told him, “If I have a chance to invade [Iraq] … I’m not going to waste it.” He saw being a war-time commander-in-chief as key to a successful presidency. According to a Princeton human rights scholar, the U.S.-led conflict in Iraq represented “disastrous aggression.” assist in coordinating and transitioning their obstetrical care,” Binnall wrote. “In addition, we are working closely with Kootenai Health and other entities of the patient’s choice to ensure a smooth transition.”

Cynthia Dalsing, a retired certified nurse-midwife with a Master’s of Science in Nursing, has 40 years of experience working in health care from Virginia to Iowa to the West, and came to Sandpoint in 1995, working at Sandpoint Women’s Health for five years before opening her own women’s health care practice in 2000, which she operated until selling it in 2019 following a cancer diagnosis.

She serves as District 1 representative for the Nurse Practitioners of Idaho, and while underscoring that her comments are her own and not on behalf of the NPI nor BGH, told the Reader that she is aware of 40 physicians who have left Idaho in the past year alone.

“This doesn’t count the ones who are in process or considering it. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that number,” she said.

“I totally understand why a physician would leave Idaho,” she added. “You acquire years of education and debt, grueling schedules completing a residency, and then folks who have essentially no medical expertise tell you how you can practice. They threaten you with criminal prosecution if you provide the standard of care.”

Dalsing said the political climate in Idaho is “not helping women.” More than that, “you don’t transport a woman who is in an unstable medical condition.”

“This will require women to now travel when they’re in labor,” she said. “I can’t think anyone in active labor wants to do that, nor does the person driving her. We’ll probably see some babies born between the Canadian border and Coeur d’Alene. This is not just affecting the community of Sandpoint, but our neighbors north of us. Sandpoint really does serve a larger population than the quoted ‘9,000’ population.”

News of the suspension of OB services at BGH was an emotional blow for many, as well. Dalsing said that “women who delivered at BGH feel an association with the hospital, as people who say, ‘I was born right here at Bonner General.’”

However, she fears the long-term consequences of the ongoing political climate, scaring off providers far into the future.

“Idaho is digging itself a hole they won’t be able to climb out of,” Dalsing said. “If all this nonsense is stopped tomorrow, Idaho already has a black eye, and it won’t be able to recoup this loss. Loss of health care, loss of dynamic young families moving here, out-of-control development. This is tough.”

As for the immediate future, Binnall said BGH is doing everything it can to help OB patients find the care they need.

“We will provide coordination of care to any entity of the patient’s choice,” she said.

Bouquets:

•A Bouquet goes out to the Sandpoint Branch of the East Bonner County Library District for hosting the Sandpoint Reader’s Town Hall on March 20 to discuss the Couplet. Also, thanks to the 100+ people who crammed into our meeting room (sorry we didn’t have a bigger one reserved), as well as the volunteers who helped set up and break down chairs, distribute and pick up surveys, and manage Zoom for those who could only participate remotely. Finally, thanks to Sandpoint City Councilors Kate McAlister, Deb Ruehle and Jason Welker for attending. I’ve always believed firmly in opening the lines of communication, especially when dealing with an issue of this magnitude of importance (and permanence).

•It’s that time of year when the snow banks recede, leaving behind all the trash, dog poop and other random items we littered throughout the winter, thinking the snow would hide them forever. Alas, they always remain when the snow melts. I try to pick up a couple pieces of litter every time I walk to and from work. I encourage you all to do the same.

Barbs:

• Whenever someone refers to “wokeness,” I can’t help but feel they are just regurgitating terms they hear on partisan media outlets; terms that very few people actually understand. There are countless videos online of conservative activists railing about “woke” culture, but when asked to define the term, they always fall short. The same happened when “critical race theory” was the popular bugaboo. How can one be vehemetly opposed to something without actually knowing what it is? To refer to something as “woke” is merely a crutch for weak-minded people to straw man their way out of an argument. If “woke” means being “alert to predjudice and discrimination,” then why exactly is that a bad thing? In all my life, I’ve never seen a time when people were so damn proud of being ignorant.

Idaho needs to invest in teachers…

Dear editor,

High-quality teachers are the difference between a mediocre education system and an excellent education system; right now, Idaho is facing a crisis, losing more and more of its best teachers with each passing year.

I have always considered myself an Idaho boy through and through. I was born and raised in North Idaho, graduating near the top of my class from Sandpoint High School.

I then earned both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math and education from the University of Idaho (Go Vandals!). I was delighted to move back home to teach math at Sandpoint High School. I planned to continue teaching at SHS; unfortunately, I was faced with the reality that thousands of Idaho teachers face. I simply could not afford to live in my hometown.

It was a challenging decision to leave Sandpoint, but I moved to Spokane and immediately started making $25,000 more per year. This difference in salary means owning a home versus renting forever. The difference in salary means planning for retirement instead of living paycheck to paycheck. As a young teacher in Washington, I already make more money than award-winning teachers with advanced degrees and 30 years of experience back in Idaho.

Presently, Idaho cannot recruit and retain the best educators. North Idaho is especially vulnerable to this problem because of its proximity to Washington. Many teachers don’t even move; they just commute across the border to Spokane.

Now is the time for the Idaho Legislature to invest in its teachers and educational support staff. The Legislature must act to increase teacher salaries and keep our best teachers in Idaho. If not, I fear that many more quality educators will be leaving Idaho, just like I had to.

Tommy Jacobs

NCHS math teacher Spokane Dear editor, I’ve never written a “letter to the editor” before. Even though I’ve been tempted to, because I’ve always figured that time will eventually prove out what’s right or wrong.

This time, however, I can’t sit by and allow the besmirchment of one of the finest, most honest, God-fearing men who ever wore the badge (including two of my brothers) in my 74 years. To say that, “The only thing honorable about this man is that uniform he’s wearing,” [News, “Boundary line adjustment for BoCo Fairgrounds RV campground upheld on split vote,” March 16, 2023] is just another slap in the face of law enforcement by an ignorant County commissioner [Steve Bradshaw].

We’re going to need men like Sheriff Daryl Wheeler and his ever-reliable deputies this coming summer and beyond, when the “open border” policies of this current administration will be felt even here in northern Idaho, as MS-13 and even worse, Mexican cartels, pay a visit to Bonner County. They are already in Spokane, Boise, Missoula and Butte. “Wake-up.” The first duty of any elected official is the safety of their constituents.

If the sheriff says we need a new justice facility more than space to park big rigs for the County Fair — “Nough said.” Get your priorities straight. Think human trafficking and folks dying from fentanyl.

Will Dittman

Vietnam combat veteran Sandpoint not unlike choosing prayer over standard medical care. The state of Idaho defends a family’s right to deny acceptable and appropriate medical care and allow their child to die, but House Bill 71 allows the state into the intimate personal family decision to treat their child diagnosed with GD.

Fourth, pairing the treatment of GD with GM is an insult to a family making difficult medical decisions. GM is a procedure that alters a girl’s sexual anatomy. As an aside, circumcision in newborn male children is a near universal procedure done in the U.S. But I digress. Yes, they are usually a little girl when this happens, not a baby. This is done without the girl’s permission or anesthesia. GM is done to control the usual female sexual response. To combine these two situations is insulting to both.

I ask that you let HB 71 die in committee. It is not an appropriate action on behalf of our Legislature.

Cynthia Dalsing Sandpoint

Dear editor, Before writing yet another letter on individual bills coming before our Legislature, I’d just like to point out that the bills are coming so thick and fast that letter-writers don’t have time to research or digest them. Legislators don’t have time to discuss and amend them: the House State Affairs Committee has introduced three bills to “combat the use of environmental, social and corporate governance.” In what was planned to be the last week of the session, no less.

And when we do testify before committees or write to people we elected to serve us (Reps. Mark Sauter and Sage Dixon, Sen. Scott Herndon and Gov. Brad Little, we are mostly ignored.

Even when there is overwhelming opposition to things like gutting our libraries and threatening their staff, undermining education, and throwing women’s health and self-respect under the bus.

The distraction is intentional and perpetrated by a minority. This minority is backed by out-of-state money. We can vote to replace legislators, and elect a majority of Idahoans who will not use distraction tactics. Stay tuned.

I’d love it if somebody would give us some evidence that I am wrong, and relieve us of the distress caused by distraction-partisanship politics. Anybody out there?

Nancy Gerth Sagle

Send letters to the editor under 300 words to letters@ sandpointreader.com.

Dear editor,

Thank you, Chairman Lakey and the committee for the opportunity to speak today on HB 71, to which I am opposed.

My name is Cynthia Dalsing, I have lived in Sandpoint for 28 years. I am a retired certified nurse midwife and I am speaking on my own behalf.

First, most of HB 71, popularly known as the “Genital Mutilation Bill,” deals with the surgical treatment for gender dysphoria in a minor. This is a solution looking for a problem. In Idaho, there is no surgeon performing surgery for GD.

Second, this is an example of “practicing medicine without a license.” Gender dysphoria is a recognized medical diagnosis with its own DSM code. I ask that you let medical professionals take care of medical diagnoses.

Third, treating gender dysphoria is a personal family decision,