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Valerie Richardson

Valerie Richardson

Valerie Richardson covers politics and the West from Denver. She can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Valerie Richardson

Pat Kenyon looks over the wine selection at a Costco warehouse store Oct. 31 in Seattle. Whether Costco will be able to sell hard liquor alongside the wine depends on the outcome of a Washington state referendum on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Costco in spirited bid to privatize liquor sales

The campaign for Washington state's Initiative 1183 is based on the belief that Costco shoppers should be able to pick up a fifth of Jack Daniels along with their family pack of hot-dog buns and three-pound tubs of mixed nuts. Published November 6, 2011

Chasm wide on Grand Canyon uranium mining

The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and a mile deep, which is roughly the size of the gap between the Obama administration and Western Republicans on the issue of uranium mining in Northern Arizona. Published November 3, 2011

Colorado voters overwhelmingly reject higher taxes

Colorado's Proposition 103, the biggest tax-increase proposal of the off-year November election, was headed to a sound defeat early Wednesday, an indication that voters still expect government to solve its economic woes with spending cuts instead of revenue increases. Published November 1, 2011

Appeal denied on highway crosses in Utah

The Supreme Court handed a victory to atheist groups Monday, declining to hear a case on roadside crosses honoring fallen Utah state troopers in a move likely to intensify the debate about the constitutionality of religious symbols on public property. Published October 31, 2011

Republican presidential candidate Texas Gov. Rick Perry holds up the tax form he says that Americans would fill out as he outlined a broad economic proposal of a flat 20 percent income tax rate during a news conference Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2011, at the State House in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain)

Perry opposes design of Confederate license plate

After declining for months to tip his hand, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, under pressure from state civil-rights leaders, said Wednesday he opposes a proposed state license plate depicting the Confederate battle flag. Published October 26, 2011

Voter ID, other initiatives follow GOP’s resurgence

Voters in Maine, Mississippi and Washington will decide election-reform questions this November, joining a wave of 36 states that in 2011 moved to increase identification requirements, limit the early-voting period, or toughen up registration rules. Published October 23, 2011

A polar bear rests with her cubs on pack ice in northern Alaska. A federal judge in 2011 said the Bush administration violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to conduct an environmental impact review before issuing its ruling on the status of polar bears under the Endangered Species Act. (Associated Press)

Ruling impacts on polar bears

The polar bear landed back in the Obama administration's lap Monday after a federal judge ruled the Interior Department must conduct an environmental review before it can exclude climate change from its strategy in aiding the threatened species. Published October 17, 2011

Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce (Associated Press)

Sham entry of Hispanic could sway Ariz. vote

The author of Arizona's landmark immigration law is facing a recall election that's as wild and unpredictable as the state's southern border. Published October 16, 2011

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie has jumped from crisis to crisis since his January swearing-in. Some of his headaches, such as the state's budget deficit, have been beyond his control, while others, including his swat at the NFL Pro Bowl, are largely of his own making. A staff upheaval hasn't helped. (Associated Press)

Hawaii is no paradise for Abercrombie

Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie is finding trouble in paradise as he makes the rocky transition from longtime congressman to first-time governor. Published October 11, 2011

Colorado town displeased with tainted cantaloupes using its name

The residents of Rocky Ford, Colo., want to make one thing clear: The "Rocky Ford Cantaloupe" that touched off a national listeria outbreak, the deadliest U.S. food-borne outbreak in a decade, wasn't grown in Rocky Ford. Published October 4, 2011

GOP holding winning hand in Nevada?

While the Republicans' surprising win in New York's 9th Congressional District race drew most of the attention, it was the GOP's second victory on Sept. 13 that could have even bigger ramifications for President Obama's re-election bid. Published September 26, 2011

Casinos support legalized online poker

The nation's largest casino trade group is going all in to legalize online poker, calling Tuesday for a proposed regulatory framework even as the Justice Department continued its crackdown on offshore gambling websites. Published September 20, 2011

Judge unseals tapes of trial about vote on gay marriage

A federal judge Monday ordered the unsealing of the video recordings in the Proposition 8 trial, handing gay-rights supporters another legal victory in their quest to legalize same-sex marriage in California. Published September 19, 2011

Online singles shun politics of dating

Singles searching to connect with soul mates via the Internet are more likely to admit that they are overweight on their online dating profiles than to acknowledge that they are active Republicans or Democrats, according to an extensive academic survey. Published September 13, 2011