This week on “The Impact”:
The week after his passing we reflect on the extraordinary life of former P.O.W., Medal of Honor recipient, and Washington State Senator, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Leo Thorsness.
You’ll hear from previous interviews with Thorsness describing his time in Vietnam as well as our interview with his extremely close friend, U.S. Senator John McCain, R-Arizona. Both men suffered through six years of torture in captivity at the notorious “Hanoi Hilton” prison.
“He was a genuine hero in our prison experience because he was one of the toughest resistors and did incredibly well. So that, but the Congressional Medal of Honor was for the incredible heroics of the mission in North Vietnam which was, if you wrote a novel, nobody would believe it. The incredible aviation skills that he displayed as well as courage make him as really one of the most remarkable people that I’ve ever known,” – U.S. Senator John McCain, R-Arizona. “A man of incredible modesty. A man of enormous courage and incredible aviation skills and a man who was loved by his fellow P.O.W.’s.”
We also speak with a friend and former colleague in the Washington Senate Republican Caucus.
“He’s just one of those people that you wish you could be like, but you know you never will be,” – Martin Flynn, former Washington Senate Republican Caucus Chief of Staff.
Next we cover the emergency at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation where a tunnel holding radioactive waste collapsed exposing it to the outside air.
In our third segment we dig into the debate over bills to tie job incentives to aerospace industry tax incentives in Washington State.
“We see jobs being created in states that require jobs and we do think that’s exactly what we need in Washington,” – Chelsea Orvella, Legislative Director, Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA).
“They’re facing new competition from China so rolling back tax incentives would not only hurt that company, but would also hurt thousands of contractors, smaller businesses,” – Paul Guppy, Vice President for Research at the Washington Policy Center.
Click here to watch “The Impact” – May 10th, 2017