For the first time in ages, I could pay attention to the voices in my head — a very good thing. Instead of being distracted by daily life or my work — which I love; don’t get me wrong ...
Editorials
City and county looking to state and federal partners
Cities and counties routinely seek help from their state and federal big brothers with larger projects for the constituencies they serve. And with new legislative and congressional sessions getting underway, ...
Oregon has lost its way on the educational front
A series of national public school learning assessments released recently paint a bleak picture for Oregon, despite an 80% increase in funding since state test scores peaked in 2013. Driven by such a ...
Rec plan review needs to reflect what's gone before
It was encouraging to see the way the reconstituted post-election city council came together to pause work on a major new municipal recreation complex for some soul-searching reassessment. The council ...
We need to all pull as one to solve our housing crisis
Oregon has been caught in the grip of an escalating housing crisis for at least 10 years now. As a result, it has become one of the least-affordable states in the nation for both home ownership and apartment ...
Trying to draw some lessons from Robert Pamplin demise
It’s easy to celebrate the downfall of a liar, cheat, bully and philanderer — an evil force setting out to trample anyone getting in the way of his wanton plundering. But Robert B. Pamplin ...
Dayton Landing transfer would best serve public
For centuries on our nation’s Eastern Seaboard and Midwest Heartland, cities tended to treat rivers as gritty industrial alleyways out back instead of scenic recreational boulevards out front. And ...
Record revenue projected, but record need lies in wait
Oregon’s December revenue forecast — which the Legislature will be using as a budgeting guide during the long odd-year session set to convene 11 days hence — promises to support a $39.3 ...
Looking back instructive, looking ahead constructive
In Monday’s news space, we indulged in the deeply rooted newspaper tradition of looking back on the past year to assess its challenges, breakthroughs, warnings and revelations after the fact, in ...
Oregon's new laws call more for fine-tuning than retooling
Every new year ushers in a gusher of new laws, all across the country, from West Coast to East. It just comes with the season, as surely as pumpkins at Halloween and turkeys at Thanksgiving. Like New ...
Danger signals on rec bond suggest a pause to reassess
There’s always a good time to lock up land for future development, and it’s always right now, as far in advance as possible. If you don’t, you’ll inevitably find on down the road ...
Letters
News-Register Letters Policy
The News-Register welcomes written opinions about issues of public interest and about the content of this newspaper. Letters from non-local writers are accepted only if they focus on local issues. This ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 21, 2025
Criminal collusion The recent “negotiations” between the Trump administration and Putin remind me of the Hitler-Stalin Pact of August 23, 1939. The pact gave carte blanche authorization for ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 14, 2025
Call to action We tell our kids, “Use your words.” No stomping, no piercing screams, when experiencing upset. Now is the time to follow our own advice. We need to pay attention to the destruction ...
Letters to the Editor: Feb. 7, 2025
Save our democracy Most of the world, like me, was shocked when Trump won the election. I hoped he would be a better president this time, but that hope was soon dashed. He is the same arrogant, vindictive ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 31, 2025
Mail balloting attack Many people have been attempting to blame Kamala Harris’ loss in the 2024 Presidential election on one group of people or another, thus further dividing us. The actual culprit ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 24, 2025
Transit looking up Thank you, Cynthia Thompson and the Yamhill County commissioners, for approving a two-year plan to use state funding to improve local public transportation. Adding more routes between ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 24, 2025
Transit looking up Thank you, Cynthia Thompson and the Yamhill County commissioners, for approving a two-year plan to use state funding to improve local public transportation. Adding more routes between ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 17, 2025
Lamenting lanes loss A Joni Mitchell lyric in the song “Big Yellow Taxi” warns, “You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.” That will be true this ...
Letters to the editor: Jan. 10, 2025
Signage blizzard redux? Don’t count Lindsay Berschauer out just because she lost her re-election bid to Bubba King. There’s a rumor circulating that she plans on running again in about 18 ...
Letters to the Editor: Jan. 3, 2025
Clear the way Since the Yamhelas Westsider Trail right of way is owned by the county, we ask the county to clear the brambles so county residents can walk sections of the trail and judge for themselves ...
Commentary
Starla Pointer: Alone with my thoughts, invited to record them
For the first time in ages, I could pay attention to the voices in my head — a very good thing. Instead of being distracted by daily life or my work — which I love; don’t get me wrong ...
Whatchamacolumn: Actual numbers belie claims of ‘massive mandate’
It was no surprise to see protest rallies nationwide on Presidents’ Day, or as activists proclaimed, “Not My President’s Day.” Demonstrations, including those in Portland and Salem, ...
PeaceVoice: China facing battery of economic warning signs
By MEL GURTOV Of Portland State University China’s economy has probably peaked in size and performance. The era of investment and credit expansion seems to be over. As Bloomberg recently reported, ...
Offbeat Oregon: Former town marshal protested his firing by murdering the new marshal
Everyone in the tiny Harney County town of Westfall knew something bad was going to happen after City Marshal Asa Carey was fired for the second time. Carey had been an odd pick for city marshal, but ...
Investigating the Bible: You are what you speak
In the Reader’s Digest Katheryn Lyons wrote about an elderly man who was very wealthy and very deaf who she helped purchase hearing aids. He returned two weeks later for a follow-up. He reported ...
Eric Schuck: Interest rates raise red flag we can't afford to shrug off
The endurance of certain cultural references never ceases to amaze me. For example, while “The Princess Bride” hit theaters 38 years ago, students — or at least enough students — ...
Whatchamacolumn: Land use law ‘adjustments’ for housing projects
Many people were shocked to learn that a new Oregon law guarantees “adjustments” to local design and development standards for high-density residential developments. I was more shocked that ...
PeaceVoice: Two different approaches to the world around us
By LAWRENCE WITTNER The recent whirlwind of Trump administration foreign policy measures — many reversing those of the Biden administration — illustrates the sharply different opinions Americans ...
Offbeat Oregon: Epic wagon-road swindle made headlines nationwide
A few years after Oregon became a state, some of its leaders participated in what might actually have been the biggest non-Indian-related land-grab swindle in U.S. history. That’s putting it a bit ...
Investigating the Bible: Striving for peace
Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democrat Speaker of the house, Tip O’Neill, were political foes. To help build a bridge of friendship, Reagan and his wife hosted O’Neill and ...
Quirk of the Week: Quietly observing the ‘nut case’ and other charms of the Atticus
Quirk of the Week checks into Atticus Hotel this week. The seven-year-old establishment at Fourth and Ford in McMinnville brings a number of unusual examples to the discussion of Quirk. Some may recall ...
Ken Dollinger: A life-long love affair with local newspapers
It was just one failure too many. As a 1963 freshman at Oklahoma State University, I chose chemistry as a major, hoping to please my chemical engineer father while ignoring my unsuitability for science. Late ...
Whatchamacolumn: Businesses may close, but memories aren't lost
Change is inevitable. Businesses come and go. Entire industries fade from memory, from typewriters to phone booths, pagers to print encyclopedias, film photography to VHS tapes. While we embrace changes ...
The Conversation: Can feds compel cooperation with immigration crackdown?
By CLAIRE WOFFORD Of the College of Charleston President Donald Trump has begun to radically change how the U.S. government handles immigration, from challenging long-held legal concepts about who ...
State sanctuary law protections
State sanctuary laws, codified in ORS 180.805, 180.810 and 181A.820 to 829, bar Oregon public bodies and law enforcement agencies from inquiring about immigration status or aiding in federal immigration ...
Investigating the Bible: Responding to evil
Fred Lockley wrote in “Conversations with Pioneer Men” about a crooked gang at the Northwest’s Fort Wrangel in 1898. They invited a 60-year-old man to a three-shell game.
Letter to Readers: ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ provides timeless themes, great melodies
Tevye, to God: “I know, I know: we are the chosen people. But once in a while, can’t you choose someone else?” The ironic humor in lines such as this from “Fiddler on the Roof” ...
Quirk of the Week: There is Balm in Gilead, and there was such a street in Mac
For good reason, McMinnville residents love their street trees. Then there are tree streets. Where Quirk comes in is the proliferation of concrete sidewalk stamps marking past tree-named streets, and ...
Rusty Rae: Struggling Oregon newspapers desperate for a helping hand
It’s unbelievable to me that nearly two out of three citizens of these United States believe newspapers are doing well financially, according to a 2024 survey by the Poynter Institute.
Whatchamacolumn: Time for city to focus on a new aquatic center
New political leadership — as seen daily on the national scene — can bring new sets of eyes to challenges of best serving the public interest in a democratic society, and not always for the ...
