"Whatchamacolumn" by Jeb Bladine
The News-Register publisher writes about the community; people; local, state and national affairs; and sometimes whimsey.
Jeb Bladine: Scientists restore access to climate data
Decades ago, a NASA scientist told a U.S. Senate committee that human-caused “global warming” had begun, launching a wave of forums, programs and civic discussions focused on future risks. ...
Jeb Bladine: Changed America shares McMinnville birthday
Happy Birthday, America. My, how you’ve changed! I remember when you were a youthful 200 years old. Who could forget your 1976 McMinnville birthday party: huge parade with downtown streets packed ...
Jeb Bladine: A time for public opinion on housing projects
Complex issues drive the development of McMinnville. Housing is one prominent topic these days, with complexities that extend to housing types and locations, traffic flow and safety, downtown parking ...
Jeb Bladine: A worthy holiday delays newspaper delivery
We newspaper folks keep track of many, many things: Deadlines, for example; election dates; court schedules; names and numbers of local officials who return phone calls, and those who commit themselves ...
Jeb Bladine: A good time for the occasional sports column
This is a sports column. I’m a long-time basketball fan. My earliest years of home TV coincided with Boston Celtic NBA championships in 1957-59-60-61-62-63. Celtic star Bob Cousy inspired those ...
Jeb Bladine: Local health insurance fight just the beginning
Health insurance in America is unstable and becoming more so. Insurance companies are cancelling unprofitable policies, creating narrower service networks and tightening benefits. There are nationwide ...
Jeb Bladine: Memorial Day Weekend merges fiction, reality
Memorial Day Weekend: flowers to the cemetery, a family barbeque, national mourning for military personnel who died in the line of duty, and opportunity for holiday escape into a marathon movie series. This ...
Jeb Bladine: Trump wins complex negotiations with himself
Books will be written about the 2026 Trump Anti-Weaponization Fund Settlement. My 500-word limit makes a full summary impossible, but here’s a thumbnail. President Donald Trump, his two sons and ...
Jeb Bladine: History urges strong response to youth violence
To be clear, there’s no public evidence the April 28 melee in Joe Dancer Park was gang-related. But if it was, historic lessons have taught us as a community to act quickly and vigorously. Last ...
Jeb Bladine: Kids caught more than crawdads in City Park
In the News-Register, our weekly “Vintage N-R” photo array is accompanied by “Memory Lane” morsels from 10, 25 and 50 past years. We reminisce about times when Hotel Oregon was ...
Jeb Bladine: Huge cost of unfunded mandates falls to taxpayers
It’s annual budget time for state and local governments, and the numbers are staggering. There isn’t enough money for government to do what it wants, but the costs are beyond what taxpayers ...
Jeb Bladine: Humiliating insults a staple of Trump presidency
This week’s State of the Union address by President Donald Trump was one for the ages. At 108 minutes, it was the longest in recent history. The speech featured typical Trump showmanship; promoted ...
Jeb Bladine: Focus on spending, not just on taxes and fees
Oregonians have focused too much attention on government taxes and not enough on government spending. That applies as well to McMinnville, where changes in city leadership do not yet seem destined to quell ...
Jeb Bladine: Challenges in a new chapter of city government
McMinnville, now embarked on a new chapter in city government, has challenges galore in areas of finance, operations, special projects and community trust. It begins with planning for a new budget year, ...
