Reliable local transit a linchpin for many
We live in times marked by something akin to a crisis a day, if not an even more frantic crisis of the hour or minute. It’s so dizzying, it can numb us into a state of near paralysis. So one of ...
City's elected leaders facing times sure to try their souls
The hopes and dreams of passionate advocates have a bad habit of crashing into the realities of limited means, competing priorities and opposing views. Never has that seemed more evident, we must say, ...
Open, top-two primary would be good for what ails Oregon
Advocates of a top-two form of open primary, resembling those long serving to good effect in neighboring California to the south and Washington to the north, are taking a major run at it in the Oregon ...
Vollmer may overreach, but so does the sanction
Stories raising issues about when it may be appropriate for public officials to engage in the public process outside their core duties — and when that may seem disruptive, political, intimidating ...
Celebrating the good will still alive and well locally
For many people in Yamhill County — including, perhaps, most of the 49% who opposed presidential re-election of Donald Trump — the first few weeks of his new term have proven a disaster on ...
New fire district seems off to a sure-footed start
No social, commercial or governmental function remains static for very long, given the exponentially accelerating pace of today’s world. And that certainly includes the closely allied public safety ...
We can't just spend our way out of public defender crisis
Back in 2022, then Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt, fed up with Oregon’s pathetic patchwork of a public defense system, sounded a cry of alarm over the resulting lack of criminal ...
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 ...
