We built the road; now fix the signage
Here’s a long-awaited sentence: I drove the Newberg-Dundee Bypass! It’s just Phase 1, thus incomplete, And funding and topographic challenges caused an interchange flaw that may become a black ...
Jeb Bladine: With few sibs, you depend on cousins
Year-end holidays remind us how families are complicated foundations of our lives. As someone with small nuclear families — both vertically and horizontally — I always marvel at how people ...
Jeb Bladine: Personal lists of ‘prominent deaths’
Today we continue our year-end tradition of reviewing the most prominent local news stories, and recognizing the loss of a few well-known people. Our practice of listing prominent deaths always overlooks ...
Jeb Bladine: Think about tax law impact on donations
Americans may be absorbed with late-stage holiday shopping, but their growing Christmas spirit also kindles a surge in charitable donations. Informed sources estimate that 30 percent of charitable giving ...
Jeb Bladine: Anti-media solution: Lynch journalists
Philippe Reines recently wrote: “The havoc Donald Trump’s presidency has wreaked will take years to fully understand, let alone recover from. High on the list of things to undo will be the ...
Jeb Bladine: Reader nudges N-R for shooting update
Monday, reacting to a Saturday shooting in McMinnville, a frustrated reader nudged us with this website post: “How about an update, News-Register.” Tuesday the reader added, “I don’t ...
Jeb Bladine: Give the council a landfill of testimony
It’s great how one of McMinnville’s most diligent city councilors still has confidence in quality public input on important government issues. Let’s hope that’s not just a bunch ...
Jeb Bladine: Obsession blurs lines of propriety
Obsession is a dangerous trait. Just ask J.W. Millegan of McMinnville. We don’t know exactly why a swarm of FBI agents stormed Millegan’s downtown McMinnville home Wednesday morning, except ...
Jeb Bladine: Online map shows Mac crime reports
McMinnville is experiencing a spike in thefts, burglaries and property crimes, providing yet another reminder for residents to lock their cars, deadbolt their homes and stay alert. The most prominent ...
Jeb Bladine: Complex laws set deadly force rules
The shooting of a home intruder this week sparked debates about rights of self-defense. As Capt. Rhonda Sandoval points out in today’s news story, Oregon laws on the use of deadly force are complicated. First ...
Jeb Bladine: Good time to revisit the First Amendment
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, adopted in 1791, underpins America’s most important individual freedoms. Every so often, it’s pertinent to remember that one simple, but very complicated, ...
Jeb Bladine: Projects responding to anticipated growth
Driving around town this year, it feels like significant growth in McMinnville: more traffic; lots of construction; field work marking approval of a 278-unit subdivision. And there are so many planning ...
Jeb Bladine: As media moves on, victims still need aid
Victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma have begun rebuilding their lives and communities. Meanwhile, after nearly three weeks of nonstop hurricane coverage, television news is moving national attention ...
Jeb Bladine: City talks coming on vacation rentals
When Charles Hillestad first warned fellow McMinnville planning commissioners about the proliferation of vacation home rentals, he spoke from personal experience. Hillestad moved here from Cannon Beach, ...
Jeb Bladine: Eclipse & president astound Americans
It’s been quite a week. Americans saw one breathtaking solar eclipse and one dumbfounding version of Donald Trump. Most agreed both experiences exceeded their wildest expectations.Long before Monday, ...
