Immigration agents muzzle critics in the ‘land of the free’
When an undocumented immigrant named Yesenia shared her story with the News-Register in February, she feared a simple unpaid parking ticket might expose her to immigration agents and thus separate her ...
City could use substance in its eco-friendly moves
The McMinnville City Council’s Tuesday night decision to divert municipal waste to an out-of-state landfill arrived with a hefty dose of self-congratulation all around. But the city needs to embrace ...
There’s no real reform in any of the tax plans now in play
After nearly a year-long litany of dashed dreams, the Trump administration appears desperate for a legislative victory it can savor on Fox and Twitter. And cutting taxes has long been considered a virtually ...
Citizens should be free from offensive litter
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We get that. But when one man’s treasure begins to accumulate in unsightly heaps, creep into road right of way, encroach on neighboring property, ...
Runaway campaign spending helps fuel alarming government spending
The state Legislature’s Committee Days event, staged last week, produced plenty of hot topics. At the top of that list is a January special election measure to determine whether we fully implement ...
Citizens should be free from offensive litter
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. We get that.But when one man’s treasure begins to accumulate in unsightly heaps, creep into road right of way, encroach on neighboring property, ...
Runaway campaign spending helps fuel alarming government spending
The state Legislature’s Committee Days event, staged last week, produced plenty of hot topics. At the top of that list is a January special election measure to determine whether we fully implement ...
Union of new and old fueling wine industry
Oregon Wine Country can share a couple sentiments with Jackson Family Wines this holiday season. First, likely with a glass of wine hoisted high, cheers to the company’s new office complex ...
Dog slaying the price we pay for putting so much on police
About 18 months ago, we carried a quote in this space from a Texas police chief. In a moment of frustration, he complained, “Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough ...
County dodges strike; workers sound warning
News item: County workers represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees threaten to strike, shutting down crucial functions. Pay that allegedly lags behind that of comparable ...
PERS panel presents solid report, but it's of little value to major problem
The PERS Unfunded Actuarial Liability Task Force presented its final report to the governer this week. The group was tasked with exploring a range of money-generating options to pay down the state’s ...
New opportunities with change in Turkey Rama
The fate of Turkey Rama is unknown, and that’s just fine. After all, the original purpose of McMinnville’s annual community event — to promote the area’s major turkey industry — ...
Women deserve freedom from unwanted workplace advances
What trait does Oregon State Sen. Jeff Kruse, Republican from Roseburg, share with Clarence Thomas, Bob Packwood, Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, David Letterman, Roger Ailes, Bill O’Reilly and Harvey ...
Conduct that raises eyebrows has no place in public office
Last Friday’s News-Register contained stories about two locally elected officials confronted with conflicts of interest. One behaved impeccably, avoiding not only the exercise of undue influence, ...
Mac continues to stay in front of major vacation rental issues
Cities around the country are constantly battling social technologies that affect local governance. Notably, the “sharing economy” has resulted in a large vacation rental industry. Using web-based ...
