Blumsack: Long power outages aren’t inevitable after a disaster

A busy 2021 Atlantic hurricane season was still in full swing as some residents in the parts of Louisiana hit hardest by Hurricane Ida back in late August were still waiting for their power to be restored. And thousands of Texas residents endured multi-day outages after Hurricane Nicholas struck in mid-September.

Pointer: Traveling the world through others

We arrived in Oxford, England, on the evening of Jan. 2, 1982, having flown out of Seattle at midnight on New Year’s Day. We had jumped ahead in time somewhere over Greenland and gone through customs at Heathrow Airport in a daze before boarding a bus.

Back, and forth: A stranger invited to dinner on Christmas in Bethlehem

I first visited Israel 43 years ago, at the age of 20. I don’t think then that I gave much thought to the fact a severe war — one threatening the nation’s very existence had occurred ...

Bladine: Taking a look back for holiday thoughts

Looking ahead, it sometimes helps to look back. While searching for relevant words to pass along this Christmas Eve, I found a few from past columns. From 1999, a suggestion that people of any means can ...

Chef Ally Webb puts much stock in her new business

When longtime chef Allison “Ally” Webb needed to make some money for medical bills following the birth of her son, she returned to the kitchen and started stirring up soup. Now Zander is four ...

Nokes: Applegate left imprint on Oregon’s history

Prior to retirement, R. Gregory Nokes served as a reporter and editor for The Associated Press and Oregonian. He authored a trio of books on Oregon history — “Massacred for Gold; The Chinese ...

Bladine: Holidays filled with uncertainty

Pandemic-related numbers are mind-numbing, even as they help us make better decisions. Behind the numbers, real people continue to suffer and die from the COVID-19 virus. Here are some disquieting statistics ...

Back, and forth: All that Christmas stuff and other tales of stow

Few are the pop culture references to storage units. It’s not considered that exotic or diverting of a subject. But there are two I love: Jimmy Buffett’s “We got lots of self storage/calypso ...

Howsden: Want to help kids? ‘Build Back Better’ is a good place to start

Steve Rutledge’s piece on failing our children explicitly pointed out the fact this has particularly dramatic effects where poverty exists.

Lowery: IOC handing China a propaganda coup

The International Olympic Committee is a craven handmaid of Beijing.

It should be a rule of thumb that the Olympic Games not be held in countries that operate concentration camps. But if this strikes you as a reasonable demand, you aren’t suited to serve on the IOC. The committee has doggedly defended Beijing as the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, even as the Chinese Communist Party continues pursuing a campaign of unrelenting barbarity against the Uyghurs.

Gurtov: Ukraine is a tinderbox that desperately needs defusing

Vladimir Putin is trying to accomplish two very dangerous tasks at once: destruction of civil society in Russia and the withering away of international support for a democratic Ukraine. Fortunately, he will not find the second as easy to accomplish as the first.

Bladine: Inside elements of David Jubb cases

Waves generated by the alleged sexual transgressions of former Linfield University Trustee David Jubb evolved into a tsunami of controversy, recriminations and, ultimately, positive changes at Linfield. In ...

Rutledge: Short-sighted U.S. failing its children

This is the time of year when television stations begin to run the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, told in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”

Most people probably wouldn’t want to be identified with Scrooge. However, collectively, our country seems to have embraced his cynical and short-sighted ethos — one that chooses money and short-term economic gain over basic humanity and simple, sound planning.

Back, and forth: Unique forest park offers mix of familiar and fresh

Adjusting to a new place can be all the more interesting when you encounter something that feels familiar. And I’ve seen plenty of places like Galen McBee Airport Park. Visiting Sunday for the first ...

Larson: Why the secrecy in Google water deal?

I don’t like secrets kept from citizens without a good reason.

The city of The Dalles is keeping a secret right now about the most familiar search engine in America.