Editorial: Local actions remind us of our shared humanity
Precise numbers are impossible to calculate, of course, but an estimated 3 million people reportedly marched worldwide Jan. 21 to support human rights and express concern over the fate of those rights ...
Editorial: Addressing Oregon PERS crisis a moral imperative for lawmakers
On the opening day of this year’s state legislative session, a glimmer of hope emerged for the future of Oregon’s unsustainably overly-generous Public Employee sRetirement System. Speculation ...
New milestone planned to enrich downtown Mac
Soaring cathedrals and towering skyscrapers are built block by block and beam by beam, just like their more pedestrian counterparts. The key is finding the right materials and placing them in the right ...
Prevention as important as reaction to homeless issues
In McMinnville, we don’t need an annual count to identify the scope of homelessness. The need is visible every day, from the downtown core to entryways of the big box stores on the outskirts of town. Not ...
Women take to streets to be heard over clatter and din
Hundreds of thousands of American women are planning a historic march on Washington, D.C., Saturday to protest today’s inauguration of billionaire business mogul Donald Trump. Hundreds of thousands ...
Snowstorm response wasn't perfect, but vastly better than Portland's
Last week’s snowstorm was adventuresome in Yamhill County, primarily in good ways. About five inches of snow transformed our communities into temporary winter recreation parks. But memories will ...
Banning plastic bags a case of good intentions, with tradeoffs
Plastic bag bans are more of a gesture than a significant environmental benefit. There are plenty of pros to reducing the common carrier of groceries and other goods, the most significant being reducing ...
Oregonians yearn for leaders who stir souls
In the inaugural address Monday, Gov. Kate Brown invoked the memory of Tom McCall in her opening and Mark Hatfield in her closing. That’s fitting, as the two former governors, both Republicans, ...
If committed to be fair, cities need to collect what is due
After years of lurching from one financial crisis to another, Willamina has finally begun to get its financial house in order. City leaders rightly deserve the full support of the citizenry. But they’ve ...
Donations, deductions a great way to begin 2017
There is just a day and some change left to purge your closets and garages for usable items that can transform into goodwill for your fellow human beings (and provide deductions at tax time). The ...
Elections, of course, dominate Readers Forum topics in 2017
The News-Register prints its top ten news and sports stories of the year, which its done annually for many years. We also find it interesting to recap the most frequently discussed topics in our Readers ...
Contracting jail services could provide dividends
We are not big fans of the contracting out of public services to private agencies. We take particular exception to the contracting out of services falling within a public agency’s core function, ...
Further coordination can improve already robust service community
For several years, a group of volunteers associated with McMinnville churches worked together to provide shelter during times of extreme cold. Known as C-WISH, the effort was discontinued this year after ...
Rave economic reviews don’t extend past PDX
State and federal stats paint a glowing picture of Oregon’s economy. In colorful prose, accompanied by flashy maps and graphics, analysts tell us it’s red hot and rolling. But the Oregon story ...
Let’s hope records bill moves us closer to culture of transparency
When a public records denial is challenged in Yamhill County, it falls to District Attorney Brad Berry to issue a ruling. Berry considers each challenge thoughtfully, professionally, expeditiously, but ...
