Recent job losses lend urgency to efforts to draw new industry
The recent sequence of job reductions in Yamhill County is worthy of some concern. Hopefully, it will spur a renewed effort on the part of local leaders, in both the public and private sectors, to make ...
Oregon's independent voices need to be heard
The Motor Voter Act, which Democrats rammed through on a straight party-line vote last year, promises to prove a win-win for them. It not only will swell voter rolls with youthful and often disengaged ...
Museum's bankruptcy filing raises some cause for concern
Filing for bankruptcy was the logical course of action for the Michael King Smith Foundation, in order to avoid a sheriff’s foreclosure auction on the courthouse steps. But it was hardly a predetermined ...
County should adopt set of specific goals
Annual goal-setting is something McMinnville’s mayor, city manager and city councilors undertake most seriously. They devote many hours each January — almost seven this year, in the course ...
Bag of big-ticket items not what voters were promised
In 2010, we supported Measure 71, which created a new 25-day legislative session in even-numbered years. At the time we believed the additional session would “allow approximately one month the following ...
Bankruptcy the best bet for long-lasting museum
Filing for bankruptcy is deeply imbued with negative connotations. But in the cases of the McMinnville troika of Evergreen International Aviation, Evergreen Vintage Aircraft and the Michael King Smith ...
It's way past time to rein in runway energy boondoggle
The Oregon Department of Energy, charged with encouraging conservation of conventional sources and development of renewable alternatives, went about its task quietly and commendably for decades. But the ...
If we pull together in harmony, no problem ever looms too large
Next week, volunteers will do their best to tally an official count of the local homeless population. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires the county to conduct such a count every ...
Clash over bypass interchange doesn't require state involvement
Here’s our take on the northern terminus of the Newberg-Dundee Bypass: With no perfect option available, all routes — Springbrook Road to 99W in Newberg, McKay Road via Highway 219 and, yes, ...
Affordable housing crisis demands united rent and wage action
Another newspaper recently opined: “Portland has a housing problem ... There are too few apartments, and the units that are available rent for more than local incomes can support. Rents have climbed ...
Protesters need to go home so real narrative can be told
We often preach the importance of controlling the narrative. Many times, we see individuals or agencies suppress information out of concern for the public’s reaction. But more often than ...
We do students a disservice letting them miss class time
Standardized testing is a prime predictor of future academic performance, and thus the likelihood of eventual high school graduation. Early on, it gives educators a good idea who’s going to make ...
Lively debate had all year in Readers Forum
More than 200 letters were printed in these pages in 2015. Dozens of topics were addressed, mostly local, with opinions on national and international issues sprinkled throughout. Organizing the topics ...
Give and receive with year-end donations
Once the merriment of the Christmas season begins to wind down, we turn our attention to the new year. But before that clock strikes midnight on January 1, it’s most advantageous to make some year-end ...
A seasonal dream of Christmas year-round
The importance of Christmas in American society cannot be underrated in many realms, from religious to commercial, from personal to family. Christmas is an annual bustle that brings both great beauty ...
