Parks system has earned another round of support
Local residents have a track record, dating back to at least the 1970s, of supporting city parks and recreation measures. They have rejected only one in the memory of Parks Director Jay Pearson, whose ...
City gets the kick it needed to start moving in the right direction
Sometimes there’s nothing like a swift kick in the appropriate rears to set the mule train of city government in motion. McMinnville city officials must have known of serious problems in the neighborhood ...
Increasing police staff need not dictate fee, tax
The McMinnville police have been chronically underfunded and understaffed for at least a quarter of a century now. Chief after chief have made their City Manager Kent Taylor over the years, largely to ...
New development planned on historically controversial land
With news of a planned 500-home subdivision in McMinnville’s northwest corner, we can’t help but let our minds wander to the past, and wonder if McMinnville voters would have made a different ...
Steel sent hurtling down the highway never something to be
Drugs, alcohol, guns and fast cars seem to hold a sinister fascination for American youth. And that goes double or triple for the male component. Tuesday’s edition brought the fast car element home ...
Per-mile tax the future, not necessarily the now
Drivers should probably get used to the idea of a per-mile tax to one day replace the gas tax. But there’s much to debate regarding the effectiveness of such a plan in the short term. Often a pioneer ...
Landlords' urgency puts tenants in difficult spots
In early May, residents of McMinnville’s Mulkey RV Park, including low-income seniors stranded in units not suitable for relocation, were served with an eviction notice giving them until July 15 ...
Modern housing investments can pay long-term dividends
Steps to enhance energy efficiency typically require some initial costs in return for a more substantial long-term payoff. In the housing market, eco-friendly practices continue to win ever greater acceptance, ...
Dayton emerges as first 10-gig city on West Coast
Last month, Dayton celebrated something remarkable enough for the rest of the nation to take notice. The home of the Old Timers Festival is now the first city on the American West Coast to enjoy 10 gigabyte ...
The only objectionable glare here is the glare of groundless opposition
During a 1980 election-eve debate between presidential rivals Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, Reagan famously quipped, “There you go again,” in response to criticism he found especially specious. Despite ...
Third-party Johnson/Weld ticket worth look
The Libertarian Party nominated its presidential ticket over Memorial Day weekend. If you’re feeling disenfranchised by the choice between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, you might consider voting ...
Deterring the chronic drunk driver close to impossible
McMinnville resident John Charles Mickler gives new meaning to the term “incorrigible.” Obviously a habitual drunk, he recently earned his 10th conviction for driving under the influence of ...
Don't let the glare of bad news blind us to all that goes right
It can take a strong stomach to digest a day’s worth of what passes for news in the cesspool of social media. And many days, one fares only marginally better with the outpourings of media outlets ...
Report: Proposed corporate sales tax would act largely as consumption tax
An analysis released this week confirms what many Oregonians have suspected from the outset: Initiative Petition 28 is bad for our state and bad for our pocketbooks. It has little if any upside. Just making ...
Enviros continue to block deal, counties not doing much better
For decades, the federal Bureau of Land Management has been stuck between the rock of Northwest timber counties and the hard place of environmental advocacy coalitions. In matters of public debate, ...
