City's stormwater needs worthy of a careful look
McMinnville’ stormwater system uses a network of catch basins, open channels and buried lines to drain 10,700 acres of land in a wet climate influenced by its proximity to the Pacific Ocean. That ...
Decriminalizatrion a disaster, but treatment retains promise
Oregon’s bold experiment in decriminalizing possession of heroin, meth, cocaine and fentanyl — and investing marijuana tax money into expanded addiction treatment, in hopes of shifting the ...
Cautious approach to tax increase needs assurances
Following nearly a year of discussion internally and with community members, the McMinnville Budget Committee struck the proper balance this week with a decision to enact one-third of the city’s ...
Creative thinking needed to address downtown parking
The final frontier of a space to park may seem like a fantasy in downtown McMinnville, but the truth is more grounded in reality. In fact, the downtown parking question, as affected by the pending Third ...
Justice delayed 1 1/2 centuries may now be at hand for tribe
The U.S. Congress appears poised to finally finish correcting a Grand Ronde Reservation surveying error made by David Thompson in 1871, creating what has come to be known as the Thompson Strip. About ...
County labor pact proves no impasse defies resolution
When the 211 county workers represented by AFSCME Local 1422 traded desks for picket lines the Friday of Nov. 3, it was only the second local public employee walkout we can readily find record of in our ...
Advances in public education deserve acclaim, appreciation
Culture warriors have been amping up their attacks on public education to almost histrionic levels in recent years. They have accused our schools of lacking rigor and discipline, infusing students with ...
Thoughtful process produces thoughtful result in Dayton
The books “All American Boys,” “The Hate U Give,” “The Things We Carry,” “Sold” and “The Glass Castle” have a lot in common. And that’s ...
Affordable housing taking center stage in McMinnville
A popular bumper sticker in a popular Colorado resort town reads, “Salida: Where locals live in motels and tourist stay in houses.” That’s a very real risk we face in McMinnville, as ...
There's no rational excuse for county's childcare stall
With the county’s blessing, the Yamhill Community Care Organization’s Early Learning Hub established a task force last fall to advise the commissioners on allocation of $2.2 million in American ...
County to be commended for tackling scourge of suicide
Yamhill County Health and Human Services hired a full-time suicide prevention coordinator last year, and it’s paying off big in at least one respect: Nearly 500 local residents — including ...
Plan long on big dreams, not so much on big means
As the city moves toward completion a new long-range plan for its outdoor park, trail and open space network, we are reminded of some dates from recent history on a closely related project coordinated ...
State revenue forecast could be too much of a good thing
The end of August produced a bounty of good news for Oregonians, some of it seasonal and predictable, like kids returning to classes and hot weather fading to fall cooling, some of it less so on either ...
Just say no to stipends for local board service
Since July 1, Oregon school boards have been authorized by the body that picks up the tab for public education, the state Legislature, to begin paying members up to $500 a month for their service. But ...
Water a critical commodity and it's being frittered away
The New York Times published a report on America’s groundwater status last month, based on exhaustive analysis of monitoring data from 84,544 wells from every corner of the country. Alarmingly, it ...
