Sal Peralta: Citizens need to seize control, restore grassroots democracy
As one who has been involved in public service for decades, I am alarmed about the deterioration of both our political system and the way we talk about public policy in this country. I am not alone. According ...
Jeb Bladine: Time for a war on land use tyranny?
For decades, Oregonians have worshiped at the altar of anti-sprawl and habitual protection of agricultural and forest lands. Unfortunately, that near-religious dedication caused us to ignore the laws of ...
Climate change and trade war: How do you like them apples?
A is for apple. Every schoolchild knows that. But what those kids — along with their parents, grandparents and teachers — likely do not know is just how precarious life has become ...
Jeb Bladine: Bugging ourselves with smartphones
Do you have a smartphone? If so, do you mind that it tracks and analyzes your movements, creating lucrative information for sale to marketing companies? Whatchamacolumn Jeb Bladine ...
America’s love affair with the single-family house is cooling, but it won’t be a quick breakup
For decades, land use regulation across the U.S. has emphasized single-family houses on large lots. This approach has priced many people out of the quintessential American dream: homeownership. ...
Jeb Bladine: Trust in people has turned to suspicion
I think about — and sometimes covet — the innate trust my parents’ generation had in people from all walks of life in America. It was borne of a society in which people were more personally ...
Jeb Bladine: N-R archives reveal good lives, well-lived
Most Decembers, I stop to remind myself of the many well-lived local lives that ended that year — an enlightening experience made possible by two sets of online News-Register archives. Whatchamacolumn Jeb ...
Newspaper demise feeds partisanship
By JOSHUA DARR, JOHANNA DUNAWAY and MATTHEW HITT It seems impossible to ignore national politics today. The stream of stories about the president and Congress is endless. Whether online, in print or on ...
Jeb Bladine: New decade brings unfinished business
Let’s take a first look into 2020: Whatchamacolumn Jeb Bladine is president and publisher of the News-Register. > See his column Christmas is in the past, New Years looms large, ...
No need to worry; it can't happen here
I thrill to the adventures of fictional journalists such as Lois Lane and Tintin. They comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable and generally speak truth to stupid. Guest Writer Tom ...
Study up, then help build more stabilized housing
One of the many things I enjoy about working with our local Habitat for Humanity is how immediately recognizable it has become in the community. Guest Writer Steve Long has tried ...
Traveling the world one conversation at a time
During my first December in McMinnville, in 1978, a Saturday stretched ahead of me. My Linfield College roommate was on the way to Portland, along with several other residents of Grover Hall, so ...
Jeb Bladine: Who’s ready to plan for county facilities?
Setting aside comment about the long wait: Hooray for Yamhill County and its new $95,000 contract to assess the use, condition and future needs of county government facilities. Whatchamacolumn Jeb ...
Jeb Bladine: Try to remember: ‘Presumed innocent’
Local financier J.W. Millegan will appear in U.S. District Court next week to answer federal charges that he systematically cheated investors and hid ill-gotten gains from the IRS. Whatchamacolumn Jeb ...
Charter options limited only by our collective imagination
“Besides the sun, our creativity is the other essentially unlimited resource on the planet.” — contemporary American writer and ecologist Starhawk. Guest Writer Casey Kulla ...
