Important to admit if 'unsure of obligations'
Misinterpreting Oregon’s public records/meetings law — as in a letter from county Commissioner Mary Starrett — can be a mild offense given the complexities of that law. However, we’ve ...

Sal Peralta: Oregon legislative review 2015
The 78th regular session of the Oregon legislature concluded its business earlier this month. In the 2015-17 biennium, the legislature had an additional 10 percent or $1.8 billion to spend, as a result ...
Jeb Bladine: Mixed implications of downtown parking
There is a mixed bag of implications from the creation of 26 new on-street handicapped parking spaces in downtown McMinnville. A first thought is that accessibility to important areas of the core city ...
Jeb Bladine: Regulatory costs strangle economy
Tunnel-vision regulations enacted by Congress and state legislatures are strangling our economy. Too many lawmakers either don’t understand or simply choose to ignore the extreme costs of their complex ...

Kevin Martinez: Dead ringers for real guns
Most of us grew up playing with toy guns as youngsters and, years later, our children and grandchildren continue to play with them. In today’s society, where toy guns are more realistic than ever, ...

Bill Miller: Thinking of inking
Summertime conjures up images of hot days, watermelon, swimming and, of course, tattoos. Tattoos? Well, maybe not tattoos; but it is a time when people wear a little less and you might see more ink than ...
'Disconnected' week puts focus on soccer
Women’s soccer was spotlighted this month with an exciting World Cup championship won by the United States, and there was much amazement at the disparity of payout for women versus men in that sport. ...
Others Say: July 10, 2015
Oregon students surprise Saxton with higher test scores Rob Saxton, who stepped down last week as Oregon’s deputy superintendent of public instruction, inadvertently fueled the rebellion against ...

Jeb Bladine: July 4 tradition renewed
Kudos to Evergreen Museum and the McMinnville Area Chamber of Commerce for stepping into the void to produce a community celebration of the Fourth of July. If all goes well and organizers realize ...
Others Say: Overprotection of forest lands actually leads to habitat loss
Overprotection of forest lands actually leads to habitat loss For decades, timber harvests on public forest land in western Oregon have been curtailed in the interest of protecting the environment from ...

Richard McJunkin: Memories of Fourths past
Vietnam War veteran shares seven decades of perspective on our country’s celebration of independence
Others Say: Let's repair fire spending spiral
Congress could repair fire spending spiral The cost of fighting megafires in Oregon and other western states has skyrocketed in recent years, devouring funds that the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of ...

Haight/Morrow: Try your hand at filmmaking
Would-be movie directors enter short film festivals for honest feedback and a chance for recognition
Legalized pot has many rules, risks
We knew nothing about marijuana 50 years ago at high school graduation time. We never watched the 1936 propaganda movie, “Reefer Madness,” and we didn't know the federal Marijuana Tax Act of ...

Jeffrey Lopez: Becoming a better father
Too many dads ignore their feelings and consequently alienate their children Father’s Day turned 100 years old in 2010. What a wonderful time to honor our dads! A Spokane, Washington, woman is ...