OSU study lays out vision for 'rewilding' of American West
“Rewilding the American West,” a public lands management study led by faculty of Oregon State University’s Department of Forestry, is being widely heralded by environmental and conservation ...
Local efforts may not solve homelessness, but they help
The three candidates for Oregon governor last week kicked off the general election season with a debate hosted by the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association. On the issue of homelessness, they hit all ...
No cause to lock public out at behest of timber company
In August 2001, the county commissioners serving at the time authorized Willamette Industries to gate off a 6.7-mile section of High Heaven Road, a public road providing access to public and private timberland ...
City on verge of decision on crucial element of its future
On Dec. 13, 2013, Evergreen International Aviation and several of its subsidiaries filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition. Within months, Evergreen’s sprawling Highway 18 campus went on the market, ...
Court ruling makes it clear: Gun sanctuary a pipe dream
In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, which Donald Trump began branding as fraudulent months in advance, Trump forces filed 63 legal challenges in state and federal courts. Trump prevailed on ...
Snuffing fireworks violations requires citizens to sound of
Get much sleep the Monday night of July 4? No, neither did we. Many of you probably live in McMinnville. And it seems McMinnville has become a sanctuary city for open use of illegal fireworks, not to ...
Reform rooted in evidence, but that won't quell criticism
When Senate Bill 48 goes into effect today in Oregon, it will essentially take a bail reform model developed here in Yamhill County statewide. Our county was one of just a handful chosen more than a decade ...
Land of opportunity for all, not just the privileged few
Marginalizing fellow Earth dwellers on the basis of gender, religious heritage, skin pigment, facial characteristics, ethnic origins, racial identity, sexual orientation, economic privilege, social class ...
Free four specialized offices from the county term limits
Term limits debate has smoldered in Yamhill County for three decades now, and periodically burst into flame. In recent weeks, it has once again begun burning brightly. At issue are two sets of limits, ...

Downtown up for an overhaul demanding careful coordination
Fasten your seatbelts, folks. Downtown McMinnville seems poised for an explosive expansion over the next few years. Its historic Third Street core remains the point of principal focus, but development ...

An acclamation for reclamation: Time to put a lid on Riverbend
If cats have nine lives, landfills must have 99. At least judging from Yamhill County’s 87-acre, 40-year-old Riverbend Landfill. As becomes immediately apparent in the name, this local repository ...
Reaching out in good faith, we can break any gridlock
In today’s toxic political environment, the willingness to compromise on a pragmatic solution is often seen as a sign of cowardice, weakness or betrayal, if not all three. The degree of difficulty, ...
Tuesday’s balloting offers a measure of reassurance
For Americans who stand for moderation in public and private behavior, emphasis on everyday demands over empty ideology, authentic candidates running on realistic platforms, and campaigns not dependent ...
Roe reversal can only be undone at ballot box
A pending U.S. Supreme Court opinion promises to do much, much more than simply overturn the court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade and 1992 Planned Parenthood v. Casey right-to-abortion decisions, monumental ...
Democracy in action doesn’t always make for pretty sight
After almost three months of fits and starts, steps and missteps — and almost six hours of contentious debate the night of the showdown — the McMinnville City Council agreed last week to adopt ...