Celebrate Bottle Bill; renew commitment to recycling
As Oregonians celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Oregon Bottle Bill, we can look upon it as one of the two shiniest gems in the Oregon public policy crown. The other is the 1967 Oregon Beach Law, ensuring ...
Turkey Rama deserves another chance to recapture lost magic
“Let’s be honest,” we conceded in this space two years ago, following the McMinnville Turkey Rama festival’s tepid 2019 run. “It’s a mere shell of its former self.” If ...
Residents report fears of Evans Street ‘dragstrip’
Mac police, public works pledge steps to address the problem Northeast Evans Street crosswalks aren’t always safe zones and people drive far too fast, City Council heard from local residents ...
Commissioners do right thing in dumping Nearman for Scharf
It’s a rare day when we find ourself in agreement with Yamhill County Commissioner Lindsay Berschauer, as she tends to be woefully long on ideology and short on pragmatism. So count this as a rare ...
Pride support dominates here, but still has its ugly dissenters
How many of us learned of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 in a K-12 history class? How about the Stonewall Riots of 1969, which erupted in New York’s Greenwich Village? Both of these violent eruptions ...
Mandates have saved the day, but time has come to lift them
Few have been more staunchly supportive of masking, distancing, disinfecting and vaccinating than we have throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. From the outset, we have cast our lot with Anthony Fauci, Kate ...
Seniors need to be wary of con artists’ schemes
Earlier this month, the News-Register published a gripping account of a former lawyer, since disbarred, being belatedly held criminally accountable for stealing thousands in trust funds from an elderly ...
Please put the fireworks on hold this fire season
By many measures in many states, last year’s wildfire season was the worst on record. By just about any measure anywhere, it left a frightening swath of death and destruction in its wake. Factors ...
Never underestimate ability of youth to weather hardship
High school graduation is one of the largest broadly shared transitions in American society, if not the largest. And it can test the coming generation’s capacity to cope and adjust even under the ...
Dear commissioners: Please leave the legislating to others
Lindsay Berschauer and Mary Starrett Yamhill County Courthouse 535 N.E. Fifth St., McMinnville, OR Dear Commissioners: To quote a line first made famous by Ronald Reagan, patriarch of the conservative ...
Call for police reform musters rare degree of common cause
Newt Gingrich introduced polarization to American politics with unprecedented success during his term as House speaker in the latter half of the 1990s. He coerced Republicans to bloc-vote his Contract ...
Welcome rays of sunshine penetrate the doom, gloom
Yes, COVID is still ravaging India, Brazil and much of the Third World. Wars, rebellions and uprisings are being fought in all the usual places, and some not so usual. Mass shootings are continuing with ...
Honor the Constitution by exercising your right to vote
Since pioneering vote-by-mail in the late 1990s, Oregon has developed an election system so free, fair and inclusive it has become the global gold standard. Voter registration has been automated and integrated ...
Vera, Warmbier best combo for local school board seats
Five candidates are vying for a pair of seats on the McMinnville School Board in Oregon’s May 18 special district election. That’s good news, as board seats have been contested only twice ...
Time running short to calm the roiling waters at Linfield
It’s not the fault of Linfield’s leadership that rising costs, declining enrollment, decreasing appeal abroad, inadequate endowment, a raging pandemic and burgeoning competition have jeopardized ...
