We've got issues.
As Benton County prepares to vote on whether to adopt ranked-choice voting for county elections, Oregonians are presented an opportunity to explore different voting systems. … Continue reading
Sooner or later it happens. You write or say something and then you have to come clean and admit that you just got it wrong. … Continue reading
Dear University of Oregon students, You don’t know me. But there are thousands of people like me on your campus. In January 2013, I was … Continue reading
Two things happen in Oregon in even-numbered years. We hold a general election, and invasive alien biennial weed species (Lawnsignicus obnoxicus) appear in the Willamette … Continue reading
National Coming Out Day is a great time to come out, whether for the first or umpteenth time. It’s a day to remember the importance of being open about your true lesbian, gay, bi, trans, queer, questioning, intersex, polyamorous, pansexual, asexual, two-spirit, nonbinary, genderfluid, agender or otherwise beyond-the-old-norm self. Continue reading
I don’t know about you, dear reader, but the political season always makes me nervous behind the steering wheel. Every two years here in the 4th Congressional District, I used to have an involuntary fight-or-flight reaction to any vehicles sporting an “Art Robinson” bumper sticker. I’d slam on the brakes and elude, just in case the driver was preparing for the Rapture at any moment. Continue reading
As we celebrate and reflect upon another year “back to school” and brace ourselves for the upcoming election season, we are reminded of George Washington’s words in his 1797 farewell address: “… as the structure of a government gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion be enlightened.” Ours is a much different world, but Washington’s logic is just as sound today as it was then. The government we have reflects the state of public enlightenment. Continue reading
In her Sept. 15 column entitled “Quarry on Native Lands,” Kayla Godowa-Tufti argued that the Old Hazeldell Quarry (OHQ) site, which is currently the subject of a public land use process with Lane County to allow quarry mining, is culturally significant to local Native American tribes. There are a number of factual inaccuracies that merit a response. Continue reading
What do you think when you see someone with bad teeth — big gaps or the disturbing discoloration of decay or the sunken-jaw look of too many missing teeth — someone who covers his or her mouth when talking, someone who seems afraid to smile? Dangerous? Criminal? Drug addict? Well, in some cases that might be true, but in most cases it’s not. And the judgments that you and I — often unwittingly — make about people with visibly bad teeth can be a barrier to those people overcoming difficulties in their lives. Continue reading
Few are aware of Ed King’s (King Estate Winery) unsustainable investment in the Old Hazeldell Quarry mine in Oakridge. Currently forestland, TV Butte is set to be rezoned to open a quarry. Aggregate rock will be extracted from TV Butte for road paving projects for 50 years. Once U.S. Forest Service land, the property of the proposed quarry site is known as TV Butte on Dunning Road. This is the original location of the town of Oakridge, once called Hazeldell. Continue reading