EDITOR’S NOTE: We have been conducting an unofficial survey of folks the last few weeks about this vary topic, “Doesn’t it seem to be another level of ‘busy’ this year? Is it…
Category: Commentary
PEACE OUT LOUD: Whittling Souls
OIOpublisher EDITOR’S NOTE: Romy hits the nail on the head with this personal view of how to listen to the messages that the pandemic is sending all of us. How appropriate for…
Being a Patriot … with a Hippie Heart
EDITOR’S NOTE: “I’m going into Portland, to the protests,” said the text from my cousin, Stevie Burden. Okay … I thought – are you crazy? Be safe. Maybe she’s just going to…
Portland Political Elites Overrule Local Union Endorsement
(Provided by Suzanne Weber for State Representative campaign) Fewer than twenty-four hours after the Astoria-based North Coast Labor Federation (NCLF) endorsed Suzanne Weber’s campaign for the Oregon Legislature, Portland political leaders from…
WORDS OF WISDOM: Citizenship and Conversation in a Disjointed Time
By Neal Lemery In this pandemic year, our craving for “normal” pushes back against the new rules of social interaction. What lies ahead of us grows even murkier. Uncertainty is the new…
VIEW FROM HERE: What I didn’t know about Oregon, my Oregon
EDITOR’S NOTE: Karen provides an accurate overview of “what I didn’t know” about Oregon, and some helpful references and resources with links to learn more about the systemic racial issues that have…
Rebuttal to City of Manzanita Mayor’s Commentary about Local Citizen, City Council Candidate
By Gerald Wineinger The mayor has chosen to go in the mud to chastise Randy Kugler using city resources. Randy has done nothing, but have an insistence on the truth, and the…
View From Here: When did you hit the “COVID wall”?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Or are you on the “Corona-Coaster”? You know – “The ups and downs of the pandemic – you go from one day loving your bubble, baking banana bread, tending the…
Manzanita Mayor Response to the Continued Commentary by Randy Kugler to Set Record Straight
By Mike Scott, Mayor of Manzanita When Randy Kugler questioned the use of water funds in the Manzanita City budget last year, and threatened to sue the City over the issue, we…
Commissioner Baertlein’s Reflection on the Pandemic
By Bill Baertlein, Tillamook County Commissioner As we move through this pandemic, we are all facing challenges we never anticipated. The board of commissioners closed county buildings to all but essential staff….