EDITOR’S NOTE: Things are different here. We support our local law enforcement as we understand the difficult jobs they have to do, and now, there is a whole other level of urgency…
Category: Op-Ed
People Behaving Badly – Overwhelming Local State Parks, “Prepare & Care” Messaging Ignored
OIOpublisher By Laura Swanson The videos and images of vehicles lining Highway 101 at Oswald West State Park on any day of the week, but especially on the weekends, have been circulating…
VIEW FROM HERE: A Karen in an age of “Karen”
By Karen Olson Hello … I’m a Karen. All my babysitters, it used to seem, were named Karen. Even as a kid, I recognized that I was about half a generation too…
WORDS OF WISDOM – August: A Time to Chill Out
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…
PEACE OUT LOUD: Whittling Souls
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 a…
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…
OP/ED: Why aren’t we talking about this? Colleges/Universities “welcoming back” students in mere weeks as COVID cases rise
EDITOR’S NOTE: Here is the letter that my daughter, Kalli Swanson, wrote this week, and sent to the President of George Fox University, the state Board of Education and the Governor’s office….
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…
OP/ED: An American Tragedy
By John Rogan In 2020 the world is facing two crises, global warming with long term consequences and the Covid-19 pandemic with short term consequences. Sadly for the world, we have a…