By Jim Heffernan “For all of us, becoming indigenous to a place means living as if your children’s future mattered, to take care of the land as if our lives, both material and spiritual, depend on it.” Robin Wall Kimmerer is a professor and a citizen of the Potawatomi* nation. In college, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to study…
Category: Guest Column
OP/ED: Keep Our Schools Equitably Diverse
By Brian Cameron I know the 24 hour news cycle can be exhausting but if I have your attention for a moment I’d ask you to think all the way back to the 2020 presidential election. Many of us voted, and many of us watched as Biden was elected as the 46th President of the US. There, right there, lies…
WORDS OF WISDOM: Through the Eyes of a Child
by Neal Lemery “Through the eyes of a child you will see the world as it should be.” –Anonymous In recent days, I’ve experienced the simple joys of being around several kids who have been fully engaged in simply enjoying life, with simplicity and without condition. I visited some friends and thought I should bring a present to their two…
I’ve been thinking … FDR’s Spaceship & Second Bill of Rights
By Jim Heffernan I was thinking about how I might articulate my personal moral and political philosophy in another way and, after a bit, this description jumped out. Both of my parents were 12 years old when the Stock Market crashed in 1929 and ushered in the “Great Depression.” Both of their fathers died when they were 16. Both were…
BOOK REVIEW: Dirt Road Revival – How to rebuild rural politics and why our future depends on it
By Jim Heffernan I’m an old man, and most of the books I read are written by people as old or older than me. This book’s authors, Chloe and Canyon, are barely in their thirties. Chloe, the candidate, and Canyon, the campaign manager, managed to win State House and Senate elections in a rural and very red corner of Maine….
NEWS FROM STATE SENATOR SUZANNE WEBER: The 82nd Legislative Session continues …
Dear Neighbors and Friends, It has been a busy week! I have been hard at work making sure that our north coast priorities are being represented in Salem. Through committee meetings and hearings I am becoming more attuned to the issues that we are facing as a community and I am working diligently to make sure that your concerns are…
NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Mayors, Potholes, and Economic Development 1/30/23
By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10 Hello Neighbors and Friends, Wednesday was “City Day at the Capitol” in Salem and we met with delegations from Philomath, Toledo, Newport, Siletz, Yachats, and Lincoln City. We talked about homelessness, water systems, police stations, sidewalks, and rodeo stands. At the end of the day, I invited everyone down to the House Chamber for…
I’ve been thinking … Three weeks and 39 mass shootings. This is America in 2023.
By Jim Heffernan With headlines like this, how can I not think a lot about the havoc of guns in America. The numbers are horrific. There needs to be better words than tragic and heart-breaking. September 11, 2001, when the Twin Towers and the Pentagon were attacked, will always be remembered. 3,000 people were killed and we mourned them. We…
I’ve Been Thinking … Debt Peonage
By Jim Heffernan I’ve been thinking a lot about a term I’ve encountered recently. The term is “debt peonage” and the writer Thom Hartmann introduced it to me. Indentured servitude is a form of debt peonage. An indentured servant agrees to work for a certain period of time for their master and at the end of their term they become…
NEWS UPDATE STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Statewide News Covers Our District 1/23/2023
By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10 Hello Friends and Neighbors, The first working week of session following the formalities of opening days went smoothly and quickly. It will be at least another week before we start voting bills out of committee and sending them to the floor for debate. Actions and options regarding our district can best be reported…
