The shutdown of parts of the federal government reminds us of an essential truth too often forgotten or ignored: Our government may seem like the most solid institution in the world, but it’s not. It is fragile and depends on not just the cooperation but the good sense of the people we put in office. Like […]
The “Oregon Drive Less Challenge” is coming up Oct. 21-Nov. 1, which brings me – again –to Albany’s Periwinkle Bike Path and a problem that keeps it from being as useful as it could be. Built nearly 40 years ago, the path extends from Oak Street in central Albany to Grand Prairie Park in the southeast. […]
It’s been a few years now since a driver from out of town swore he got a raw deal when he got a ticket for going through a red light at the Albany underpass, at Ninth and Lyon. Now, based on observations such as the one above, I’m wondering if he was right. If memory serves, […]
With one part of the tax bill passed by the special session of the legislature Wednesday (10/2/2013), Oregon continues its two-faced approach to cigarette smokers. On the one hand the state has worked hard to discourage smoking. On the other, it relies on smokers to pay for essential services. On the one hand it treats […]
It’s hard to see why some called what the legislature did during the special session a “grand bargain.” When you look at the result of the tax and spending bills it passed on Wednesday, it’s not all that grand. As a label, “minuscule” would be more apt. Lawmakers increased some taxes, lowered others, reduced future […]
Tom Cordier, the citizen activist in Albany, has scored a partial victory for the public’s right to get public records, in this case email addresses. The case also raises a question about the city’s own use of those addresses. Cordier had sought to use a list of 33,800 addresses to which the city government emails its […]
Who shot the sign?
You pass a road sign like this — on Muller Drive in Linn County, in this case — and it gets you wondering about the person who shot it. For some people with stunted minds and a rifle, a rural road sign may pose a challenge even though it’s sitting still. “Let’s see if I […]
Tags: Linn County, Muller Drive, road sign vandalism