If you’re wondering why the extension of Oak Street to Pacific Boulevard in Albany remains blocked months after being finished, you’re not alone. Members of the city council wonder the same thing, and they ask about it just about every time they meet. According to Public Works Director Mark Shepard and City Councilman Bill Coburn, […]
When you have extra time on your hands in the mid-valley, you may want to visit the bird cages at the E.E. Wilson Wildlife Area off Camp Adair Road in north Benton County. The Department of Fish and Wildlife has displayed pheasants and other game birds there for many years. (hh)
How come we pay so much attention to sports at the expense of everything else? It’s a question we ought to think about now and then. Television personality Dr. Keith Ablow did just that the other day. He wrote an online commentary on why the behavior of the basketball coach at Rutgers was tolerated for […]
The late Robert B. Parker wrote dozens of splendid detective stories, many of them centered on Boston private eye Spenser. He also wrote three notable westerns. The other day I spotted a new Parker western at the downtown Albany library. How could that be, I briefly wondered, since Mr. Parker died  in 2010. Turns out […]
Want to encourage more people to ride bikes in and around Albany? Check out what “Bike Long Beach” publicizes there, in Southern California. Not too long ago Jim Lawrence, a member of the Albany Bicycle and Pedestrian Commission, was wondering what else could be done to encourage more routine bike transportation around town. I was […]
A few days ago we learned about another troubling wrinkle of Obamacare. From Washington, the Associated Press reported that people who get federal tax credits to help them buy private medical coverage may face higher tax bills. It comes about this way: Federal subsidies for buying insurance starting in 2014 will be based on income […]
Writers run the risk of going overboard now and then, or of using words that give the wrong impression. Albany City Manager Wes Hare knows all about this. He writes a weekly column and publishes it on the city’s website. During the last week in March he wrote from Afghanistan, where’s he’s doing an assignment […]
