A cold weather front was whipping through the mid-valley on Tuesday afternoon, just as the public television program Frontline was preparing to broadcast a program on global warming titled “Climate of Doubt.” The reason there is a climate of doubt on this issue is not propaganda. It’s not the activities of various skeptics, who for […]
A contractor for ODOT has been putting up a cable barrier in the median of Interstate 5 through parts of Lane and Linn counties. The idea is to prevent crossover crashes, of which there have been a few over the last several years. For now, the cable carrier will extend for 35 miles from mile […]
All of us bike riders in Oregon owe a debt of gratitude to former state legislator from Jackson County, the late Donald L. Stathos. I’m reminded of this every time I ride my bike from Jacksonville the four miles or so to Medford. That’s because long ago the road authorities put up a commemorative sign, […]
So what exactly is wrong with performance-enhancing drugs, so-called? I’ve been wondering about that since the Lance Armstrong story unraveled. If we take something to help us stay awake while driving, or to give us extra energy at work, or to power us through a night of cramming for an important test, why exactly do […]
Here’s something else to worry about. Or maybe not. “The Week,” a news weekly, reports on a new study suggesting that the Earth’s magnetic field may disappear in maybe 500 years. This, it says, might allow more solar radiation to reach the surface of the Earth, harming life and eventually making us look like Mars. […]
Benton County voters got their general election ballots a couple of days early because the Salem Post Office jumped the gun. I learned this after reporting Thursday night that for me, the election was over. How come, a kind reader asked by email. She didn’t even have her ballot yet. So how come I got […]
A bike ride before it got cold