To read the papers and watch the news, you would think that the American West has been getting hotter lately. But as luck would have it, news consumers who want to know the facts can look them up. Just the other day, the Associated Press moved a story from Los Angeles blaming what it called […]
We can breathe a little easier now. The legislature has adjourned, and the damage has been relatively minor. Lawmakers convened in January, started work in February and called it quits on Monday, just five days before the constitutional deadline. During all that time they allocated more money to schools and various other programs, but they […]
If America no longer — or just barely — works in some respects, a bridge on Albany’s Belmont Avenue may be a symbol of this decline. The problem is red tape strung up by state and federal agencies that are unaccountable for the delays they cause. Belmont Avenue crosses a seasonal stream, but to call […]
If you live in the Willamette Valley and hear far-off rumbling during the night, it might be men working. Or women. They are driving combines to get the grass seed harvested before the weather turns. Grass seed production is a big deal in the valley, though prices have been depressed in recent years. The crop’s farm gate […]
As you can see in this video, the Portland & Western’s project to build a new rail link in Albany remains stalled at Main Street, where the track stops. The idea is to connect the railroad’s Millersburg yard with the Toledo Branch line so freights coming across the Willamette River bridge no longer have to enter the Union […]
A single member’s vote in the Oregon Senate may save Oregonians from having to pay even more for fuel than we’ll have to pay anyway in coming years. Betsy Johnson, a Democrat from Scappoose, voted with the 14 Republicans on July 6 to force a tie vote, 15-15, on Senate Bill 488, which would extend […]
12 percent interest? Believe it!
There are at least three things that are surprising about the Hewlett-Packard property tax case. You may be aware that in the Oregon Tax Court in May, HP won an appeal of its property tax assessment for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010. The first surprise was how far off the state Revenue Department had […]
Tags: Benton County, Hewlett-Packard, property tax refund