If you looked really hard at the top of Marys Peak this past weekend, you could still see a little patch of white. At 4,100 feet it’s the highest mountain in the Coast Range, and the extent of snow up there has taken on some significance as an indicator of the local effects of global […]
Next time you’re on or near the central Oregon coast, check out this little place in the Siuslaw National Forest. There is hardly ever anybody there when I ride my bike up to this place. It’s easy to get to by car, about nine miles up Yachats River Road. If you go, pick a sunny day, […]
Our Gov. John Kitzhaber and his lady are about to return from Bhutan. That’s a little kingdom of about three-quarters of a million people sandwiched between China and India. In recent years it made a name for itself with a concept it calls an index of “gross national happiness,” which purports to measure how content […]
You may have noticed that for Democrats in the Oregon legislature, more is never enough. On April 24 Republicans in the House refused to provide the two votes the Democrats needed, in addition to the 34 votes of their own, to pass a $275 million, two-year tax increase on individuals and businesses. But in both […]
Just last month the state came out with yet another report on the catastrophic effects the next really big earthquake will have on everybody in the Willamette Valley and on the coast. And as always, the report said this calamity is overdue. It could happen any day or night. So you would think the first […]
Wednesday’s meeting of the Albany City Council was unusual in the number of blue uniforms that crowded into the meeting room at City Hall. About two dozen firefighters and police officers were on hand to receive commendations for their role in responding to a house fire in Albany on Jan. 12, 2013, and saving the […]
Common sense loses twice
Two federal organizations have thrown in the towel and given up on making sensible changes in their routines. Under pressure from Congress, the Postal Service decided it had to keep delivering the mail on Saturdays. And the Transportation Security Administration, under pressure from flight attendants and their union, backed off its decision to allow people […]
Tags: knives, Postal Service, Saturday delivery, TSA