Oregon Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are backing a plan to cancel up to $50,000 for federal student loan borrowers.
I ranch near Union and irrigate from Grande Ronde tributaries — Catherine and Little creeks. I was not caught off guard by the introduction of the River Democracy Act because I, like all Orego…
It’s been a tough year for us all. We crave any shred of pre-pandemic “normal.” We want an escape. That is completely understandable.
Years ago, in search of my first career job as a biologist, I interviewed with a private firm in Portland. The interviewer asked me a hypothetical question about how I would help to manage a p…
“Voting is the beating heart of democracy” are words attributed to Thomas Paine. Paine and his fellow founders were intent in making sure our fledgling country would never become the type of E…
I enjoyed your Feb. 23, 2021, article about the changes to the Union County Sheriff's Office under the direction of our new sheriff, Cody Bowen. I was very pleased to hear that Sheriff Bowen i…
It is universally acknowledged the 9/11 Commission is the gold standard for after-event investigatory panels, an example of what can be accomplished when partisan political considerations are …
Do you think Gov. Kate Brown should do more to get schools to reopen? Do you think the state should do more to vaccinate seniors sooner? Do you think the state should look to speed up the reop…
President Joe Biden wants to revitalize the nation’s labor unions.
When it comes to tax money there is no level of government that doesn't slobber over getting more, even at the loss of land and freedoms to enjoy it by the owners. Such is the case with the vi…
As an East Oregonian who values public lands, clean water and wildlife habitat, I was appalled by The Observer editorial, “New river protections may have unintended consequences” (Feb. 25, 202…
When contractors were digging at OSU-Cascades in 2019 to reclaim the pumice pit, campus officials took the editorial board on a tour. We saw the geographic fault line running through the prope…
Oregon is special for many reasons. But two attributes are near and dear to my heart: our state’s unmatched natural treasures and our firm commitment to democracy that I call the “Oregon Way.”
The federal stimulus checks helped a lot of Oregonians out when they needed it. And it also is going to help out Oregon government.
For decades, corporate timber companies benefited from tax cuts that cut local county budgets across the state. Residents also suffered when they were forced to make up for the losses to maint…
Upon reading the recent letter to the editor from Miri Koltuv concerning inclusion and fairness, I was extremely impressed by her astute assessment of the issues of race, gender, sexual orient…
I want to commend The Observer on Dick Mason's article (Feb. 2, 2021 edition) about Dr. Mark Omann. What an amazing man. I would like to share an experience I had with Dr. Omann.
Oregon lawmakers at the state and national level need to do far more work regarding unintended consequences when they craft new legislation.
Along with uplifting news stories about the COVID-19 variants, former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial and Tom Brady’s unmitigated gall to continue winning Super Bowls that in…
Some restaurants in Union County are serving sit-down meals to patrons.
These lands where we live help define us as individuals and communities. With warming temperatures there are changes happening, however, to these lands we love.
I’m the person who started the Black Lives Matter protests in La Grande. I’m in seventh grade at La Grande Middle School. As I told The Observer, I woke up one morning, saw the news and saw th…
One of the best parts of law school is reading opinions, dissents and concurrences penned by the Supreme Court. They concisely and, oftentimes, creatively express some of the biggest questions…
Presidential honeymoons have remarkably different lengths. President Barack Obama’s honeymoon, at least with the press, began the day he announced his candidacy, Feb. 10, 2007, and the blissfu…
When The Observer and other newspapers request access to information from the government, it sometimes hits the Wall of No.
It’s February. It’s cold. To fend off the winter blahs, I dream of one day retiring to a warm beach, where I’ll stand in the surf, sipping beverages from glasses with little umbrellas in them.
Stand against the River Democracy Act
Writing is a lifelong skill. Children are able to start developing skills used in writing as early as kindergarten and even preschool. Developing the skill of writing starts with language deve…
The Biden administration supports protecting 30% of U.S. lands by 2030, or what is termed the “30-by-30 proposal.” One of the best ways to meet those 30-by-30 goals would be to put all nationa…
Years ago, as one of my friends was finishing up a semester of study in Delhi, we decided to spend a month traveling in India together. Although I haven’t traveled a lot, it’s clear that exper…
I've been listening to the second impeachment trial and hope everyone else has too. Trump's words and actions during the campaign and post-election clearly paint the picture of a leader bent o…
I have a suggestion for our two dumbocrats senators. Can't you waste our tax dollars enough with a phony impeachment? Now you come to red country and waste our rights to use our lands the way …
When I was a young man growing up in rural Oregon, there was a term for people like me: “gun nut.”
On occasion we are reminded that the budget process used by the Oregon Legislature and state agencies is a bit curious.
I take extreme offense to Ann Morrison's column The Observer published Jan. 16, 2021. Having known people who were in concentration camps in Germany, to try to compare those who don't agree wi…
I plan to enjoy the Biden presidency
The media has always influenced public opinion and controlled what most people know about current events, but over the last four plus years that influence has grown exponentially. The media, i…
I am writing in response to the "Open Letter from an Oregon Teacher" opinion piece published in the Feb. 4, 2021, edition of The Observer. Ms. Thompson, who lives in Redmond, stated, "The gove…
State agencies don’t like to be on the receiving end of a zinging audit from the Oregon Secretary of State’s Office.
Oregonians living through the September 2020 fires know the threat global warming poses; we are on the front lines. We know temperature is rising and rainfall is declining during summer, while…
Change is a constant, and newsrooms are not immune to it.
Coronavirus is not our gravest health concern.
We had President Trump for four years.
Frustration. Confusion. Fear. Anger.
After 10 months of no COVID-19 exposures, and not getting sick, I was required to attend an in-person safety training on school pandemic safety. The next day, I received a call from the distri…
Letters to the editor, op-eds, editorials, public forums and meetings — in other words, dialogue — are the appropriate means to address differences, whatever the subject. The more we disagree,…
Something crashed in the New Mexico desert outside Roswell, New Mexico, in July 1947.
A lesson about free speech
Gov. Kate Brown has exerted exceptional authority during the pandemic. That means there should be more government transparency, not less.
A nation bitterly divided stood by on Jan. 20 as Joe Biden was sworn in as the next president of the United States. And while the pageantry was typical of the aura of what is usually a day of …
I just wanted to express my opinion about the Associated Press article "Capitol attack reflects U.S. extremist evolution over decades," which The Observer ran on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
Since when has the art of being human turned into being a negative leftist attribute? When has the need for finger pointing for what our leader has done turn into finger pointing at each other?
Raise your glass for mental health. Alcohol drinkers could be contributing $746 million in new taxes every year to raise money for mental health.
No one went to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 to make Donald Trump look bad. He did that all by himself.
I am a lifelong conservative Republican whose faith in the criminal justice system was shattered by my near-death experience with it. I came within nine days of being sent to the gas chamber f…
