Oregon Gov. Kate Brown last week threw her weight behind the effort to remove the dams on the lower Snake River.
Selfless sacrifice isn’t common, but during the recent flooding across the county, numerous agencies and people stepped up to help in an uncommon way.
Valentine’s Day should be presented in a positive way. It is a day for displaying appreciation and love. How could a journalist turn that into a negative thing worthy of the front page of the …
Oregon lawmakers are being asked to set a goal for Oregon State Police. Senate Bill 1545 would require the state police to have at least 15 patrol troopers per 100,000 Oregonians. Today, there…
Well, it's that time again when the citizens of Union County get to elect a new county sheriff. This time we have four choices.
If a hearing before the Oregon Senate’s Committee on Housing and Development Thursday, Feb. 6, was any indication, the current legislative session may feel both long and ugly to those trapped …
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McClatchy, owner of the second-largest chain of local newspapers in the United States, including the Tri-City Herald and the Idaho Statesman, filed on Thursday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Associated Press fact-checked President Trump’s State of the Union speech the day before he gave it. The newsgathering organization, of which EO Media Group is a member, didn’t have an adv…
It seems there are as many ways to interpret this question as there are to answer it. The word "fully" calls for a measurement we would likely never agree upon. "Participate" requires we ask w…
A pig farm near Island City? A pesticide plant outside of Union? Not every new business proposal is a good one, and our economic choices affect us every day. If we don't participate in the dec…
The ostensible purpose of Oregon’s Public Records Law is simple and noble.
Response to recent spate of editorials in The Observer attempting to show Oregon’s cap-and-trade bill in a bad light. You highlight consideration of major legislation in a short session, compl…
Some crimes leave their victims so damaged they’ll never fully recover. Then, as if to pour salt in their wounds, the very people who hurt them are given relatively light prison sentences. Ezr…
It’s no secret that my Democratic colleagues in the state Senate want to pass a cap-and-trade bill this year (Senate Bill 1530). They tried last year with House Bill 2020, but were unsuccessfu…
Since it was passed by the Oregon Legislature last year as part of its education reform package, we’ve been hearing producers and vendors express concerns over the state’s corporate activity tax.
Mitch Colburn of Idaho Power is touting the benefits of B2H again, but we're not fooled. His latest pitch is about economic development and green-washing. What's green-washing? It's when a cor…
The sports betting contractor with the Oregon Lottery is insisting Oregonians can’t know what and how the state is paying them.
Eastern Oregon will benefit from the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line starting the first day of construction and continuing decades into the future. B2H will spur new jobs in the near t…
In response to Carrie Brogoitti's column ("Vapes and e-cigarettes are not safe for anyone," The Observer, Jan. 27), I agree that critical facts are not only misunderstood but severely misrepre…
EO Media Group, owner of the La Grande Observer and Baker City Herald, recently announced its decision to switch from local contract paper delivery to the U.S. Postal Service.
There is a saying I think is very true: "An idiotic idea though embraced by millions is still an idiotic idea." Case in point: the plastic store bags that have been replaced by heavy plastic b…
As a former citizen of Union County, I support Bill Miller for sheriff of Union County. I've known Bill for several years, as he was a co-worker of my late husband, Reed Waite.
Would it make you edgy if Oregon government was going to launch a big, new program worth millions and keep secrets about how well it works?
Oregon lawmakers meet every year, for 165 days in years ending in an odd number and for 35 days in evennumbered years. That’s relatively new; voters approved the change in 2010. Now there’s ta…
Oregon Speaker of the House Tina Kotek hopes to persuade the state Legislature to commit at least $40 million to help finance new shelters for the homeless this year. If she’s successful, the …
Private landowners and public agencies do and should share responsibility for wildfire protection at wildland/urban interfaces.
After the announcement on New Year's Day about our decision to partner with the United States Postal Service for same-day mail delivery and convert our publishing days to Tuesday/Thursday/Satu…
Oregon legislators will hit the 2020 legislative session on Feb. 3, and while there are already a number of high-profile bills on the horizon, elected leaders should remember complex legislati…
There couldn’t be a clearer case about both the value and flaws in Oregon’s public records law than the current one in Douglas County.
Sen. Bill Hansel, I am an Oregon grandfather writing on behalf of my kids and grandchildren — and yours — and children and grandchildren everywhere. While, as an 80 year old, I will not live t…
Reflecting on the past and looking forward to the future is a time-honored New Year tradition for many of us, but even more so in 2020 as we leave the teens behind for a new decade.
The Imbler classified union and the Imbler School District have been negotiating since last spring for a new contract. While we have found common ground on issues, the district has been unwill…
Oregon is not a wait-and-see kind of state. So it’s time to stop waiting for more research about providing a Universal Basic Income. Instead, it’s time we adopt a UBI and fine tune it as we go…
The Oregon Senate’s Interim Committee on Environment and Natural Resources has unveiled the Legislature’s latest version of climate change legislation.
Oregon lawmakers have tried at least a couple of times to make it more difficult for parents to avoid vaccinating their children, unfortunately with little success.
This first three letters of "news" is "new." This is no coincidence.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to sign phase one of a U.S.-China trade deal on Jan. 15 at the White House.
In Union County, being a cyclist is dangerous. Cyclists may refuse to yield to one another, to vehicles and cutting people off at will at crossings — because they don’t trust others to give th…
A new year signals a new beginning for all of us. While many of us will make our standard new year resolutions, as a community there are several pledges we should make for 2020.
As we enter 2020, the year in which we will elect a new president of the United States, let's pause to consider some differences a new president could make.
The United States of America Commemoration of the Vietnam War is currently ongoing. This national commemoration was authorized by Congress, established under the secretary of defense and launc…
There's an old journalism cliche that goes something like this: "If your mother says she loves you, get a second source."
The results of a study of stakeholder attitudes regarding the proposed breaching of Snake River dams were hardly surprising, but ag interests say the document may serve to educate proponents o…
Considering Mrs. Dutto’s response to my letter about the now implemented non-horn status of the five main UP crossing through La Grande.
Happy New Year. The calendar has taken another faithful leap from the end of one year to the beginning of another and hopes are running high. January is often prime time for personal and profe…
As someone who owns and operates a cattle ranch, I take pride in saying Congressman Walden is working harder than anyone in D.C. to cut through the red tape that we farmers and ranchers live w…
It is the wonderful week between Christmas and a new year, a time for spiritual renewal including for many of us pondering the words of Jesus, as well as commitments to ourselves of something …
Remain steadfast in your convictions. Live freely. Increase knowledge. Vote.
To the Editor:
What contributes to student success? Across Oregon, educators, parents, students and community members are gathering to discuss just that, and to determine how funds from the recently enacted …
A recent run of syndicated columnists appearing under Other Views" in The Observer was disturbing.
In an era of bare-knuckled politics, the career of William Ruckelshaus provides valuable lessons. He was the first administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.