Letters to the Editor

Privacy belongs in Bend’s public conversation I recently attended my first Deschutes Democrats meeting and came away with a simple conclusion: Bend needs to start talking a lot more seriously about privacy. At the meeting, I asked U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum what national privacy bills are worth tracking and who constituents should contact to better […]

Why I didn’t use the VA to pay for my root canal A broken molar, and the resulting $2,000 repair, led to someone asking the question, why didn’t I go through the VA? As an eight-year veteran of the armed forces, I should be entitled. I would like to answer that question publicly, as it is […]

Support the Wildlife Bill I value living in Oregon for the breathtaking array of wildlife –from whales, puffins and oystercatchers on the coast to the elusive Sierra Nevada red foxes of the Cascades, and the great gray owls I’ve witnessed in forests near Sunriver. HB 4134–the 1.25% for wildlife bill — is critical to pass […]

Kids Need Quality Education As a longtime classroom teacher and former union leader for educators, I want to unpack the Source’s Feb. 5 piece, “Oregon’s Education Workforce Climbed While Student Enrollment Slid.” Unfortunately, the headline is misleading, implying that schools are overstaffed. They are not. The numbers presented don’t account for the decades of prior […]

Let’s not spring ahead It’s time to change clocks again. Is there anything more idiotic, more wasteful, more unnecessary? The Sun and the Earth could care less how we define time. Leave the clocks alone! —James Scott History repeats itself Seeing the same comments on social media about the attack last night as I heard 25 […]

New ‘Prosperity Officer’ Thank you for your Opinion piece of 22 January 2026, highlighting the new Oregon “Prosperity Officer” and the current economic challenges faced by the Oregon economy. However, discussing the “falling economic outlook” fails to discuss other, more important aspects of measuring the success of a society and its economy. According to the […]

Dismayed by the District Mapping Process As an Independent voter, I’m dismayed at the direction taken by commissioners Patti Adair and Tony DeBone on expanding the Deschutes County Commission from three to five members. Republicans Adair and DeBone “control” the county commission, with Democrat Phil Chang in the minority. A committee was appointed mostly by […]

Immorality Rules Our Nation. Flouting the constitution, international and American law and long-standing norms, President Trump declared to the New York Times recently that his power as commander in chief is constrained only by his “own morality.” Let’s review his track record on morality.  He raped a woman in a dressing room He said on camera that to control women he “just grabs them […]

People are a long-term investment After reading the Source’s article on “Budget Cuts Threaten Oregon Program for Helping People Get Jobs After Prison” by Danielle Dawson and Wesley Vaughan on Dec. 23, 2025, I found out that ultimately, this is a problem of prioritization, not spending. When we treat reentry support as a “cost to be cut” rather […]

Re: Habitat for Humanity Purchases Surplus School District Land (12/24/25) Kudos to Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity for planning 18 townhomes for teachers (maybe). Not sure how much their mortgage payments will be, but sorry to say that it’s not going to move the needle much for affordability for most of the district’s employees. I have another […]