WHY DID COCC INVITE CHAVEZ-DEREMER TO SPEAK AT COMMENCEMENT? You have to wonder why someone thought Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer deserves the honor of being Central Oregon Community College’s commencement speaker. This is just some of her record: Chavez-DeRemer voted for an anti-transgender bill that would require that “sex … be recognized based solely on a […]
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
This is Not the Way to Help Those Experiencing Homelessness
The number of people who don’t have a proper place to live is skyrocketing, and disorder at the Homeless Office isn’t helping.
Ask the average person in Central Oregon what the most pressing issues we face here are, and chances are that they’ll include housing and homelessness in their answers. With staggering rent increases and plenty of inflation, the number of people who don’t have a proper place to live is skyrocketing. It’s a problem so great […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 06/01/2023
Guest Opinion: BLM Rule Making Input Public lands are one of the great institutions of American democracy — they are open to all of us. But now some extremists are complaining about a new Bureau of Land Management rule that allows conservation to exist as an equal use on public lands, alongside grazing, drilling and […]
Posted inOpinion
Are Voting Zones a Fair System?
May elections prove low voting turnout
May elections are always an interesting ride. Candidates, voting advocacy groups and newspaper editorial boards like ours spend plenty of energy on candidates and measures, and then, when voting time comes around, so few vote. Even in years when there’s no presidential election, voter turnout in a November election is far higher than in May. […]
Posted inOpinion
Is This Really What Republicans Wanted?
As of Monday, 127 bills sit and wait for a vote due to absence of Oregon Republican senators
As of Monday, 127 bills were sitting in the Oregon state Senate awaiting a vote. It seems the majority of them will die where they sit due to the continued absence of a group of Republican (and one former Republican, now independent) senators. With Bend’s own state senator, Sen. Tim Knopp, part of the cadre […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 05/25/2023
SENATOR LINTHICUM’S SUPPORT FOR WALKOUTS HINDERS IN SOUTH DESCHUTES COUNTY As a resident of south Deschutes County, I am disappointed in Senator Dennis Linthicum for endorsing the recent Senate Republican walkouts. The communities in rural Deschutes and Klamath counties face serious challenges, such as drought and wildfire. By walking out on the job, Senate Republicans […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 05/18/2023
Guest Opinion: Landscape Amnesia This past week I hiked along the Upper Deschutes River. It was a pea-green color, or maybe you might say dirty blonde. Whatever adjective you like, the Upper Deschutes is a severely degraded river due to the irrigation industry. Most people living in Bend probably think the Deschutes is a beautiful […]
Posted inOpinion
In Other States, Legislators Have Gotten Expelled for a Lot Less than Walking Out
Here in Oregon, expelling legislators for their views is not our jam
Everyone loves an underdog story – that classic tale of the little guy, by sheer will and determination, overcoming an obstacle that would seem impossible to the average person. And while the legislators who have now exceeded the number of unexcused absences allowed under Oregon’s Constitution might see themselves as the heroes of a story […]
Posted inOpinion
Oregonians Overwhelmingly Voted to End Legislative Walkouts, but They’re Happening Once Again
So far, the 10 absent legislators have shown that their own personal views on an issue mean more than the principle of representative democracy.
What a month it’s been in Oregon politics. Deep into the legislative session, and just shy of the May 16 election, Oregon’s elected leaders are giving us all something to think about. The resignation of Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and the search for a person to formally replace her has introduced a measure of […]
Posted inOpinion
Letters to the Editor 05/11/2023
School board elections Isn’t it great that we can vote for a school board member who has significant, recent, and successful teaching experience in the Bend-La Pine Schools? Elizabeth Justema is a smart, effective communicator who is committed to our students and our community, and she directly understands the challenges our schools face. Dedicated and […]
