Columns

It is a reader’s joy to discover a favorite author writing about a favorite person. That was my delight at finding Jimmy Breslin’s short biography of Branch Rickey. It is part of the Penguin L…

Historians love to quote William Faulkner about how the “past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Southerners know this in their bones. Northwesterners have yet to learn it.

Today’s wheels of civic progress turn so slowly at all levels of government. Often it feels like we’re stuck, or moving backwards. As Oregonians scrutinize problems in our nation’s capital, we…

State Rep. Tiffiny Mitchell is the target of a recall drive by #TimberUnity over her vote for cap and trade.

It may be what my grandmother Hilda Bell and her mom had in mind a century ago when they made a World War I scrapbook: capturing the mood of that explosive time for the benefit of an unknown g…

Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum supported a resolution in the state Legislature that would have asked voters in November 2020 whether to change the state constitution and require unani…

Earlier this year, I spent a few days, all too short, with my mother. At the time, I didn’t know she was dying, or at least I didn’t want to acknowledge it. She was frail, yes, but she was als…

In June, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1013 that narrowed the definition of aggravated murder and drastically reduced the number of murderers in this state who are eligible for the…

In the past year, I’ve become a vocal opponent of House Bill 2020, the cap-and-trade program. As the president of the United Steelworkers Local 1097 at the Georgia-Pacific Wauna Mill in Westpo…

The human being beneath the veneer of an eminent politician is seldom very interesting.

As a board member for the #TimberUnity Association, a grassroots group, I recently attended the annual economic summit of coastal legislators in Florence. I wanted to hear firsthand lawmakers’…

I love watching football, something I credit to my grandmother and mother, both NFL superfans. I’ve watched pro and college games at all levels, and still buy tickets to Beaver football games,…

A small town like Astoria is at the mercy of who shows up. By that I mean it is new blood that has given the place new ideas, connections and cultural investment. Jo Robinson was one of those …

The beginning of the school year is a rejuvenating time for students and staff in the Astoria School District, and they are eager to work together for what should be a very successful year.

We are family representatives for the property proposed for a Grocery Outlet in Astoria.

Warrenton Mayor Henry Balensifer is not anti-development.

One thing about turning 87 is often thinking, “Here we go again.” A good example is the recent mass shootings that put gun control back into the public spotlight.

Perhaps the most unheralded local election is the one scheduled for Nov. 5 at the elementary and middle schools.

Every few years, sugar just might coalesce out of the kiln-baked soil in my grandparents’ plum thicket at their little retirement ranch in western Wyoming.

When Heidi Wright called me June 3 to suggest that our company should take a look at bidding on Bend’s daily newspaper, The Bulletin, I was at once startled, skeptical and intrigued.

When the Eagles broke up in 1980, Don Henley famously remarked that the band would play together again “when hell freezes over.” They ended up reuniting years later.

Nine people shot dead in Dayton, 13 hours after 22 shot dead in El Paso, six days after three shot dead in Gilroy. And tears and disbelief and funeral preparations, candlelight vigils and a se…

It’s been almost three months since The Daily Astorian became The Astorian, delivered three days a week by mail.

In much the same way that it’s a good idea to assume anyone you talk to here may be related to nearly anyone else you might mention, it’s also fairly safe to assume they have some connection w…

One of the strangest episodes in Oregon legislative history continues to unfold, now that Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, must give 12 hours notice before entering the Oregon Capitol so security…

If we can go back where we came from, guess what? So can you.

Outdoor clothing and gear manufacturer Patagonia recently released “Artifishal,” a misguided documentary full of misinformation about the role hatcheries play in salmon recovery.

I was 11 when Apollo 11 landed on the moon. We all figured by now plenty of people would be living there in pressurized trailer parks, taking giant leaps for mankind.

Seeking some positives, I found them on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula, where I have lived 21 years.

Gov. Kate Brown announced last week that she would issue executive decrees, if necessary, to curb greenhouse gas emissions in Oregon.

We have a dangerous new problem raging in our school buildings and campuses in Clatsop County.

Gustafson Logging Co. recently celebrated 45 years of being in business. Over that time, we’ve seen a lot of things in the logging industry change and evolve. Not the least of these is Oregon’…

The 4th of July is one of the best holidays in America. Picnics, barbecues, patriotic music; family and friends getting together to celebrate. Children, and many adults, impatiently wait all d…

You remember the day when you learn a certain lesson.

Have you ever cut out a newspaper article to clip to your refrigerator with a magnet?

PRO: China needs reminding — America is also an Asian power. CON: Deliberately sailing into areas China considers as territorial waters is not a good idea.

As an organization invested in the health of every person in our communities, we were extremely disappointed to hear that the Oregon Legislature abandoned House Bill 3063, which would have eli…

PRO: Biden may survive primary attacks by progressives, but they will help re-elect Trump. CON: Progressive attacks on Biden and Trump will clear path for a new president in 2020.

I have had the honor of talking to many World War II veterans over the years — American, Canadian, British, German, French, Belgian and Dutch.

Here on the North Coast, we live in such a rich area for diverse scientific opportunities, from forestry to wetland restoration to maritime science. Our varied landscapes inform and inspire th…

I don’t know how you can be against clean water, but some of the industries in our state are.

PRO: Taxpayers shouldn’t get stuck with a $1.5 trillion loan default tab

‘I remember when …” is a popular conversation starter when you talk to locals who recall good times growing up in Clatsop County. Those memories tend to be around events — festivals, fairs, st…

Editor’s note: When correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed by a Japanese machine gun bullet in 1945, his columns were being delivered to more than 14 million homes. He wrote about war from a sold…

PRO: US way too stingy in helping Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria

The truth is dead, and Facebook killed it.

‘So how’s retirement?”

PRO: Democrats are doing it this time; Republicans have done it in the past. CON: Not a constitutional crisis, just a supercharged political moment of democracy in action.

Every year, I’m struck by the powerful — and often, opposing — emotions that Memorial Day stirs.

Earlier this month, thousands of teachers across Oregon walked out of classrooms and rallied both in their communities and on the state Capitol steps with one laudable request: that we take bo…

Current management at the Port of Astoria has suggested selling off taxpayer-owned and supported assets. An advisory committee tasked with helping management address port finances has come to …

PRO: Allowing prisoners to vote would reform America’s outdated prison policies

Astoria has had more than a few pivotal moments in its nearly 200-year history, and we’re embarking on yet another, involving renewed interest in development. A bunch of us are following the a…

PRO: It’s time to close the pay gap between men and women