Friday was a great day. Not only was my daughter accepted into the University of Oregon but FERC denied the certificate of public convenience and necessity to the Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline. Because I was standing in the middle of McArthur Court on the U of O campus surrounded by anxious parents and giggling young […]
The more I engage in community rights work the more sense the right of local self-government makes to me. Whether it is banking regulators, energy regulators or environmental regulators the working class communities are getting the short end of the stick because the industry writes the rules. One of the main rules is that communities […]
The World has a story about the most recent candidate for treasurer, Heather Fox. She sounds like a reasonable candidate and she answers some questions raised previously, such as will she collect two salaries and is she just running as a spoiler to help Megan Simms oust Matt Rowe. The answer would appear to be […]
Ever a glutton for punishment I have been reading a lot about failed economies and fragile states , (formerly known as failed states). From the mouths of our own commissioners, Coos County is kind of mini-version of a failed local economy and is facing a $2.5 million shortfall. The next couple of years are going […]
In case you missed it, the race for treasurer has gotten a bit strange. The office has recently been gutted by the commissioners diverting several duties to a new finance director/administrator and the salary slashed in half. Yet we now have three vying for the position. Heather Fox, a Coos County deputy tax collector and […]
Time for a little mea culpa. Eight years ago, of the two choices available, I considered Bob Main the most likely candidate to represent the populist view. The county’s assessor at the time, I even felt Main might be slightly more reasonable when it came to exploitation of the environment. Of course, he was running against […]
Commissioner John Sweet bristles whenever anyone dares to note the similarities between the newly created position of finance director and a county administrator. The latter, as everyone will remember, was brought before the voters in 2012 asking whether the county should transition to an administrator model of government and soundly defeated. Nevertheless, the local oligarchy […]
Coos County’s progressive community has absolutely no representation on the county commission. Discussing the merits of participating in a class action lawsuit proposed by Linn County against the State of Oregon, the commissioners made it clear that nature only has value when it has been extracted and converted into a smartphone or a two-by-four. After […]
It’s no secret that the Coos County Board of Commissioners is no fan of Matt Rowe. Rowe was, until last Thursday, running unopposed for the county treasurer’s position on a what he calls a transparency platform. Last week, Megan Simms, the newly hired finance director/de facto administrator filed for the position. The term “de facto […]
“If you’re in trouble, or hurt or need – go to the poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help – the only ones.” Ma Joad spoke those words in John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath after someone of equally modest means gave her a dime’s worth of sugar. This sentiment, unfortunately is clearly demonstrated in […]
