Ethical leadership is still attainable in county
When Ron Smith and Chris Barnett were elected as commissioners here in Josephine County, they stepped into a system shaped by mistrust, alleged backroom deals and lowered expectations. Citizens, rightfully wary, watch their every move — not because they want them to fail, but because past leaders made trust in government a rare and fragile thing. Read More »

Resignations will save us the cost of recall election
If the three Josephine County commissioners are really interested in cutting costs for the county, please resign now and it will save us taxpayers the cost of a recall.  Read More »

Bentz should show his face and justify cuts
Fire season coming? Whenever a large fire or emergency takes place, usually a federal incident management team is assigned. We have been assured the firefighters will be available. What about the hundreds of support people needed to assist the firefighters? With buyouts, layoffs and a hiring freeze, these teams will not be able to form up. I know, I was on a team for 15 years. Read More »

The shell game of local government finances
Federal, state or local, it all comes down to taxes and fees. Perhaps we would be far better off if we dealt with our financial obligations at a more local level, but that ended long ago. We send our tax dollars to Washington and then beg to get some of them returned to fund local programs. Wouldn't we be better off if they stayed home to begin with? Why should so much disaster relief funds from regions that never experienced hurricanes cross paths with funds from regions that never experienced earthquakes, and vice versa? Natural disaster relief is probably not a good example — recovery from that amount of destruction is most likely best addressed at the federal level, but it's still not "federal funds," it's our tax dollars.  Read More »

It's falling on us to save American democracy
Protestors will descend on downtown Medford on May 1. They will demand that Trump and Musk stop trampling on Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid (the Oregon Health Plan) recipients and immigrants, on public schools and universities, and — on the First Amendment, civil rights of all, especially of women, LGBT people and racial minorities. There will be outrage about the accelerated fossil fuel destruction of Earth's fragile environment. We know that laws become irrelevant unless people, including our leaders, follow them and respect — not jail or sanction — the judges who resolve issues based on the rule of law.  Read More »