Wake up and smell the smoke

It's not inevitable, but it's close. If there isn't massive thinning of the underbrush in the Ashland watershed, there will come a day when we look at each other in disbelief that we didn't do what was necessary to protect this town ---what we knew was necessary, beyond a single doubt. So this week I wrote about the obvious.

Will we do what's right while we still can?

More than a Bike Ride

I think there's magic to cycling. In part that belief comes from Cycle Oregon, which just finished its 22nd edition, seems to accomplish something that public leaders and government agencies have been knocking themselves out to do for as long as I've lived in Oregon. CO makes it look easy, and makes a lot of us look good in the process.

Why should bosses pay?

If you wanted to keep the American people too divided to effectively demand real health care reform, try this: lay the lion's share of the health insurance burden on employers. There are millions of them, and they're not about to partner with people who sound like they want businesses to pay even more of the bill.

Thus piece of the puzzle sorely needs some fresh thinking, and I'm not hearing any. So here I'm trying to crack some loose.

Open Doors

In the wake of a Dark Age in open government (and the jury's out on how much really changed last January 20), I hear some say that government decision makers should never mull over policy behind closed doors. As in NEVER.

I don't think that's right. But I do think we're in a time that leaders better have a damn good, and damn clear, reason for closing the doors of public meeting rooms to the public, and spent this column saying exactly why. Ashland city government fell short of that mark last week, but I understand they changed their direction to open the doors back up. Good for them.