http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/index.php Portland and surrounding area community news and information http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124655629465558500 The following named Members of the U.S. House of Representatives need to be defeated as they come up for re-election over the next three federal election cycles. Why? Because as senior citizens, living on fixed incomes, our cost of living will double, should "Cap and Trade" pass the ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124655639357720600 Whereas the latest budget estimates of the Congressional Budget Office show that Social Security recipients will not qualify for annual cost of living adjustment increases in 2010, 2011, and 2012. And: Whereas many, if not most, hangar tenants at Scappoose Industrial Airpark are, like myself, ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124655571637284000 I read much more than political propaganda. National Geographic July 2009. In northern Cambodia, Angkor built a great prosperous civilization on an elaborate irrigation system. Tree ring evidence shows prolonged drought from 1262 to 1392 and 1415 to 1440 which led to the collapse of Angkor. The ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124655402337746900 Let’s be clear: There is no doubt that Columbia County Commissioner Tony Hyde promised residents living along the Crown Zellerbach Linear Trail that their concerns would be addressed – the term Hyde used was “mitigated” – prior to opening the trail. Truth be told, ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124594874860185400 It begins with phone calls. Then a final notice letter or two – or three or four or more, whose authors obviously miss the contradictions of their work – shows up in the mail or taped to the front door. All followed by more phone calls, sometimes before the crack of dawn and well into ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124594708744793700 (Editor’s note: The following is a confirmed comment posted by Columbia County Sheriff Jeff Dickerson, who was responding to criticism leveled against him for having discouraged volunteers. The content appeared on The Spotlight’s Web site, www.spotlightnews.net) I did not “shoo ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124594561228271900 We are at the point in the legislative session when the end of session is clearly in sight. The Speaker of the House has announced that “sine die is imminent,” but the real sign of the end is the fact that the budget bills are starting to pass through the system. We start with the ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124527871032558300 This week has been exceptionally busy at the Capitol. The House passed two critical pieces of legislation, one revamping the way we provide health care in this state and the other raising revenue from both individuals and corporations in order to help close the $4.2 billion gap in our state’s ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124526388431965300 County’s lack of sheriff funding endangers us all I’m writing because the commissioners of Columbia County have placed the citizens of this county at an unprecedented level of risk by refusing to fund public safety personnel, specifically sheriff’s patrol. As I know many are ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124526350494665700 The Northwest Oregon Housing Authority knows better than most the reality lived by people who receive housing assistance. In many cases, it’s families and individuals living paycheck to paycheck, who would be forced into homelessness without the money the housing authority ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124474411830054300 Vernonia needs of all of the federal funding it can get, and no one knows that better than I do. I visited Vernonia just days after the severe, devastating storms and flooding that occurred in December 2007 and have been back many times since to witness firsthand the destruction and subsequent ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124474395650746100 In a recent release, the Columbia River PUD opposed House Bill 2186 which is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as our state's dependence on foreign oil. Extensively amended prior to consideration by the full House of Representatives, the bill passed the House on a 32-28 vote on ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124474374238438700 A little more than a year ago former Columbia County Sheriff Phil Derby appeared before the Columbia County commissioners with a plan to return a respectable patrol division to the sheriff’s office. The plan, in a nutshell, was to have the county take out a loan to finance an ambitious jail ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124404804108884900 Saddened about fireworks funding I am extremely saddened to hear that a nearly fifty year St. Helens tradition is potentially on the chopping block (Martina Carpenter organized the first annual St. Helens Fireworks Show in 1963.) The article published in the May 6 article quoted Keith Locke as ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124404786246174200 For years now, Oregonians have lamented the condition of our roads, from the streets running through our neighborhoods to the interstates linking us to the rest of the nation. Some bridges and overpasses are in such precarious condition that trucks over a certain weight are prohibited from using ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124345303705718400 Scappoose Middle School Principal Pam Reynolds made the right call when she dismissed a substitute teacher who had forced a classroom of seventh-graders to place their faces on the floor as a disciplinary measure. But there are some lingering questions. First, middle school supervisory staff, ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124345380576638900 In last week’s newsletter I briefly mentioned the presentation of the May 15th revenue forecast by Oregon State Economist, Tom Pitiowsky. On Monday, the co-chairs of the joint Ways and Means Committee released their plan to fund state services over the next two years based upon ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124345365394354300 Foundation has always been solvent I would like to respond to the statement made in the May 13 issue of the Spotlight regarding a deficit for the Community Foundation for Student Excellence. This statement failed to include the fact that what is reflected on the 990 from 2007 does not show the ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124345338689771300 I am writing in response to Rep. Brad Witt's opinion piece in support of HB 2186, which addresses greenhouse gas emissions (see Spotlight, May 20). The consumer-owned utilities in Columbia County have opposed this legislation and have been actively working with a coalition of utilities, farmers, ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124286153296207100 Last week, the House passed one of our more contentious bills so far this session, HB 2186A. The vote was 32-28, reflecting the divided feelings about this legislation, even though the scope of the bill had been substantially narrowed since its introduction. The measure authorizes the ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124286152197593300 Last week, the House passed one of our more contentious bills so far this session, HB 2186A. The vote was 32-28, reflecting the divided feelings about this legislation, even though the scope of the bill had been substantially narrowed since its introduction. The measure authorizes the ... http://www.spotlightnews.net/opinion/story.php?story_id=124286132947611300 Republicans grasping at straws with new rhetoric I find it somewhat comical that the three letters reflecting Sen. Merkley’s visit to Scappoose all have the same theme in common: They use the buzzword “socialism” to describe the actions of President Obama concerning the stimulus ...