Matt Jones: The city appears to be spending millions of taxpayer dollars on projects where the public has little to no say in how the funds are allocated. A survey conducted by Ashland.news to gather readers’ opinions on these projects and the spending on controversial issues is suggested.
Herbert Rothschild: It’s historically fitting that Israel has succeeded apartheid South Africa as an international pariah, because from the 1960s through the 1980s Israel sold South Africa aircraft, radar and other advanced weapons systems, and it assisted South Africa’s RSA missile program. Most egregiously, it helped South Africa develop nuclear weapons.
Herbert Rothschild: Rapid response is a three-step process — reporting a suspected ICE action, verifying the report and getting a legal observer team to the site of a verified action. Everyone can help with the first. If you think you see ICE agents, you can phone in a report to 888-622-1510, a statewide hotline maintained by Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition. … But please don’t post any unverified reports on social media
Bob Kaplan: I know many of our neighbors are struggling to pay their bills and are worried about the future. Holding on to a mish-mash of outdated pay scales is a false solution.
Trisha Vigil: Trumpian reliance on anti-science hoaxes in developing policy impacts us because it’s the science of weather forecasting that allows us to learn about weather extremes and fire risk.
Michael O’Looney: If only our current president could reflect on our history; if only he could govern with malice toward none. If only he would try to govern all of America instead of only those who voted for him.
Tome Dimitre: How many times will the chief come back to the dupes on the City Council to push his illegal agenda to deny citizens their due-process rights?
Selene Aitken: I reflect on the folks I’ve served that morning, students, families, old folk and young, friendly, sour, elegant or ragged. All need food. I am grateful to be part of the team providing sustenance and support.
Herbert Rothschild: Like a mob boss, Trump has a highly developed sense of what he thinks people owe him, and he’s willing to rough them up when they don’t pay up. Regarding NATO, he was clear from the start that he believed its European members were getting much more than they were paying for.
Alan Journet: The Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment seeks to overcome this omission in our state by proposing a ballot measure for fall 2026 that would insert into our Constitution the right to a healthy environment.
As of Nov. 3, Ashland Community Food Bank has a new director at the reins. Catie Mahoney will serve in the role with guidance from outgoing director Amey Broeker, who will officially retire on Dec. 31 after serving in the food bank role since 2022.
The Ashland City Council will review a proposal from a potential provider to oversee its extreme weather shelter during its regular business meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
The Ashland Independent Film Festival has added a second screening showcasing Indigenous filmmakers on Sunday, Nov. 23.
Three and a half years into the war with Russia, Ashland violinist and longtime music teacher Faina Podolnaya is still finding ways to help Ukrainian refugees.
Herbert Rothschild: As the number of ads in The New Yorker has shrunk, it seems as if the wealth of its readership has concentrated, just as one might concentrate the flavor of a sauce by reducing it on the stovetop.
Local artist MaryAnn Shank will share the thoughts behind her newest novel “Sor Juana, My Beloved” at Bloomsbury Books Jan. 26. Shank is a finalist of The Isabel Allende Most Inspirational Book of the Year 2025 award, awarded by the International Latino Book Association.
(It’s free)
