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About The Observer. (La Grande, Or.) 1968-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 2020)
Opinion 4A Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020 From the Editor’s Desk It’s all about changes he coronavirus pandemic continues to force us to adapt and change, some- times daily. The Observer’s newsroom has reported on some of these changes, pre- dominantly in business, education and school sports. But we know the changes go far deeper. Over the past couple of weeks, our reporters have talked to locals about how the virus has changed their FROM THE EDITOR lives. That has PHIL led us create WRIGHT a series of OBSERVER EDITOR centerpieces we’re running in each edition of the paper next week that we’re tentatively calling “Pandemic Profi les.” “Hyperlocal” is the mantra of modern com- munity journalism and one I believe in. Com- munities like ours overflow with interesting, newsworthy stories. Community newspapers such as The Observer are the organizations that can chase those down and deliver these stories to readers. Yet while doing that, we also can be the window to the larger world. We continue to tap into reporting from our related papers for regional and state news. And during the past few months, The Observer has worked to deliver relevant or interesting national and even international news. In the last few weeks we’ve dabbled in a smattering of “weird” news, for lack of a better term. Selecting national and international news is something of an experiment for me as the editor. So many outlets provide that news, so I don’t see much sense in running an Associated Press story on the latest flamewars involving the president, for example. But NASA working to put a massive rover on Mars, yes, that I want in our paper. Likewise, we haven’t published anything in the paper about the horrific explosion this week in Beirut. By the time we could have a a story in print, I doubt it would have told readers much they didn’t already know. And we likely would have had to trim an AP story to its bare bones to fit on the page somewhere, and that would not have done the crisis justice. To that end, you may see more of those sto- ries on our website. Don’t take that to mean we have lost a commitment to local reporting. It just means we can do more online than in print. Still, like a lot of experiments, we’re going to have some inconstant results. For example, our website — for now — lacks a specific page to carry international news. And while you can email us a letter to the editor as long as 350 words, doing so on the website limits you to 250. We’re working on that as well. To that end, if there is something you think we should cover and have not, if you have sug- gestions about what you want to see in the paper or online, if you like what we are doing, or even if you don’t, send an email about it to me at pwright@lagrandeobserver.com. I can’t promise The Observer will adopt every recom- mendation or change, but I’ll read them all. Although maybe not next week, as I’m off for a bit of a break. But don’t let that stop you. T Letters Head Start should look closer Perhaps Head Start should take a closer look as there is a lot of spurious information out there about children and coronavirus. Children can carry the corona- virus, and they may also have serious disabling consequences. There is something called Multisystem Infl am- matory Syndrome that children can get when being around those who have the coronavirus. Search for “medical acronym MIS-C.” To see images of MIS-C, search “MIS-C images” and then the “show all images.” There is another one called “fl accid paralysis.” Search for “fl accid paral- ysis reported in children,” and pick the “children’s hospital” link. Stuart Croghan La Grande Changing state borders is the least of our worries Thank you for your very wise edi- torial opinion regarding the “Greater Idaho” push (Observer editor Phil Wright’s column “Greater Idaho does not warrant greater coverage” in the Write to us The Observer welcomes letters to the editor. Letters are limited to 350 words and must be signed and carry the author’s address and phone number (for verifi cation purposes only). Email your letters to news@lagrandeobserver.com or mail them to the address below. Aug. 4 edition). The ideas presented in the column are so cogent, I could have thought of them myself. You have so clearly pointed out the waste of time, effort and reasoning trying to change state borders when our post offi ces are threatened, the census is being dam- aged, voting is becoming more diffi - cult for some Americans, Russians are paying Iraquis to kill our soldiers, and hundreds of thousands of Americans are dying from COVID-19. And more. I agree. No more Greater Idaho articles. Let’s learn about these other threats to the United States of America. Evelyn Swart Joseph Disappointed by lack of Lighthouse Church accountability Upon fi rst reading the title of Roger Barnes’ My Voice column (“Forgiveness is not forgetting,” The Observer, July 28), my initial reaction was, “What, more?” But I thought he might have an inter- esting perspective so I read on. I was rewarded by having my eyes opened on the Lighthouse Church COVID-19 affair. Mr. Barnes’ main point is to wonder why there were no legal charges or punishment against the church. Previously I had not ques- tioned the lack of charges. But his column made me consider a parallel case. If someone held a rap music concert with 100 attendees, received warning from law enforcement to cease, and then held another concert, would they be charged with violating COVID-19 orders? I am forced to believe they would. This leads me to the conclusion that those who might charge a private party organizer are biased by not charging a private reli- gious organization, the Lighthouse Church. This is disappointing. Lia Spiegel La Grande Our View Subject emergency orders to review or more than four months, Oregon has largely been under the rules of emergency exec- utive orders in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. While we believe governors should have powers to deal with the exigencies that come with natural disasters and other emergencies, such as a pandemic, those powers should come with a limit on dura- tion, and an extension of those order should be subject to mandatory over- sight from either the Legislature or a substantial legislative committee consisting of an equal numbers of lawmakers from the two major parties. The COVID-19 outbreak pre- sented a clear and present danger as it unfolded in the early spring. We knew little about the disease when it arrived in the United States, but the catastrophic experiences of victims in other countries — China, Iran and Italy in particular — demonstrated the need for some action to curb infections. Governors in all 50 states have exercised some emergency powers available to them to deal with cat- astrophic events — some more F aggressively than others. To her credit, Gov. Kate Brown has not been as heavy-handed as some of her colleagues. Nothing here is intended to be a criticism of her choices. That said, she has at times shut down large segments of the economy for undetermined lengths of time, closed private and public schools and colleges, forbidden indoor religious services and private gatherings, declared some businesses “essential” and others not, rewritten the terms of rental contracts and restricted access to common healthcare proce- dures — all by decree and without the consent of the Legislature. Two separate Oregon statutes give the governor the authority to declare emergencies and exercise broad powers. One specifi cally addresses public health emergencies, and the other is for general emergency sit- uations. She has invoked both as authority for her executive orders. The fi rst statute imposes a 14-day limit on the declaration of a health emergency, the other imposes no limit. Although statute allows the Legislature to terminate an emer- gency declaration on its own authority, it does not require the Leg- islature take an up or down vote. The experience of the last few months demonstrates those dec- larations should come with a stat- utory expiration date and a man- date for the Legislature to review actions under the declarations, and to approve any necessary extensions. The response to the virus has cost half a million Oregonians their jobs, destroyed thousands of businesses, cost the state millions in revenue and changed nearly every aspect of public life. All of these actions may well have been necessary, but none have been subjected to review or challenge by the people’s elected representatives. The governor has called a special legislative session for Monday, Aug. 10. During that session, lawmakers should change the law. If they don’t, the people should add such a measure to the ballot. Would any Legislature override the actions of a governor in an emer- gency? That’s diffi cult to say. But in a land with the government of, by and for the people, we should not allow an elected governor, even the most benign, to rule indefi nitely by decree.
