Tuesday, augusT 16, 2022 A7
REDMOND SPOKESMAN
Write to us: news@redmondspokesman.com
OUR VIEW
Demystifying
the newsroom
H
i. I feel like I should formally introduce myself after a
month of helping build the new and reimagined Redmond
Spokesman along with Tim Trainor, Leo Baudhuin and
a whole slew of passionate people over at Central Oregon Media
Group.
I’m Nick Rosenberger. I’m a reporter for the Red-
mond Spokesman. I’ve met many of you already, and let
me just say it’s been an absolute pleasure. I’ve loved get-
ting to know this community and feel grateful to be in
such a tight-knit and welcoming place.
Rosenberger
I wasn’t entirely sure what to write about when I was
first asked to write this column. But, knowing that trust
in media is at an all time low, I realized this would be the perfect oppor-
tunity to open the newsroom to all of you and show you exactly what
happens at Sixth and Deschutes.
Mostly, it’s a lot of phone calls, emails, taking photographs, meeting
with community members, attending meetings I think people should
know about and hammering out words on Google Docs as I drink an
unhealthy amount of coffee.
I’m just like many of you. I wake up on Monday mornings with an
ever expanding to-do list and close my laptop on Friday evening hoping
I’ve done the best I can. I know I’m not always perfect and I don’t always
ace every piece I write, but I try my best to be fair in my coverage, de-
tailed and precise in my writing and accurate in my photography.
But, even as I try my best, media and communications is an imper-
fect system. There’s typos. There’s inaccuracies. There’s mistakes. That’s
an inherent part of an industry that relies on hard and fast deadlines. It’s
difficult to interview someone for an hour or two and boil that down
into a few quotes and a 500 word news story.
And, there will always be implicit biases. The way I was raised and the
experiences I’ve had paint my worldview and, in turn, will always affect
the way I use words and the way I gravitate towards certain stories no
matter how hard I try to remain objective.
To be completely open and transparent, I feel I should explain my
own background so that you can each make informed decisions based
upon the stories I write and how I write them.
I was raised in about as central Portland as possible (in the King
neighborhood), before moving out to Oregon City for high school. I
was fed a constant IV drip of adventure stories growing up — blasting
through Percy Jackson novels on repeat and ripping through covers of
National Geographic. I decided, when I was around 13 years old, that I
wanted to become a journalist.
After high school, I took a year off to solo backpack through South-
east Asia and Europe on money I’d saved up while cashiering at Safeway,
then stuffed my head in books for four years at the University of Ore-
gon. I continued to work through college, first changing oil at Valvoline
then as a writing coach, reporter and managing editor of a magazine. I
graduated in 2021 with double majors in journalism and international
studies with minors in Arabic and Middle East-North African studies.
From there, I spent some time at the East Oregonian in Pendleton, cov-
ering everything from education to rodeos, before going freelance and
winding up here helping Tim build a newsroom.
I believe in diplomacy and hard work. I believe people are inherently
good and want to do good for others, even if it can be misguided at
times. I believe in honesty and being true to your word. I believe writing
has the ability to bring people together and that local newspapers can
act as a vehicle for greater understanding and communication.
If you see me around with a notebook and camera in hand, please feel
free to say hi. Let me know what stories I’m missing. Let me know how
I can better serve you and the people you care about. And, if you have
something you want to get off your chest, please feel free to contribute to
this opinion and editorial section. This isn’t just my paper or Tim’s paper
or Central Oregon Media Group’s paper — this is your paper.
█
Nick Rosenberger is a reporter. Email him at nrosenberger@redmondspokesman.com.
GUEST COLUMN
Put the kibosh
on porch piracy
BY PAUL STEIDLER
A
merica’s crime wave is com-
ing to your front door if it has
not hit there already.
Porch piracy — the theft of brand-
new, unopened items in packages ly-
ing just outside the
sanctuary of your
home’s living space
— is a hot trend.
Especially coveted
items include large-
screen televisions,
cell phones and any-
Steidler
thing from high-end
retailers. But even
the loss of items such as baby formula,
prescription medicines and medical de-
vices can be highly disruptive.
Ben Stickle at Middle Tennessee
State University, one of the country’s
top experts on porch piracy, found in a
thorough pre-pandemic study that 24
percent of 562 respondents surveyed in
49 states had been a victim of porch pi-
racy. The pandemic drove a significant
increase in package deliveries and, con-
sequently, in thefts.
A late 2021 survey by SafeWise, a
home security publication, put the fig-
ure at 64 percent, with 53.5 percent
having multiple packages stolen. The
hardest hit cities in 2021, according to
SafeWise: Denver, San Francisco, Salt
Lake City, Seattle and San Antonio.
Despite the audacity of someone
doing a near-home break-in to steal a
package, statistics on porch thefts are
likely underreported for several rea-
sons. Retailers often do not want to
upset a customer who suffered a theft
and often just agree to replace the item.
Customers who suspect thefts may also
hold off on making police reports be-
cause of the time involved, especially if
the item is insured or replaced.
It is time to get tough on thieves who
commit these crimes in broad daylight.
Even door cameras are not a deterrent
as perpetrators can easily cover their
faces with a hoodie, baseball cap or
other clothing.
Like many other crimes, the poor
and the middle class are most affected
by porch piracy. The well-off have
homes farther from the road, where
crimes are less likely to occur, and they
can afford devices and services where
packages can be safely stored. The poor
and middle class must worry about ne-
farious actors taking hard-earned, valu-
able items.
And we all should be concerned
about porch pirates becoming embold-
ened and moving to bigger crimes.
It is imperative to send a message
that porch piracy is unacceptable and
not worth the risks to those contem-
plating it.
Prosecutors should have the flexibil-
ity to treat porch piracy as a felony. Yet
federal law applies only to thefts from
the U.S. Postal Service, which delivers
32 percent of the country’s packages.
Stealing a Postal Service package
can mean up to five years in jail and a
$250,000 fine. Some thieves know to go
after non-Postal Service packages as the
penalties will be significantly lower, i.e.,
for trespassing or a theft misdemeanor.
States are already taking action. In
January, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
signed the Defense Against Porch Pi-
rates Act, which allows prosecutors to
seek fines up to $15,000 and/or three to
five years of imprisonment. Kentucky
Gov. Andy Beshear signed legislation
in June that toughens penalties as well.
Texas and Georgia did so earlier.
Congressman Dean Phillips of Min-
nesota has introduced the Porch Pirates
Act in the House of Representatives. It
would treat the theft of packages from
private carriers the same as the theft of
packages from the Postal Service while
ensuring prosecutorial discretion. The
measure, introduced in May, already
has a bipartisan group of 70 co-spon-
sors, 48 of them Democrats.
The congressman is spot-on in his
call for swift action to deter these esca-
lating crimes.
“Porch piracy is an increasingly
dangerous crime as more Americans,
especially our seniors, rely on deliv-
ery services for vital necessities such
as medicines and groceries. Ameri-
can consumers lose hundreds, if not
thousands, of dollars as victims of this
crime,” Phillips said.
Strengthening penalties against
porch piracy, as would happen under
Phillips’ legislation, is an overdue, com-
mon-sense action necessary to protect
American homes. It merits bipartisan
support, as it has already received in
many states.
Putting in place the same, long-
standing penalties pertaining to Postal
Service packages will deter crimes and
protect Americans, especially the mid-
dle class and poor.
█
Paul Steidler is a senior fellow with the
Lexington Institute, a public policy think
tank in Arlington, Virginia. He wrote this for
InsideSources.com.
CONTACT YOUR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
State
Redmond
Mayor George Endicott: george.endicott@
redmondoregon.gov, 541-948-3219
Deschutes County
County Commission Chair Patti Adair: Patti.
adair@deschutes.org, 541-388-6567
County Commission Vice Chair Tony DeBone:
Tony.deBone@deschutes.org, 541-388-6568
County Commissioner Phil Chang: Phil.
Chang@deschutes.org, 541-388-6569
Your Legislators
Rep. Jack Zika (District 53): 503-986-1453;
900 Court st. Ne, H-387, salem, OR 97301, Rep.
JackZika@oregonlegislature.gov
Sen. Tim Knopp (District 27): 503-986-1727;
900 Court st. Ne, s-425, salem, OR 97301, sen.
TimKnopp@oregonlegislature.gov
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown: 254 state Capitol,
salem, OR 97310; 503-378-3111; www.governor.
oregon.gov.
Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read: oregon.
treasurer@ost.state.or.us; 350 Winter st. Ne, suite
100, salem OR 97301-3896; 503-378-4000.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen F. Rosenblum:
Justice Building, salem, OR 97301-4096; 503-
378-4400.
Oregon Legislature: Legislative documents
and information are available online at www.leg.
state.or.us.
Federal
President Joe Biden: The White House, 1600
Pennsylvania ave., Washington, d.C. 20500;
202-456-1111; to send comments, go to www.
whitehouse.gov.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley: d.C. office: 313 Hart
senate Office Building, u.s. senate, Washington,
d.C., 20510; 202-224-3753; fax 202-228-3997.
Portland office: One World Trade Center, 121 s.W.
salmon st. suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204; 503-
326-3386; fax 503-326-2900. Baker City office,
1705 Main st., suite 504, 541-278-1129; merkley.
senate.gov.
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden: d.C. office: 221 dirksen
senate Office Building, Washington, d.C., 20510;
202-224-5244; fax 202-228-2717. La grande
office: 105 Fir st., No. 210, La grande, OR 97850;
541-962-7691; fax, 541-963-0885; wyden.senate.
gov.
U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz (2nd District): d.C.
office: 1239 Longworth House Office Building,
Washington, d.C., 20515, 202-225-6730; fax 202-
225-5774. Medford office: 14 N. Central avenue
suite 112, Medford, OR 97850; Phone: 541-776-
4646; fax: 541-779-0204; Ontario office: 2430 s.W.
Fourth ave., No. 2, Ontario, OR 97914; Phone:
541-709-2040. bentz.house.gov.
WRITE TO US
Ben Lonergan/east Oregonian
Nick Rosenberger reporting on an anti-vaccine rally, while working for the
East Oregonian in Pendleton in September 2021.
Editorials reflect the views of the Spokesman’s editorial board,
Publisher Heidi Wright and Editor Tim Trainor.
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