Sorry, but for those of you jonesing for Part 2 of my post on Mark Hatfield (and I’ve heard from quite a few of you who are), you’ll just have to wait until next week as ballots are in the mail this week for the Oregon primary election. (Return ballots must be postmarked by election day, May 17, or received by 8 p.m. that day at an official drop site or elections office.) I just could not resist giving Oregon Democrats the benefit of my counsel when they are deciding on who to vote for in the Democratic primary for governor.

In addition, at the very end I also make an endorsement in the Democratic primary for Oregon’s new 6th congressional district seat.

We live in a polarized nation divided between rural and urban with the suburbs and exurbs swinging toward the Democrats, allowing that party to retake the House.

This is the second part of a two-part series on the threat of new oil and gas exploitation off the coasts of the United States. The first part outlined the Trump administration’s draft proposal and answered five key questions about what the impacts of the proposed development might be.

Big Timber in Oregon is so 20th Century. It used to be that timber jobs were above the state’s median wage; now they are below it. Today, only 1.3 percent of Oregon’s jobs arise from falling trees. That number will continue to decline in relative terms as Oregon’s economy continues to grow, and it will continue to decline in absolute terms as the timber industry continues to automate.