The Way: An Ideas Space
Introducing New Goals for Our Platform
Thank you for reading this week’s edition of The Oregon Way. My name is Brad Phelps, and I will be leading the day-to-day operations of The Oregon Way, which is OR360’s op-ed page and newsletter, for the next couple of months.
Since graduating from Princeton University two weeks ago, I have returned to Oregon for the first time in nearly two years. The Beachie Creek Fire destroyed my childhood home on the Little North Fork of the Santiam River in September 2020. I had left the week before to live with some friends as we virtually began our junior years of college. I was sitting on an orange comforter in my tiny bedroom in New Jersey when my mom called early one morning. She choked up on the words, “I don’t know how to tell you this, son.” Our house had burned the night before. I had everything I needed with me, but the call haunted the rest of my day as I zoomed into my classes and made dinner for my housemates. My parents were safe, trying to piece together their lives.
Meanwhile, I tried to understand what it meant to be personally affected by a tragedy thousands of miles away. I opened the New York Times app the next day to see the smoldering remains of Mill City and Gates. It was surreal to see the place I had grown up pictured at its lowest.
Oregon is back in the news. A woman has been charged with murdering her husband. An election count has gone historically wrong. And systemic housing and homelessness problem characterizes communities across the state. Troubling trends litter the front pages, but states like ours only seem to grab national headlines when troubled.
However, I see many reasons for hope. I see communities around the state coming together to identify problems and try new things to address them. The Way should be a community where policy experts and state and local leaders share and learn about innovative ideas. We want to focus our content on solutions that cities and the state can implement with great impact. In the coming weeks, we may need to reduce our op-ed output as we figure out how to realize these goals for our platform, but we think it will make our products even stronger.
Thank you for being a part of this conversation. Feel free to email me with thoughts, ideas, or criticisms. Here’s to a better Oregon!
To Do:
Read the latest edition of the Liftoff. Ben and Alex cover Oregon’s gun violence debate, the latest polling in the gubernatorial race, and more.
Listen to (or watch) the latest episode of the Oregon Bridge. Oregonian reporter Mike Rogoway talks to Ben and Alex about inflation, recessions, and what you should know about Oregon’s economy.
Let us know how we can improve!
Thank you for reading.
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Photo Credit: "Canyon Creek Recreation Site" by BLM Oregon & Washington is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Hi Brad !!! Welcome home, what happened in the canyon was such a tragedy. My wife and I were able to go help a few days in Stayton at the food pantry set up at Anthony Hall. I sincerely hope TheWay can continue. Oregon needs balance more than ever. As I told Kevin , being a rural Oregonian , I feel like an alien in my own land. More needs to be done to get the word out about how rural people are being buried by regulations born of progressive politicians in 3 metro areas. Just the other day was speaking to a friend who farms hazelnuts in Clackamas county. He got a notice that he would need to get rid of his diesel truck. No understanding of what he goes through. Sincerely , Fred Vandecoevering