When a fire broke out a few miles from his Altadena, California, home the evening of January 7, 2025, Matt Blea and his family needed to make a crucial decision: Should they stay home, or evacuate? A friend who did mountain rescue told Blea to download a free app called Watch Duty. On the app, he could see the fire’s perimeter, …

School closures have become an incendiary issue in nearly every corner of the country, as enrollment declines and expenses climb. For the past five years, an average of 750 public schools nationwide have joined the graveyard of closed schools, with elementary schools leading the way. Urban, suburban, rural schools — they are all among the disappeared.  And then there’s Seiad Elementary …

Last Sunday, President Trump turned 80. By the end of his term, he will be the oldest president in U.S. history. “I feel the same as I did 50 years ago,” Mr. Trump said last month. “It’s crazy.” In a New York Times column on June, 14, 2026, Times Opinion asked a handful of notable older Americans to share the …

Jen Marsden speaking to students in a “Future Foundations” class, required of all juniors. It is Tuesday, Period 8, a few days after spring break at Ashland High School. “What’s up?” a boy with a Ducks sweatshirt asks his buddy as they fist bump and then join me at the back of the classroom. I am doing my best to …

Lithia Springs Rotary float, Fourth of July Parade In a world darkened by war, divisiveness, and unrestrained power, small stories of grace fight for light. The 7 a.m. gathering of the Rotary Club of Ashland Lithia Springs, an offspring of the larger Rotary Club of Ashland, is one of these small stories. Welcoming and fellowship, service and generosity — it …

A good friend of mine here in Ashland made the headlines last summer when she was attacked by one of the town’s resident deer. She was walking her rescue dog, Terra, when the deer with her fawn saw the pair and charged. “My dog was smart enough to run home,” Marilyn Hawkins told the Ashland News. “The doe decided to shove …

Here in Southern Oregon, few roadside attractions are more iconic than the Oregon Vortex and its famous House of Mystery — a crooked little shack perched above a creek where the ordinary laws of physics seem more like suggestions than rules.  “Visitors to the Vortex have long experienced the strange effects for themselves,” a promotional brochure explains. “Inside the House of …