Welcome changes: Earlier access to McPhee, addition to Phil’s World improve area recreation

Outdoor recreation in Southwest Colorado is benefiting from a change in an operating date, and a much expanded resource. At McPhee Reservoir north of Cortez, boat launching will ...

Oxford land-use meeting clarified

After reviewing the revised La Plata County Land Use Code, and attending the public meeting on Jan. 9, I have come to the conclusion that there are numerous misconceptions regarding this pla...

Schultz: Quote the president and skip the asterisks

This week marked the beginning of the spring semester at Kent State, where I teach journalism as a professional in residence. One of the rituals of the first day of class is to go over the s...

Mueller: Congress must ensure healthy forests and secure watersheds

It’s not fire season right now – or at least it shouldn’t be – but continuing drought and seemingly constant shifts in “normal” weather patterns set the stage for record-setting, winter wild...

Editorial cartoon

Will: In Oregon, progressivism spills over at the pump

WASHINGTON – Frank Lloyd Wright purportedly said, “Tip the world over on its side and everything loose will land in Los Angeles.” Today, however, Oregon is the state with the strangest state...

Brooks: Conflicting views on how democracies perish

Everybody agrees society is in a bad way, but what exactly is the main cause of the badness? Some people emphasize economic issues: The simultaneous concentration of wealth at t...

Harnett: Reader thanks Herald for sexual assault columns

Thank you for addressing the pervasiveness of sexual harassment and assault in Durango and La Plata County, and society in general. Your weekly series of front-page articles provi...

Cory and the A.G.: Sen. Gardner may be the man to hold Sessions and Trump to their word

Our hats go off to Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) for standing up for Coloradans earlier this month and against what he viewed as the federal government trampling on the will of the voters in Co...

Kristof: Trump’s threat to Democracy

Two political scientists specializing in how democracies decay and die have compiled four warning signs to determine if a political leader is a dangerous authoritarian: 1. The lea...

Rankin: Teacher to class: “Can you hear me now?”

“It’s just common sense.” How many times have you heard this phrase and thought “If only more people would just use common sense”? I was thinking that during a conversation with Dan Snowberg...

Vandeman: Mountain biking is destructive

Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1996. (See: ...