The 70s were a different era. Kids did things other than look at a cellphone all day. Columnist John Moore (top left) was in a rock band in 1976. Courtesy John Moore Before cable television, the Internet, and social media reshaped how we spend our free time,...
Saddened. Embarrassed. Determined. These three words evoke distinct feelings and emotions. In the context of an opinion piece we ran in the last week’s paper, they describe the aftermath of a community that lost its newspaper. After 130 years in business, the Commerce...
This week the media is focusing on Sunshine Week. It is a time to celebrate a free press and what it means for you and your community to have access to public information. Several weeks ago, I read a letter that should be shared with every community. While the message...
Dear Rusty: Can or does the Social Security Administration occasionally make mistakes in determining the benefits due? I’m now 72 but I retired early at age 61 and knew that my benefits would be reduced. I’ve always wondered if my monthly benefit calculation was...
AUSTIN — As the worldwide threat of novel coronavirus increased, state agencies already were working together to ensure the health and safety of all Texans, Gov. Greg Abbott said Feb. 27. After a briefing from state and federal health officials on coronavirus...
Whatever our political views, certainly we can agree we have the right to know how government is conducting business. How are taxpayer dollars spent? Who is influencing decisions? Access to information allows us to speak up and hold public officials accountable, while...
Journalists relentlessly pursue the truth in order to provide citizens with the information they need to be self-governing. And yet, for journalists, doing that work can be risky, dangerous and even cost lives. Just 15 months ago the deadliest attack on journalists...
You’re probably chuckling already. Seriously? “The joy of politics”? That was pretty much the reaction I got the other day when, in the middle of a conversation about how confrontational, adversarial, and downright unpleasant politics has become of late, I...
Democracy’s premise is that ordinary citizens can make solid decisions on complex issues. But this basic principle and the structure of laws and practices erected over the centuries to safeguard it are being questioned as rarely before. It’s not just that political...
