• Bringing a sad secret out of the darkness
A recent editorial in The Oregonian highlighted the complexities of presumptive cancer legislation ("Be kind to firefighters, and to taxpayers," Nov. 21).

• TRANSPORTATION PLANNING
L ast spring and summer, during the heated debate over the nature of the future Columbia Crossing, the price of crude oil was approaching $150 a barrel and the price of gasoline appeared to be on an inexorable march to $5 a gallon. Critics of the automobile as our primary mode of transportation gleefully embraced these prices as evidence of "peak oil." Planners and politicians alike took the position that people would abandon their cars and look for mass-transit options to get across the river. Hence there was no need to include increased vehicular capacity while planning the $4 billion project.

• A little insurance for our coastal economy
Y ou may laugh when I tell you there are some bright spots in Oregon's economy. But hear me out. In economically uncertain times, wouldn't it be wise to have some insurance to protect our communities against debilitating economic blows? Well, when it comes to our coastal economy, that insurance exists in a kind of natural resource management called marine reserves, protected areas that, according to top marine biologists, would allow valuable fish stocks to rebuild and grow abundant.

• Jobs we can't afford to turn our backs on
O ver the past couple of months, Oregon has lost more than 10,000 jobs, and a recently announced $1 billion state budget shortfall gave the state's economy and its workers another punch in the gut. With the state headed into a recession -- and losing good-paying jobs that support Oregon families -- we need to seize opportunities to get people working again.

• 'PIGGOTT'S FOLLY' PAST AND PRESENT
A s a longtime garage sale and thrift store freak, I've gotten so I can sense a "treasure moment," a moment when I find something rare and valuable, or some simple, charming thing that opens a window in the mind. Such was Henry Sheldon's book "Northwest Corner," a 1948 collection of black-and-white photos that surprises, with one shot dating from my first year in Oregon.

• A JOURNALIST NONPAREIL
The news went nearly unnoticed in the post-election adrenaline buzz of Your Nation's Capital this month: An 88-year-old woman, recently recovered from an illness, returned to work. Good thing, too. Now more than ever, the nation needs Helen Thomas on the job.

• A David-size fix for a Goliath-size deficit
T he rainy day is here, but our emergency fund is full of holes.

• Leafing through our municipal future
I was raking my leaves, shuddering at the thought of missing one, especially now. You see, it's been one year since Mayor Sam Adams enacted the No Leaf Left Behind law.

• WHAT IT TAKES TO GOVERN
N ow that the presidential election is behind us and we've entered the proverbial honeymoon period for the president-elect, it's a good time to consider three items from Barack Obama's biography that make me more optimistic about the years ahead.

• Seeing the off-ramps in the Klamath deal
T he recently signed "Agreement in Principle" to remove dams on the Klamath River may one day result in dam decommissioning. But it's not likely.

• Navigating a change in our water future
R eaders of the recent article in The Oregonian concerning groundwater in the Cascades ("Cascades hide a mother lode of water," Oct. 20) and the follow-up opinion piece by Douglas Woodcock and Marshall Gannett ("Clearing the air on all that water," Oct. 31) might understandably be confused about the current state of knowledge on the source and availability of water in the Cascades now and in the future. There is actually a high level of agreement among federal, state and university scientists and water managers on this important issue. So let me help to clarify both the knowns and unknowns about the Cascade's remarkable groundwater system.

• Seizing our chance in the midst of crisis
T he country's ongoing financial meltdown is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We shouldn't waste it.

• A HOLIDAY, A BIRTHDAY
The last time my birthday fell on Thanksgiving was when I turned 16. I celebrated both occasions at my grandmother's retirement home in Austin, Texas. The gathering was small: myself, two cousins, my mom and her two sisters. My grandmother was in the early stages of dementia -- far enough along that her children had moved her into Westminster, but not so progressed that she didn't recognize her grandkids.

• FUNDING TRANSPORTATION COSTS
No one can accuse Gov. Ted Kulongoski of playing it safe as he prepares for his final legislative session as Oregon's governor. By unveiling a $1 billion transportation package a week after Democrats racked up electoral margins in both houses that will allow them to raise fees and taxes without requiring any Republican votes, the governor clearly is tempting fate.

• INCLUDE ETHNICITY, OR LEAVE IT OUT?
A photo of Lesli Calderon walking down a sidewalk inside her apartment complex in Portland's Cully neighborhood appeared on the front page of The Oregonian recently. (Nov. 16, "A trip to a city grocery store seems like a small thing," the story began.)

• Beholden to all but indebted to none
W ith the election now well behind us, I'd like to thank the voters and taxpayers of Portland for electing me to the City Council. You can be sure I'll work hard to continue to earn your trust.

• Facing the challenge of a revenue shortfall
T his isn't a good time to be a state legislator. In Oregon, state revenues are now projected to be $1 billion short of paying for existing services in the next biennial budget. At the same time, the economic downturn is putting pressure on all levels of government to hand out help to households and businesses.

• The right medicine for an ailing budget
T oday we'll find out just how deep Oregon is in the hole when the state economist presents the latest revenue forecast. No one is -- or should be -- expecting good news.

• The buck stops with public accountability
I n its editorial last week concerning the Joint Terrorism Task Force ("Put the city back on terrorism task force," Nov. 15) The Oregonian's editorial board continues a familiar theme discounting the importance of civilian oversight of the Portland Police Bureau and suggesting that by voting to withdraw from the JTTF in 2005, the City Council made Portland less patriotic, less part of our nation, "a city alone, unto itself."

• The ultimate gift in a time of crisis
I n a few weeks, television screens will be aglow across Oregon as we collectively return to a holiday favorite, "It's a Wonderful Life." This year our eyes may mist a bit more because we, too, are feeling the pain of unexpected loss. Dismal front page news conveys layoffs, shrunken retirement funds and bank closures. Who knew that life in the early 21st century would imitate the art of Frank Capra's 1946?

• GIVING THANKS
Here's what I'm thankful for: When I was 21, I was living on the streets, estranged from my child and without hope. I was a heavy methamphetamine user. All I cared about was getting high. At first it was for attention. My brother was a drug user, and I craved the attention and friends he had. I started using with him at a young age and developed my own habit. I struggled with drugs for six years.

• In other news
Marcus Mundy on other topics:

• PUBLIC SERVICE
F or the past 12 years it has been my privilege to serve as state director for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith. Whenever someone asked me precisely what a "state director" does, I would explain that since the senator was required to be in Washington, D.C., the majority of the time, my job was to be his "eyes and ears" in Oregon. It is a job that has allowed me to see, hear and learn a great deal about Oregon, as I traveled to all of our state's 36 counties, and the vast majority of its 250-plus incorporated cities and towns.

• An environmental legacy of distinction?
I n the twilight of President George W. Bush's final term, opportunities to strengthen his mark on history diminish by the hour. As attention shifts to executive actions that will not be undone by the next president, Bush has a golden opportunity to strengthen his environmental record and create lasting benefits for oceans and for generations of people from all nations. A decision to protect two remote regions under U.S. jurisdiction in the Pacific Ocean could leave a unique legacy of distinction.

• A blue election tide -- or a white one?
W hile the rest of the nation celebrates a transformational election that couldn't have taken place without minorities in general and Barack Obama in particular gaining access to political power, the Oregon Legislature will convene in 2009 as the least diverse it's been in decades.

• There's nothing new in the 'new' evidence
T he misdirected media attention that originally surrounded the death in police custody of James Chasse -- followed now by the posturing of the family's attorney for financial gain -- has caused many issues about the case to be misunderstood or ignored.

• A walk in the woods with a distant war
L ast night, when the moon was gone and the neighborhood quiet, I grabbed my coat and walked down the hill toward Wilderness Park. With me was my squad of young soldiers, dead and wounded still living in my memory. The air was wet and cool as they followed me down the block, gliding under streetlights and sliding past parked cars. At the bottom of the hill we turned silently into the thick, dark woods.

• The upside of our role-model-in-chief
I have a confession to make: I'm younger than 30 and I didn't vote for Barack Obama.

• 'CLEANSING' GERMAN AMERICAN CULTURE
"9/11": the cultural icon of our fearful, belligerent age. But 90 years ago today another national struggle found its own numeric cultural icon: "11/11 11:11" -- the date and time of the armistice that ended the First World War, at eleven minutes past the eleventh hour on 11 November, 1918.

• FOREIGNERS AND OBAMA'S COLOR
During the past few months and as the election campaign came to its end, I, as a foreign correspondent in the nation's capital, was interviewed about the campaign by some reporters for a variety of European, Arab and African media outlets, and I was mostly struck by their constant and repetitive questioning -- sometimes to the extent of obsession -- about Obama's skin color.

• THE LETTERS EDITOR SIGNS OFF
In the past 12 years as editor of The Oregonian's letters section, I have learned a lot.

• THE SARAH PALIN CANDIDACY
A nd so we bid farewell to Sarah Palin. How I'll miss her daily presence in my life! The mooseburgers, the wolf hunts, the kids named after bays and sports and trees and airplanes and who did not seem to go to school at all, the winks and blinks, the cute Alaska accent, the witch-hunting pastor and those great little flared jackets, especially the gray stripey one.

• What's left for the right?
M ystery solved. Last Tuesday's election finally showed Republicans what we need to do to win a statewide office in Oregon: Run as a Democrat.

• WHAT WE SAID . . . THEN
Editor's note: Following are excerpts from staff editorials that appeared in The Oregonian on the morning after Americans elected presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Clinton and George W. Bush:

• Making more sense of our voting system
N ow that a winner has emerged in Oregon's down-to-the-wire U.S. Senate race, one nagging question persists: What effect did the third-party candidacy of Dave Brownlow have on the election?