| Perspective from the 19th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write. I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf. The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie. And it is where you want to be on a golf course. To answer the question in this blog headline: In Oregon, the word generally refers to 14 rivers in the state where boats can float and travel. And it also means, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), that 100,000 miles of waterways “are in legal limbo.” More on that story in a minute, but first the definition of the word: “Navigable means deep, wide, or clear enough for ships and boats to travel through.” The word caught my attention for a reason beyond the OPB report. Our recent trip to Europe for a river cruise down the Danube River from Bucharest, Romania, to Budapest, Hungary. Except the river wasn’t “navigable.” Instead, we spent our trip on a “Bus Cruise.” The water level in the Danube and other European rivers was at historic lows. The Viking ship we were supposed to board in Bucharest ran aground the day before as it attempted to reach port to disembark passengers before we could board. Viking said it couldn’t get another ship to us because of low water, so told us and other passengers that we would be on buses for the rest of the trip. Back to the point: The river wasn’t “navigable.” Our tough luck. Mother Nature created high temperatures for so long in Eastern Europe that a lot of stuff, not just ships, don’t work. That includes nuclear power plants where there is not enough water to cool the turbines. Back to the OPB story. |
| “Three Rivers is a tributary of the Nestucca River on the northern Oregon Coast. One particular fishing hole, thjree miles south of Hebo, sits just below the Cedar Creek Fish Hatchery. “The land next to this fishing hole is publicly owned, so lots of people come here to fish when the season is open. But a few yards downstream, a thick piece of wire is strung across the river indicating privately owned land. “In June, property owners Gary Stover, ACC Outdoors LLC, and Nicholas Stover filed suit against anglers for trespassing along this stretch. They’re seeking damages of $100,000 from each defendant. “Plaintiffs say the anglers fished on their land, but the anglers argue that under Oregon’s statehood laws, the river is navigable and therefore they’re within their rights to wade through the water and fish.” So, the word navigable applies both to Eastern Europe and rural Oregon. |
Perspective from the 19th Hole 