Having people with different viewpoints debate each other on television is nearly as old as TV itself. But the shoutfests of today common to the cable news channels bear little resemblance to some of the meatier discussions of earlier days. Like the ones hosted by conservative icon William F. Buckley, on his show "Firing Line." The creation of the show and its legacy are examined by Heather Hendershot in the book Open to Debate: How William F. Buckley Put Liberal America on the Firing Line .

Wilderness lovers, off-roaders, and cattle: can they all get along on the same public land? Maybe not the exact same parcels, but the Bureau of Land Management is working to accommodate all three in Southeast Oregon. BLM is making amendments to its Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan , and a comment period is open until August 28th for people who have ideas and issues on land use.

Salmon have proven time and again to be good indicators of overall ecosystem health. And according to coho salmon, we have ecosystem issues in the region. Four coho runs on the West Coast are listed as either endangered or threatened, and people of many organizations and skillsets are working to bring them back. Many of those people gather in the lower Klamath River country this week for the annual Coho Confab .

"Medicare For All" and "Socialized Medicine" are diametrically opposed terms that really mean one thing: a single-payer health insurance, like our Medicare. Advocates for such a system tout its potential ease of use, while opponents warn of long waits for care. Count Timothy Faust strongly in the Yes column; he is the author of Health Justice Now , a full-throated defense of single-payer.

Oregon prides itself on being an open-government state, with public information easily obtained by the public. Journalists can and will tell you that the reality is not quite so transparent. But the state now has a Public Records Advocate and a Public Records Advisory Council; PRAC just released results of its first-ever survey of state and local governments about their public records requests and practices. The response rate was high, but responses were not mandated by law.

Maybe you're not familiar with the word "microcystin," but there's a good chance you recognize the term "harmful algae bloom," an increasingly frequent event in bodies of water. Many of the more toxic outbreaks are actually bacteria that release microcystin, and they are showing up with increasing frequency around the country.

Not everybody learns at the same rate. We know that now, and devise educational plans around it, but it took us a while. When Jonathan Mooney was in school, nobody quite knew how to deal with the ADHD and learning disabilities he displayed. He learned to read by age 12, but not before riding the "short bus" to his school and enduring the feeling that he was not normal. Normal Sucks is the title of his latest book ( The Short Bus was another), Jonathan's reminder that narrowly defining "normal"

The major political discussions about health insurance in our country revolve around how to get more people covered. So it perplexed more than a few observers when the numbers of children covered by public health insurance programs like Medicaid and CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) appeared to dip last year. California, because of its large population, showed one of the largest declines, though not by percentage. Was it an improving economy, or something else? Dr. Cara James at the

The arguments over the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas plant (LNG) and pipeline are hot. No surprise, given the plans for the export terminal near North Bend and the 200-mile-plus pipeline running to it. But it was a bit of a surprise when a British journalism organization revealed that LNG opponents have been monitored by law enforcement agencies. The Coos County Sheriff's Office says it's only collecting items before the public, like on social media. But groups like Southern Oregon Rising

Learning about the harsh processes used to create synthetic fabrics and dyes can curl your hair. And some of the chemicals used in the processes can do that, and much worse. So there's a greater emphasis over time on making fashion sustainable and earth-friendly. Keith Recker keeps an eye on the evolution from his role as editor of Hand/Eye magazine and as a color consultant for Pantone, the color standard-setters. He talks about the revival of nature-based dyes in his book True Colors: World