ELIZABETH HOVDE

Political writings from The Oregonian's columnist just right of center

Being green is great. Being philanthropic is even better. And if your closet is host to a wedding dress, gently used running shoes or some pretty prom-style dresses you don't mind parting with, you can do both. Here are three innovative nonprofit efforts helping people near and far with specific used clothing donations: Adorned in Grace is a nonprofit, used... Full story »

Three cheers for Grant High School Principal Joseph Malone for suggesting that students attending his high school’s prom be given a breathalyzer test at the door. It will give kids who don’t want to drink another reason to stay sober. It will help enforce many parents’ guidelines for their kids. (What parent doesn’t need backup on prom night?) And teens... Full story »

Police don’t feel supported in this community. That should come as no surprise. In addition to putting their lives on the line in the course of a day’s work, officers’ reputations and character are also on the line. And, lately, they’re feeling like they’ve been hung out to dry. But after receiving around 300 responses from my recent column about... Full story »

Elizabeth Hovde:With Republican Jim Huffman's announcement that he's running for the U.S. Senate, incumbent Democrat Ron Wyden will face a serious, credible challenger in the November general election.  Full story »

The Oregon Legislature is right to send voters a proposal to let them meet every year instead of every two years. It’s too bad the proposal was accompanied by what was seen as a lot of drama in the special session’s last days, making something fairly common and logical look controversial. Meeting annually, with time constraints on the number of... Full story »

Elizabeth Hovde: Instead of officer retraining, it's possible we need citizen retraining, so critics will at least wait until they have all the facts of a case before accusing Portland police officers of the unthinkable. Full story »

New credit card rules have arrived, but don’t expect them to prevent people from continuing to be stupid with credit. And they could result in credit becoming harder to obtain or fewer interest rate options for responsible borrowers.  Lending money to people through credit cards carries with it a lot of risk. Lenders need to recoup what some borrowers fail... Full story »

One of my favorite love-to-disagree-with writers, syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman, retired in January.  I'm bummed. I've read her work pretty faithfully for a decade.  And I will miss circling phrases, underlining sentences and writing follow-up questions or contrary points (with far too many exclamation points behind them) in the margins of the newspaper next to her words. Despite disagreeing with Goodman... Full story »

Elizabeth Hovde:After years of inaction, a lot of people are doing something to fight the sex trafficking of minors in the Portland area. Full story »

In case you missed CBS’s “Undercover Boss,” on Sunday, here are three things I learned about Hooters and its CEO, Coby Brooks:  1. While the CEO seemed thoughtful, kind and concerned about the company’s success and its workers, he has clearly been drinking too much Hooters Wing Sauce over the years. Why?  He says he would let his two young... Full story »

Elizabeth Hovde: Authors' tips can help Facebooking couples with issues of trust on social networking sites. Full story »

Here’s a good, local example displaying why Oregonians should be worried about the distribution of names and addresses of petition signers in this information age.  Full story »

President Barack Obama likely has a standing invitation to just about any fraternity fete or community-college coffee klatch since pledging to expand a school loan forgiveness program. The president already was a hit with young people who typically don't pay property taxes or have mortgages. With his pledge to wipe out some college debt for future graduates, he's probably... Full story »

If you had to choose one of the following for your middle-school-aged child, which would it be: a.       Abstinence-only classes. b.      Safe-sex classes. c.       A program incorporating both approaches (comprehensive sex education).   d.      Classes on general healthy behavior, such as eating well and exercise.   Before you marry yourself to an answer, know that a recent study found... Full story »