After several delays, Congress passed a version of the US Farm Bill today that will likely decide the fate of $290 billion over the next five years.

The reaction has been varied, even within political parties. Senator Gordon Smith calls it the "best ever for Oregon." Meanwhile, President Bush has promised to veto the bill, saying it provides government pay-outs to wealthy farmers. The issue of subsidies has made for strange political bedfellows. Democratic Representative Earl Blumenauer agrees with President Bush, saying "At a time when Americans are struggling to pay their mortgage, food and energy bills, we should help people who need it and not lavish resources on people who don't."

Along with subsidies for wealthy farmers, several projects included in the bill are being singled out as excessive spending, such as a tax break for horse owners in Kentucky. A $170 million package to support the Pacific Coast salmon-fishing industry has attracted some unflattering attention.

Are you happy with the farm bill? Should farmers receive aid at a time of record high food prices? Are these programs pork, or necessary aid to struggling industries?

LISTEN TO "Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (D)" (24MB MP3)

In February, Darlene Hooley, the U.S. Congresswoman representing Oregon's 5th District, surprised Oregonians by announcing her retirement after six terms -- with less than a month left for people to register to run. Since then the District has been buzzing with excitement as Republicans and Democrats vie for the hotly contested seat. Tomorrow we'll be joined by three Democratic candidates.

Andy Foster is a small business owner in Corvallis and a graduate student and researcher at Oregon State University. This is his first time seeking public office, though he has volunteered for the Benton County Democratic Party and the British Labour Party in the past.

Steve Marks lives in Marion County. He's best known for his work as chief of staff and senior policy adviser for Governor John Kitzhaber. He continues to work with Kitzhaber as an advocate for his health care reform organization, the Archimedes Movement. He also represents economic and agricultural interests in Oregon.

Kurt Schrader has been in the Oregon State Senate since 2003, and in the Oregon House of Representatives for six years before that. He is also a small businessman and veterinarian, currently running clinics in West Linn and Oregon City. Previously he raised organic produce on Canby's Three Rivers Farms.

What would you like to ask these candidates? How they want to reform health care? What they think the U.S. should do about the war in Iraq? Or, more broadly, why they think they're best suited to represent the District in Congress?

GUESTS:

Andy Foster: a small business owner and graduate student/research assistant at Oregon State University

Steve Marks: past chief of staff for Governor Kitzhaber and an advocate for the Archimedes Movement

Kurt Schrader: an Oregon State Senator and a veterinarian in West Linn and Oregon City

LISTEN TO "Stranded in Oregon" (24MB MP3)

For nearly three weeks now, protesters have camped outside Portland City Hall, demonstrating their objection to the city's anti-camping law as well as the so-called "sit/lie" ordinance. We've discussed these laws on our show in the past. On Wednesday we'll update you on this story and expand the discussion to homelessness in rural parts of the state.

There are a few emergency shelters for people in towns like Bend and Redmond, but some choose to stay in make-shift camps like the one on China Hat Road, while others couch surf with friends. Homelessness is on the rise in central Oregon and the volunteers and shelter employees I spoke with today said they have seen an increase in homeless families in the region. One organization is focusing on the specific challenges of rural poverty to craft a ten year plan to end homelessness in Deschutes, Crook and Jefferson counties.

How serious is the homeless problem in rural Oregon? Can the issue be solved in ten short years? How can local governments and organizations eliminate the barriers between services and the people who need them most?

UPDATE, 5/14/08 at 7:05am
You can download a statewide map (PDF) showing what various counties around the state are doing to end homelessness here.

GUESTS:

• Pete Springer: Reporter for OPB News
• Christina Riggs: Director of the La Pine Community Kitchen
• Richard Berg: President of the Congregation for Nativity Lutheran Church in Bend
• Cindy Pasko: Director of community development for the Partnership to End Poverty

Photo credit: Pete Springer, OPB

In case you missed our conversation with Kevin Mannix today, we thought we'd give you some of the highlights.

Our callers (and a few commenters) focused most intently on Mannix's claims that the allegations about Mike Erickson that he mailed to voters yesterday are related to his interest in victims' rights. As Mannix stated:

Our caller Steve from Portland wanted no part of this:

Mannix responded:

LISTEN TO "Primary Conversations: 5th Congressional District (R)" (24MB MP3)

Until not too long ago, Oregon's only open Congressional seat wasn't actually open. But then Democratic Rep. Darlene Hooley announced that she wasn't seeking reelection in the 5th District -- the continual cross-country flights and fundraising were a serious strain, she told us in February -- and this election season got a lot more interesting.

The 5th Congressional District looks sort of like a T that fell on its side. It starts with a long stretch of coast, moves east past Polk County on the way to Salem, dips south into Corvallis, pushes eastward in Marion and Clackamas counties to Mt. Hood, and makes its way up to Portland's south side. All of this geographic and demographic diversity seems to have created an evenly divided electorate: the Rothenberg Political Report has written that out of 435 House races this November, Oregon's 5th is one of only 15 that will be "pure toss-ups."

To get to that toss-up, of course, the various hopeful nominees will have to get past May 20. The Democrats have a lively primary race on their hands, and their top three candidates will be joining us on Thursday. But tomorrow we're turning to the Republican race.

Mike Erickson, a Lake Oswego businessman who lost to Hooley in 2006, is in the running. He lists securing America's borders to stop illegal immigration as his highest priority, and he wants to establish English as our official language. He promises to bring "a businessman's approach to government," which includes cutting both taxes and spending. After spending about $1.5 million of his own money in 2006, he has already kicked in more than $590,000 this time around. Unfortunately, despite repeated requests, Erickson's campaign has told us that because of his schedule he won't be able to join this Primary Conversation.

Kevin Mannix will be here. The lawyer, former state legislator, statewide office-seeker (with two bids each for Attorney General and Governor), previous Oregon Republican Party Chairman, and tough-on-crime initiative champion is a pretty recognizable figure in state politics. He wants to make Bush's tax cuts permanent, encourage environmentally sound oil exploration and drilling (as well as energy conservation), and secure our borders "through all necessary means."

Are you a registered Republican in Newport, Keizer, Oregon City, or Molalla? What issues are most important for you in this primary? And who are you hoping to send on to the general?

LISTEN TO "McCain and the Veteran Vote" (24MB MP3)

This sure is an exciting time in Oregon. Over the next couple of days Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will be traveling across the state, courting votes for the May 20th Primary. Then on Monday the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, makes his first visit to this fine state.

When Barack Obama first came to Oregon we did a show about race. When Hillary Clinton came we talked about gender and the generational divide. Now that John McCain is coming, we're turning to veterans.

One of the big things that differentiates John McCain from the other people vying to be the next Commander in Chief is his military experience. He served as a Navy pilot in Vietnam, flying attack aircraft from carriers. In 1967, he was shot down, injured, and then held captive as a prisoner of war for five-and-a-half years.

This experience has obviously shaped his life, his campaign, and his position on the war in Iraq and veterans affairs.

Are you a veteran of war? How has your experience shaped the way you look at the presidential race? How important is support for military families, healthcare for retired veterans, the recognition of servicepeople killed at war to you?

Do you think someone needs to be a veteran of war in order to be an effective Commander in Chief?

How does your experience at war impact your vote?

Photo credit: Wigwam Jones / Flickr / Creative Commons

GUESTS:

General Merrill “Tony” McPeak (retired): Senator Barack Obama's military advisor and national campaign co-chairman

Tim Glaser: Veteran of Iraqi Freedom and Desert Storm. He now works as a computer contractor and lives in East Vancouver

John Neuman: A six-tour veteran of the Vietnam War, regional director of the Pacific Rim States for the Vietnam Veterans Association and founder of Veterans of Oregon

As soon as we left the studio today, our whole show staff gathered around the coffee maker to talk about just one thing: Emily's lack of experience with dog scarves.

Emily's a hiker, a biker, a woman about town. So it stood to reason that at some point in her peregrinations she'd seen a dog with a bandana around its neck. (In my mind the dogs are always labs, the bandanas are always red, and the effect is always cloying. Like this.)

The topic had come up because we got a caller on today's show who is making dog scarves with Hillary on them. And so while I was imagining frisky retrievers in standard faux-outdorsy habberdashery, Emily was asking, "What about Pekinese? Don't they trip on the ends of the scarf?"

Which cracked us all up. Perhaps Emily had spent too much time in Europe, we thought. Dogs don't wear real scarves! But it turns out she had a point.

Photo credit: Googlefish / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "The Roadshow's Sideshow" (24MB MP3)

The presidential candidates are actively courting Oregon voters and people across the state are delighted to join in the fun. One Portlander has been designing and selling his own biodegradable campaign posters. Chelsea Clinton's appearance at a local fundraiser got gossip columnists humming and helped her mom woo gay voters. Now Portland's only lesbian bar is hoping the former first daughter will grace them with her presence next week .

Pizza joints and coffee shops around the state are gearing up for the possibility of a suprise visit by John McCain, who will be in Portland on Monday, Hillary Clinton, who is in Central Point today and Portland on Friday, and Barack Obama who plans to be in the state on Friday and Saturday. Television stations are selling ads and event planners have been busy making arrangements with venues in the area. Meanwhile, local police are absorbing the costs of overtime pay for officers assigned to campaign events.

How have the presidential campaigns impacted your local community? How are you preparing for a visit from the candidates? What do you want the candidates to remember about their time in the Beaver state?

GUESTS:

• Rob Manning: Reporter for OPB News, reporting live from Hillary Clinton's roundtable discussion on health care at Oregon Health Sciences University
• John-Paull Davidson: Designer and graphic artist
• Mark O'Brien: Managing partner of American Dream Pizza in Corvallis
• Brian Wilson: Volunteer board member of Red Dress PDX
• John Clayton: Reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader

Photo credit: tyfn / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "Got Health Care?" (24MB MP3)

In January, we did a show about the Oregon Health Plan. After freezing enrollment in 2002, the OHP opened up 5,000 spots in the state-sponsored health insurance plan. But even with the additional spots, the State Medicaid Office still estimates that Oregon has approximately 455,000 uninsured adults.

This large number has lead politicians to start working on some big picture changes to the way people in this state access insurance. Last year, the legislature created the Oregon Health Trust Board. This seven-member board was tasked with proposing changes to the current system.

To come up with those proposals they're conducting a series of 14 "Health Conversations" with people around the state. This week they're in Newport and Astoria.

Tomorrow on Think Out Loud we'll discuss some of the scenarios being hashed out around the state at these Health Conversations. They're designed to get a sense of what people generally want out of health care. Here are two scenarios:

Felicia Ward and Andrea Foley are single mothers of young children. They both work full-time as housekeepers in different motels at the coast. According to a new law, their income level is low enough to qualify them for full state subsidy to pay for private health insurance for themselves and their children. Because of Oregon's health reform, both Felicia and Andrea now have health insurance for themselves and their children.

Is this the kind of change you would like to see in Oregon's future health care system? How important is it for everyone to have access to affordable health insurance? Should the state subsidize private health insurance for those who can’t afford it? Is it feasible? Or is it even the state’s responsibility at all?

Here is the second scenario:

Albert Haley owns a small vineyard that relies heavily on immigrant workers. A new state law requires him to offer his workers health insurance or pay into a state pool where they can buy health insurance individually. Albert doesn't much like the requirement, but he likes having a choice. He doesn't want to shop around for health insurance. Paying into the pool works for him. But he's not sure the arrangement will really help all of his workers. A lot of them can't afford to pay the premiums and he heard that immigrants who have been in the country for less than five years aren't eligible for public subsidies.

Will a separate insurance pool benefit small businesses? Large businesses? Should the US be providing health care for immigrant workers?]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1043010.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1043010.page GMT [Posted by Sarah Jane Rothenfluch on May 5, 2008]

LISTEN TO "Primary Conversations: U.S. Senate" (24MB MP3)

The Democratic race for U.S. Senate is next in our continuing series Primary Conversations. It has been the most watched (and certainly the most debated) contest so far in Oregon this year. The Democrats are working hard to remove incumbent Gordon Smith -- who's running uncontested in the Republican primary -- from his seat. Jeff Merkley, Candy Neville and Steve Novick are all vying for the chance, as is Independent candidate John Frohnmayer.

Jeff Merkley is Oregon's speaker of the House. He was born in Myrtle Creek, Oregon, spent his younger years in Roseburg, and was the first member of his family to go to college. Merkley served as a national security analyst, first for the Pentagon and then for Congress. He returned to Oregon to lead Habitat for Humanity, and became the first Democratic House Speaker in 16 years.

Candy Neville is a real estate broker from Eugene who admits she has no experience in politics. She's been a real estate developer and a freelance writer for the Chicago Sun-Times. She says she has "guts born of sorrow and agony over the state of the nation."

Steve Novick is a senior project manager at Pyramid Communications, a consulting firm that works primarily for non-profits, tribal and public sector clients. He was born in Newark, New Jersey and raised in Cottage Grove, Oregon. After graduating from the University of Oregon he went to Harvard Law School and then worked in law firms in New York and San Francisco and in the Environment Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.

What do you want to know from these prospective Democratic nominees for U.S. Senate? Their takes on healthcare reform? The War in Iraq? Timber Payments? Social Security? Or simply why they think they're best equipped to take on Gordon Smith in the fall?

GUESTS:

Jeff Merkley: speaker of the Oregon House and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate

Candy Neville: a real estate broker and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate

Steve Novick: senior project manager at Pyramid Communications and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate

LISTEN TO "Where Bikes and Cars Intersect" (24MB MP3)

Bikes and cars share the roads in Oregon, but there are some who say that bicycles should be more integrated into automobile traffic. In a recent issue of Adventure Cyclist Magazine, technical editor John Schubert argues that Portland bike lanes make cycling in the city unsafe by keeping bike traffic to the right of cars, where cyclists often end up in drivers' blind spots. The League of American Bicyclists clearly disagrees. The national organization recently named Portland a Platinum level (that's the highest) Bicycle Friendly Community, touting the city's bike lanes as one reason for the honor.

So, should bicycles be treated the same as cars when it comes to where they travel in traffic? Are bike lanes helpful or harmful when it comes to safety for cyclists and drivers alike? What is the best way to share the road?

GUESTS:

• Carl Decker: Professional cyclist
• Tony Barton: Cement truck driver
• John Schubert: Writer and technical editor for Adventure Cyclist Magazine
• Roger Geller: Bicycle coordinator for the City of Portland

Photo credit: Jeff Youngstrom / Flickr / Creative Commons

Our commenter "mucker" pulled no punches in criticizing Friday's Upside of the Downturn show, calling it an "absurdly broad question" based on "the pathetic journalism of researching a topic by posting questions to your own web forum." (I disagreed.)

But mucker wasn't all criticism. Mixed in with the tough love was a maniacally exhaustive list of 72 "far superior topics." Some are clearly jokes. Some -- I think -- are serious. But there are some real gems in the pile, and we'd consider producing at least one show from this grand list. What's your favorite?

• Shoes: what's happening now; men vs. women vs. you tell me
• Oregon's best pancakes
• What cars say about drivers
• The clothes you can't throw out
• The best pet $80 can buy
• Organic vs. local: Deathmatch Throwdown!
• Things you wish you could have done via answering machine
• Desert island movies
• Have you or a loved one ever pretended to be pregnant? Why?
• What's the largest weapon a person should be allowed to carry?
• Should pit bulls be legal?
• What does "affordable housing" mean to you? Should we bother?
• Is biodiesel greener than hybrids?
• How stupid is it not to flouridate the water? Kinda, or very?
• The worst prom date
• The case against, or maybe for, Scientology: why does it sound like science?
• Graduation speakers: would you rather have a good one or a ridiculously bad one? Do you think you could do better?
• Attention deficit disorder: hoax? Or hoax?
• Nighttime basketball
• Ears: and aging; iPods and the danger to; the proper hygiene of; cosmetic alteration of
• Immunization: government coverup? or chilling example of natural selection, wherein those least adapted to science are doomed to suffer by it?
• Typeface design: computers vs. calligraphy
• The gamut of beans: Pinto vs. black vs. red is just the beginning
• "I have a secret"
• Summer camps
• Gadgets vs. heirlooms: can't we all just get along?
• Hair care on 5 cents a day
• Hedge funds: what the heck are we paying the SEC for, anyway?
• "Vampire" electrical draw: how you are paying *not* to use your appliances
• Three things every new parent should know
• How to choose a gravestone
• Tournament of analgesics: aspirin vs. acetominophen vs. ibuprofen: a cage match
• Should Oregon be embarassed that its bagel stores are open during Passover? Jews in the West
• Ten minute recipes from the freezer
• How fat is too fat?
• Swiffer: some say it cleans. I say it smears. Why is nobody in jail?
• The longest you ever stood in line
• One thing you would change about your body OR One thing you would change about how others view your body
• Lots of people think basic healthcare is a right. What about dental care? Eye care? High-end perfumes?
• Personal shoppers
• Jokes you can tell to a six-year-old
• Can you really mix primary colors to make brown, or has the government been lying to us all these years?
• How many homeless could we feed if we put a tax on the Olympics?
• How did "senior citizens" become an unfashionable term, less preferred than "seniors" or "honored citizens"? If "seniors" are in retirement, how shall we refer to persons in their fourth year of high school or college? How much can we hope to gain, or obscure, by shuffling terms around? If the problem lies outside of language, what is it, anyway?
• The best TV
• Home remedies
• Things you wish you had written--or hadn't
• What you learned from gym
• The "Boy Named Sue" Theory: Does a person's name shape his/her character?
• Underappreciated holidays and anniversaries
• First cars / jobs / apartments/houses
• Why I didn't go to college
• Why I'm not quite a vegetarian
• The first person I'd like to see substituting for "Survivor Man"
• Three things to take on a trip
• What you do in order to get permission to play golf
• Food that looks like celebrities: investment vehicle of the future?
• Pickup lines that made the breakup lines worthwhile
• Fiscal new year's resolutions
• Thin Elvis vs. Fat Elvis vs. young Harrison Ford vs. latter-day H. F.
• How to apologize
• What parents can tell you about a potential spouse
• Passing cars on the right: jailable offense, a cry for help, or a further sign that our public schools are failing us?
• Long-term care in a short-term world
• Neighbors you miss
• Regional junk food
• The time you REALLY could have used a change of clothes
• The books everybody starts but almost nobody finishes
• Why you hate your name
• Traffic ticket fines that are proportionate to your income, cf Finland
• The latest in potty training
• Eight great albums of the 21st century

LISTEN TO "Is Stumptown a Dumptown?" (24MB MP3)

Earlier this year, Portland was named America's greenest city and just this week, the League of American Bicyclists gave the city its top honor for bike friendly communities. Portland also has the dubious distinction -- with one contaminated site for every 34 residents -- of being ranked the third most toxic city in the United States.

This campaign season, you may have heard this last factoid thrown around by media sources and candidates alike and wondered how we could be so green and so toxic at the same time. The original ranking came from a Business Week article, published on the magazine's web site in October, 2007. They used data from Environmental Data Resources, a private company that assesses environmental risks for real estate companies and other corporations. Environmental Data Resources describes itself as "the leading provider of U.S. environmental risk information," but Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality begs to differ. They say the research the company provided to Business Week is faulty, and the reason Portland gets such a bad rap is because Oregon is more diligent than other states about reporting environmental cleanup data.

So how toxic is Portland -- and Oregon as a whole? Is the "third most toxic" ranking a useful piece of information to throw around without some context? If Portland is, in fact, so toxic, what is being done to clean up the contamination?

GUESTS:

• Dan Onofrio: Associate Vice President of Content and Data Development at Environmental Data Resources
• David Livengood: Toxics Reduction and Innovations Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
• Ivan Maluski: Conservation Coordinator for the Oregon Chapter of the Sierra Club

UPDATE:

Posted by Emily Harris, 10 PM, Sunday, May 5

I went to check out a couple toxic sites in Portland this afternoon. Jim Robison, chair of the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group was my guide.

On the shore of the Willamette, just below the pretty University of Portland neighborhood up on the bluff, we walked around a fenced field that was once home to the McCormick and Baxter creosote company. The seeping pollution caused by years of dunking railroad ties and phone poles into open pools of creosote has now been largely contained. The land just outside the chain-link-topped-with-barbed-wire was once poisoned, but is now appealing enough to attract sunbathers, despite the large notice that it's right next to a Superfund site!

Just across the river, Jim pointed out what he thinks is the worst among the many industrial sites that put the whole Portland harbor on the Superfund list. It's owned by the chemical company Arkema, whose predecessor company used to produce DDT and other contaminants there.

Robison says the river is more polluted by these sites than the city in general, although he used to be able to smell the wafting creosote from his house up on the bluff and is delighted to see this site at least contained, if not cleansed.

Photo credits: eek the cat / Flickr / Creative Commons and Emily Harris, OPB

LISTEN TO "The Upside of a Downturn?" (24MB MP3)

Warren Buffet says we're in a recession. The President calls it a "slowdown." Either way, the Fed says "economic growth is slowing."

But for whom?

Recently, we sent out a question to people in our Public Insight Network asking "Are you feeling an economic slowdown?"

I spoke with a software developer in Portland who told me that the tech industry in Portland appears to be thriving right now, recession or not.

And some people claim to be doing well because of the slowdown. An Oregon bankruptcy attorney told me that he's seen a steady increase in calls from potential new clients. A professional resume writer told me she's seen an increase in the demand for her services, and I spoke with a residential property manager in Vancouver who said he has very few vacancies right now, and a waiting list to get in.

Are you feeling a slowdown? Or do you work in an industry that's been spared? Are you preparing for tough times? Or do you see a recession as an opportunity -- personally or professionally?]]> http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1017809.page http://action.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/posts/list/1017809.page GMT [Posted by Emily Harris on Tue, April 29]

LISTEN TO "Once Upon A Time In Philomath" (24MB MP3)

Once upon a time, in the Willamette Valley town of Philomath, families lived off the felling and sawing of logs. Young men skipped college, sometimes high school, for good jobs in the woods and mills. They took pride in the tough work and the community they built on the bank of Mary's River. Some players in the timber industry got rich, a few very rich.

The 1950s were the heyday. In '53 the annual Frolic and Rodeo began. Long log trucks paraded down Main Street every Fourth of July. In '59, wealthy Philomath timber baron Rex Clemens and his wife Ethel decided all the town's children needed a chance to go to college. They set up a foundation to grant scholarships to every graduate of Philomath schools. It became an expectation of the community, considered by some, eventually, almost a right.

In 2002, that changed.

The adminstrators of the foundation, nephews of Rex and Ethel, were unhappy with a cultural shift they felt was transforming the town, particularly the schools. The spotted owl had slowed logging and "urban immigrants," people with different values than the traditional timber community, had moved in to town - from far away California as well as nearby Corvallis. After months of wrenching public debate, the Clemens Foundation trustees added criteria to the scholarship to emphasis traditional values. The national media swooped in on the story. A local boy turned filmmaker documented the painful community divisions in Clearcut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon.

Later, the foundation suspended grants to Oregon State University, the one time ag college down the road. Earlier this month, the foundation again narrowed the scholarship criteria to make only second generation Philomath students attending a small handful of schools eligible.

The latest decision again generated debate in Philomath, as some high school seniors faced an abrupt change of plans. We visit Philomath to see how a community recovers from a divide such as the one spawned in 2002; how the "natives," as Mayor Chris Nusbaum calls them, are getting along with the urban immigrants; and how much of the change Philomath has faced resonates in other former timber towns across Oregon.

If you are from Philomath, how do you remember the Clemens Foundation conflict? If you live elsewhere, has your community seen a shift in "culture" as it grows? How was it handled? What issues have triggered conflict? How do they get resolved?

Photo credit: Peter Richardson, Bicoastal Films

The next in our "Primary Conversations" series looks at what many consider the second most important job in state government: The Secretary of State. This office has been a stepping-stone for many governors, including Mark Hatfield, Tom McCall and Barbara Roberts. It oversees elections and the initiative process, state audits, corporations and archives. The secretary of state serves with the governor and state treasurer on the State Land Board and serves as chair of the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Rick Dancer, a former television news anchorman from Springfield, is running unopposed in the Republican primary. On the Democratic side there are three state senators leading the race. And they'll all be joining us on Thursday:

Kate Brown is a state senator from Portland. She was first elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in 1991 and served two terms before being elected to the Senate in 1996. In the Senate she served as Democratic Leader. Recently she led efforts to review Oregon's ethics laws and create an online database of campaign contributions and expenditures. Brown has also practiced family and juvenile law and taught at Portland State University.

Rick Metsger is the state senator from Welches. He was first elected to the Senate in 1998. Since then he's focused mostly on transportation, early childhood development, career training, and consumer protection. He's probably best known for his 16 years as a television sportscaster at KOIN-TV. Metsger has also worked as a high school teacher and as assistant basketball coach at Lewis and Clark College.

Vicki Walker is the state senator from Eugene. She is known as the watchdog among the candidates, in part because of her years as a court reporter. Walker was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives in November 1998, and she served two terms. In 2002, voters in Lane County elected her to the Senate. She is well known as an advocate for education and children's rights.

What questions do you have for these Democratic candidates for secretary of state? What do you want the next chief elections officer to do about the initiative process, redistricting, or election reform? Are voter IDs, the subject of a Supreme Court ruling yesterday, among your list of concerns? What are your ideas for improving the state's election system?

Share your questions -- and suggestions -- for these secretary of state hopefuls and we'll put them on the air.

GUESTS:

Kate Brown: State Senator from Portland

Rick Metsger: State Senator from Welches

Vicki Walker: State Senator from Eugene

LISTEN TO "Homeroom Economics" (24MB MP3)

The average starting salary for a new teacher in Oregon is around $31,000. That figure increases over time based on academic qualifications and number of years teaching. But pay increases slowly, forcing many teachers to leave the profession after less than five years of teaching.

The privately funded Chalkboard Project has launched a pilot program to boost teacher pay in Oregon schools. Under the program, teachers can accelerate their progress on the existing pay scale if they take on additional duties. This includes mentoring new teachers and collaborating on lesson plans.

Oregon initiative advocate Bill Sizemore wants to increase pay as well – but with a different emphasis. He’s proposing a measure for the November ballot that would peg teacher pay directly to classroom performance and student test scores - a move local teacher unions fiercely oppose.

While candidates in local, state and presidential contests debate ways to improve education, some school districts are coming up with their own answers. One charter school slated to open in New York City in 2009 will pay teachers a starting salary of $125,000. According to Zeke Vanderhoek, the school's founder, teacher quality is the key to giving kids a good education and paying good teachers a high salary is one way to make sure they stick around.

Are Oregon teachers being paid enough? How much is enough? And is increasing teacher pay an effective way to recruit and retain qualified teachers? More to the point, is increasing teacher pay the means to a better education? Are you a parent, teacher, or student - what role do you think teachers' salaries play in educating Oregon's next generation?

GUESTS:

• Mark McNeal English teacher at Lake Oswego High School
• Sue Hildick: President of the Chalkboard Project
• Becca Uherbelau: Spokesperson for the Oregon Education Association
• Zeke Vanderhoek: Founder of The Equity Project Charter School in New York

For some of the more prominent races, we're bringing candidates in for what we're calling "Primary Conversations," our take on debates: less formal (no buzzers or time limits), more intimate (with everyone sitting around the same table) and, we hope, more substantive.

Below you'll find a complete listing of our 2008 primary campaign coverage -- from dialogues spurred by the presidential candidates' Oregon events to the "Primary Conversations" themselves.

PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Obama and Race in Oregon, aired March 21, 2008
Do Obama's thoughts on race reflect Oregon's reality?

Clinton and the Generational Divide, aired April 4, 2008
What does the generational split in Hillary Clinton's support say about feminism today?

The Roadshow's Sideshow, aired May 9, 2008
What happens when candidates come to town?

McCain and the Veteran Vote, scheduled for May 12, 2008
How does your experience with war affect your presidential vote?

STATEWIDE RACES

Attorney General (Democratic), Aired April 23, 2008
With John Kroger and Greg Macpherson

Secretary of State (Democratic), Aired May 1, 2008
With Kate Brown, Rick Metsger, and Vicki Walker

U.S. Senate (Democratic), Scheduled for May 7, 2008
With Jeff Merkley, Steve Novick, and Candy Neville

5th Congressional District (Republican), Scheduled for May 13, 2008
With Kevin Mannix (Mike Erickson has declined)

5th Congressional District (Democratic), Scheduled for May 15, 2008
With Andrew Foster, Steve Marks and Kurt Schrader

LOCAL RACES

Portland Mayor, Aired April 28, 2008
With Sam Adams and Sho Dozono

LISTEN TO "Primary Conversations: Portland Mayor" (24MB MP3)

Greg Macpherson and John Kroger, the candidates for Attorney General, joined us yesterday, and the most glaring differences weren't subtantive but stylistic.

On Monday we're hosting the second in our series of "Primary Conversations" -- this time with the top two candidates for mayor of Portland -- and, while this race is very different, issues of approach more than policy have risen to the fore. Sam Adams and Sho Dozono will discuss the need to fix the city's roads and schools. They'll debate details of how to keep Portland livable and affordable and progressive. And they'll discuss everything from budgets to bicycles. They will vary in their answers. And they'll both try to convince Portlanders to vote for them. But what will likely stand out is the great difference between their backgrounds, experience, and style.

Sam Adams has been a Portland City Commissioner since 2004. Among other things he's in charge of the Office of Transportation and the Bureau of Environmental Services. Adams is well known for his ten years as chief of staff for Mayor Vera Katz, when he became known for saying "make it happen." He considers himself a policy wonk, but critics say he's too focused on policy to have a big vision for the city.

Sho Dozono is a successful businessman who has owned and operated Azumano Travel for 20 years. Previously he was a social studies teacher and wrestling coach at Grant High School. He's raised five children in Portland. The Oregonian described him as "a cosmopolitan grandfather with the low-key finesse of someone who has nothing to prove." Critics point to his lack of experience in city hall as their primary concern.

These two candidates have faced each other in many debates before this conversation, but what's been missing in the discussions so far? What questions are going unanswered? If you don't live in Portland, what do you want the next mayor to consider? From potholes to public schools, this is your chance to question Portland's top two mayoral candidates. What do you want to know?

GUESTS:

Sam Adams: Portland City Commissioner and candidate for mayor of Portland

Sho Dozono: CEO of Azumano Travel and candidate for mayor of Portland

From the blog to the radio today:

We brought in TSiemens on the importance of education and mark@PSU on the age at which that kind of education should start.

Our guests Mandy Tu and Steve Herman weighed in on Kyle Spinks' ongoing efforts for Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District. And Ed Jahn took up meltog's question about the origin of invasive species.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to mention stewart king's Himalayan blackberry-eating goats -- or Plateauphoto's irrational fear of beagles.

And from the radio right back to the blog:

It happened quickly, but perhaps you heard Steve Herman mention "allelopathic" plants. And perhaps, like me, you had no idea what he was talking about. It turns out that allelopaths are plants that release chemicals into the soil that promote or -- more likely -- inhibit the growth of other plants. More here.

Finally, a quick clarification, courtesy of a careful listener from the Columbia Gorge. One of our callers had mentioned tansy ragwort, a weed that is poisonous to cows and horses. In case you were confused, this is NOT the same thing as common tansy, which is a perennial herb in the sunflower family -- and something you might intentionally be growing in your garden. Still, even though you can find some old medicinal recipes for common tansy, apparently it's toxic in high doses.

Amazing the things you find in your voicemail after the show ends!

LISTEN TO "Asian-American Identities" (24MB MP3)

This weekend marks the opening of DisOrient, the third annual Asian American Film Festival in Eugene. On Saturday, the Asian Reporter is honoring the achievements of Asian-American students and community leaders from across Oregon at its annual banquet. And just around the corner is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, an annual celebration of (and reflection on) the Asian-American experience.

But the neat term "Asian-American" isn't nearly as cohesive as these events might imply. It encompasses an extremely wide range of individuals -- from people who moved to Oregon from Korea in the 1960s to third generation Japanese-Americans raised in the US to Chinese immigrants who arrived yesterday. Some people in the community embrace a pan-Asian identity. Others question it, arguing that it blurs historical and cultural differences in the search for a unified voice.

Is the term "Asian-American" a misleadingly broad label to refer to distinct groups and experiences? What are the benefits of a general label for a diverse group of people? What are the challenges? More broadly, how exactly is a sense of Asian-American community -- or communities -- being fostered in Oregon?

And where do you fit in? Do you consider yourself a member of Oregon's Asian-American community? Or do you use a hyphen to describe who you are, but with a different identifier at the beginning? How does that relate to your sense of community?

Thanks so much to everyone who wrote in for today's AG race conversation. We were able to pose a number of your blog questions to John Kroger and Greg Macpherson.

In particular:

• Ben Rivers on the lessons Kroger drew from his Enron prosecutions.

• Text Champion on medical marijuana.

• Deucedarts on student volunteers from Lewis and Clark Law School winning more in penalties for violation of environmental laws than the DEQ and ODOJ combined.

• And jmkohmetscher on the importance -- or lack of importance -- of trial experience.

You can hear their answers here (24MB MP3).

Next up in our Primary Conversations series, on Monday April 28: the Portland mayor's race.

LISTEN TO "Primary Conversations: Attorney General" (24MB MP3)

Hardy Myers, Oregon's attorney general, is stepping down this year after twelve years as the top law enforcement agent in the state. No Republicans have thrown their hat in the ring for the job, so Myers' replacement will bascially be chosen on May 20th... in the Democratic Primary.

Both candidates are Ivy League-educated and, obviously, Democrats. But that's where the similarities end. One is a veteran trial lawyer who moved to Oregon from New York City in 2002 after an extended bike ride across the country. The other is a native Oregonian who grew up on a farm in Linn County and has spent the last 33 years as an employee benefits attorney at one of Portland's most prestigious law firms.

The trial lawyer -- and former federal prosecutor -- is John Kroger. He's an ex-Marine from Ohio who has been in court 1,000 times. He has convicted high-level drug traffickers and mafia killers and worked as an economic and domestic policy advisor to President Bill Clinton. Six years ago he began teaching law at Lewis & Clark Law School. The Sierra Club and the Services Employees International Union have endorsed him.

He says that if elected his priorities will include: fighting methamphetamine aggressively; holding every polluter responsible for the damage they cause; ensuring that every single parent in the state gets the child support to which they are entitled; protecting consumers and retirees from scam-artists and crooked companies; and defending civil rights, a woman's right to choose, and the rights of Oregon crime victims.

The business lawyer -- and three-term State Representative from District 38 -- is Greg Macpherson. A native Oregonian, he grew up on a dairy farm in the Willamette Valley. For over 30 years he has practiced law at Stoel Rives, working on issues including gay rights, protection for farmland and undeveloped areas, treatment of criminals, and payday loan caps.

Macpherson is endorsed by the current Attorney General Hardy Myers and Governor Ted Kulongoski.

Macpherson says that if elected he'll focus on reducing crime without building new prisons, protecting Oregonians from scams and predatory lending, enforcing worker protection laws, standing up for the civil rights of Oregonians, and protecting Oregon's environmental legacy.

These two attorneys have such different backgrounds that at a debate recently Kroger offered Macpherson a job as his chief deputy to manage the office. Macpherson returned with an offer for Kroger to be his chief trial lawyer.

What kind of person do you want as the state's top enforcer? An insider or an outsider? A corporate attorney or a trial lawyer? A politician or a professor? What qualities do you think make for a good attorney general? And, once elected, what issues do you want this person to take on?

GUESTS:

John Kroger: Criminal prosecutor and law professor at Lewis & Clark Law School

Greg Macpherson: State Representative and an employee benefits attorney at Stoel Rives

LISTEN TO "The Yellow Starthistles Are Coming" (24MB MP3)

If you tune in to OPB TV tonight, you'll learn all about species of plants and animals deemed "invasive" because they are not native to Oregon and because they spread rapidly due to a lack of natural predators. Plants such as the yellow starthistle threaten to drive out native grasses, and feral pigs can carry diseases that are fatal to people and animals.

What can be done about these weeds and critters before their populations grow to overwhelming numbers? Should they be eradicated -- and if so, how? Should we use pesticides? Should we combat one foreign species by bringing in another?

Or, as our ecosystems adapt, should we follow suit? Should we somehow learn to live with our new neighbors?

Photo credit: C.L. Mathers / Flickr / Creative Commons

GUESTS:

• Ben Henson: Rancher and owner of Henson Cattle Company in Wallowa County, Oregon
• Ed Jahn: Producer of The Silent Invasion for OPB's Oregon Field Guide
• Mandy Tu: Invasive species ecologist at the Nature Conservancy
• Steve Herman: Retired Evergreen State College natural history professor

LISTEN TO "Classy Politics" (24MB MP3)

Pennsylvania voters finally go to the polls Tuesday after the state has been in the political spotlight for more than a month. In a state peppered with formerly prosperous industrial towns, this may be the primary where the phrase "it's the economy, stupid" comes home to roost.

That phrase was coined for Bill Clinton's first run for the presidency. This time around, all three major candidates are capitalizing on the sentiment, if not the exact phrase. As the economy continues its downward trend and the campaign season continues to heat up, class, specifically the middle class, is a word that creeps into political rhetoric more and more. Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton touched on class issues in their Philadelphia debate, and Republican John McCain mentioned middle class tax cuts in a recent speech in Pittsburgh.

Pennsylvania's economics are echoed here in the Northwest, where many small towns have suffered the loss of jobs that won't be coming back and the costs of both healthcare and housing are on the rise, not to mention the price of food and gas. Jared Berstein, author of Crunch, argues that "The squeeze is on" all over America, and it has everything to do with economic inequality. Census data shows that income has been a factor in past elections and that trend will likely continue this year.

What's your economic outlook? Do you identify with a particular class? How does that affect your level of political involvement or the way you vote? How do you think the next president will help, or change, your economic situation?

GUESTS:

• Jared Bernstein: Senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and author of Crunch
• Sarah Meyers: 29-year-old single mom living in Portland
• Eric McKirdy: Graphic designer for Alphagraphics in Albany
• Ted Magnuson: Retired insurance agent living in Portland

Photo credit: Jeremy Dennis / Flickr / Creative Commons

Take a moment to let your mind go back to your college or high school days -- or if you're in one of those fine institutions right now, just pause a moment... think of that great energy that takes over the school when it is time to elect a new student government. Hopeful leaders canvas the campus with their friends, taping photocopied election signs on every empty lamppost, pinning them on every available bulletin board. These leaders believe they can solve the problems the school -- and sometimes society -- faces.

Then they graduate and the enthusiasm fades into the realities of day-to-day life.

Well, that happens for some of them. Then there are those who continue canvassing. They end up leading our communities long before many people think they have the experience to hold office.

Right now in Oregon there are a number of political leaders who are still very young. A group of legislators in the state government have bonded together under the banner "Five Under 35." They're working to highlight the issues facing youth, and to inspire other young people to run for office. Then there's the mayor of Gresham -- he's 35 -- and the mayor of Union who is a mere 19 years old.

What unites these young leaders? What issues do they come together to deal with? They cite the access to post-secondary education, economic development, environmental concerns, and increasing voter turnout, to name a few. What else should be on that list?

Are you a Millennial or a Twixter? A Gen Xer? The parent of a Gen Yer? What issues are most important to you? Do you feel well represented in politics? Does the political process inspire you, or does it feel like a hindrance to participation? Are you going to vote?

GUESTS:

Ben Cannon: State Representative from Portland. He’s a Democrat, a teacher and community activist. He’s Chair of the Bus Project and the organizer of “Five Under 35” – a group of legislators working for the interests of young Oregonians. He’s 34.

Shane Bemis: Mayor of Gresham and the owner of three local restaurants. He is 35 years old and was first elected to the Gresham City Council when he was in his 20s.

Kyle Corbin: Mayor of Union City. He’s 19 years old and was first elected to office as a write-in candidate when he was 18. This year he’s running for County Commissioner as a Republican.

Sara Gelser: State Legislator representing Corvalis and Philomath. She’s one of the “Five Under 35.” She’s running as the incumbent for House District 16. In the primary she’s uncontested. Her Republican contender is Rockne Roll – a 21 year old.

Funny how Oregonian updates on our shows seem to come in threes:

• • Carl and Raylene Worthington, the Oregon City faith healing couple whose daughter Ava died in March, have set up a website as a public component of their defense.
• • A state panel will review what should happen to patients once they've been relased from the Oregon State Hospital.
• • And it turns out that the weak dollar and global wheat shortage meant good news for Oregon's exports, which were at record levels in 2007. More reasons that keeping food in Oregon is harder than it sounds.
  

LISTEN TO "Trauma Lessons" (24MB MP3)

Wars are often defined by injury and trauma -- and reported as incrementally increasing casualty counts. The Iraq War has been no different. The latest grim milestone brought news of over 4,000 U.S. fatalities and over 29,000 wounded.

But there is another lens. Despite the injury and trauma -- or, rather, as a direct result of them -- wars have served as laboratories for medical care. As armies refine ways to kill each other, in other words, doctors are given a chance to refine their techniques as well.

So WWI introduced the concept of "triage." WWII saw the widespread use of antibiotics and blood replacement. And Korea and Vietnam brought MASH units and helicopter evacuation. In fact, many of the procedures and technology we take for granted in our hospitals today actually came out of the war experience.

After five years, the Iraq War's particular additions to this history are becoming clearer. From bandages that heal wounds to faster, more efficient trauma care, this war has led to a series of scientific breakthroughs that have already helped save lives on the battlefield and at home. The military is now hedging its bets on regenerative science -- revolutionary technology that uses adult stem cells to help repair and re-grow muscles, tissue, and even broken limbs for soldiers coming back from Iraq. It sounds like science fiction, but this week the Oregon Medical Laser Center received a $1.5 million grant to explore just that possibility.

What do you think about the role that conflicts play in improving medicine? Are you a doctor or a nurse who has worked in a conflict zone? What are your own thoughts about military medicine and how soldiers are treated in the field? Are these medical advances some of that elusive "good news" out of Iraq?

How will your visit to the hospital next year -- or in ten years -- be different because of Iraq?

GUESTS:

• Kenton Gregory: Medical Director of the Oregon Medical Laser Center
• William Wiesmann: Retired colonel and army medical researcher, President and CEO of BioSTAR Inc.
• Jon Alpert: Producer, Baghdad ER
• Martin Schreiber: Trauma surgeon and associate professor of surgery at Oregon Health and Science University and former chief of trauma at the 228th Combat Support Hospital in Tikrit, Iraq (2005)

Photo credit: Kansas City Royalty / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "Are You Gonna Eat That?" (24MB MP3)

It's a spring ritual as regular as forsythia blooms and baseball: farmer's markets, served by over 1000 farmers, are sprouting up all over the state. They showcase everything from smoked goat cheese and lavender honey to dinosaur kale, but they also help bridge an often strained urban-rural connection.

Those markets may be increasingly popular -- and increasingly expensive -- but Larry Lev of OSU Extension Service argues that local eating only goes so far. He has estimated, for example, that only 2% of food eaten in Benton County was grown in Benton County. Just what does that number say about Oregon's agriculture? Could more Oregon-grown food be Oregon-eaten? Is it desirable? Is it possible?

Harry MacCormack of the Ten Rivers Food Web, a network of about 50 growers, processors, truckers and citizens, thinks so. He wants to boost that percentage to 30 by the year 2012. TRFW cites the rise in fuel costs to transport food, the high cost of agricultural inputs, and the number of poor people in Oregon as vital reasons to achieve this goal as quickly as possible.

How would Oregon's agriculture -- what farmers grow, and what they get for it -- have to change to accommodate more localized consumption? Are you a farmer who wishes more of your harvest was processed and eaten locally -- but whose hazelnuts or wheat is being shipped to Europe or Japan? Are you a shopper who has to buy the cheapest lettuce you can find, regardless of where it was grown or how far it's traveled? What would it take to become a locavore state?

GUESTS:

• Harry MacCormack: Co-founder of Oregon Tilth and member of Ten Rivers Food Web
• Larry Lev: Agricultural economist at the Oregon State University Extension Service
• Katy Coba: Director of the Oregon Department Agriculture
• Kevin Porter: Wheat Farmer in Pendleton

Photo credit: Galant / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "Guarding Against School Violence" (24MB MP3)

Virginia Tech is back in the news as we mark the first anniversary of the shootings that left 33 people dead and as victims' families settle their lawsuit against the state. So what changes did that incident lead to at schools here? A year later, Oregon universities are touting a new text message alert system that would send critical instructions to students in the event of a disaster, natural or otherwise. But are schools doing anything more?

High school and middle school students across the state have become accustomed to lockdown drills and patrols. For many of them, Oregon's own shocking school shooting nearly ten years ago is a distant memory. Teachers and administrators are hyper aware of any threatening behavior among their students and say they have increased preventative measures.

Are you a student or a teacher? How has your school experience changed? Are you a parent? Have your concerns changed? Are you satisfied with the systems in place to detect kids at risk for violent behavior?

GUESTS:

• Jackie Balzer: Dean of Student Life at Oregon State University
• Deputy Chris Bangs: School Resource Officer in Marion County
• Ryan Knutson: Reporter for University of Oregon student newspaper the Daily Emerald

Before closing their doors for good, the Office of Rural Policy in Salem mentioned during the April 1st show on rural politics that they'd be providing the public with one last report. It can be found on the Eastern Oregon Rural Alliance website or in a pdf here.

LISTEN TO "A Drop to Drink" (24MB MP3)

So the price of oil keeps climbing, shaping the future of the world and the Northwest. But you can't drink oil. What about water?

Of the 18 Western states, only Oregon and Alaska have no long term water plan. That’s starting to change; the Oregon Department of Water Resources has just launched an assessment of future water supply and demand. A big part of that is figuring out where water could be stored. Keeping water available during dry months is a key problem. Because of climate change, snowpack is expected to melt and run off faster than it can be used.

There are plenty of players in the game of water rights, particularly farmers, fish, tribes and towns. Urban growth is limited by the availability of water; fish and farms depend on water for survival. We know water involves many issues... one flows into another, as it were. This show -- and there will be more on the subject -- will take a look at what towns are doing to try to secure a long term supply of water, where they’re bumping up against other interests, and what experiments currently underway might avoid water wars and keep fish and farms alive.

We'll look at the Portland metro area in the next week or so. Today we'll hopscotch around other parts of the state. Pendleton draws water off the Umatilla River in the winter, keeping it for summertime use in an underground aquifer that came on line a couple of years ago. The tiny water district of Buell-Red Prairie has a years long waiting list for people who want to get off brackish private wells. A new dam on the Siletz -- where an old dam was taken out just twenty years ago - might be their answer. In central Oregon, towns, growers, and environmentalists have created a water bank. As Bend, Redmond, and other towns in the area grow, they are required to mitigate the amount of groundwater used for development by putting water into streams. The water bank (PDF) buys up water rights from former agricultural users and manages water transfers.

Water issues in Oregon are similar in Washington, where an overhaul of water regulations is tied up in court. Tensions over water around the west are long term. All of the efforts to secure more supply for municipalities comes at a price... on the environment and the pocketbook. Water use is governed by a complex system of water rights. Is it time to toss that system out and start over? How would you divide up water for the future?

Photo credit: tico24 / Flickr / Creative Commons

GUESTS:

• Phillip Ward: Director of Oregon Water Resources Department
• Craig Dorsay: Attorney representing the Siletz Tribe
• Larry Lehman: City Manager of Pendleton, Oregon
• Rachel Pascal Osborn: Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy
• Steve Johnson: Manager of the Central Oregon Irrigation District

LISTEN TO "The Democratic Party's On" (24MB MP3)

It's a good time to be a Democrat in Oregon. Voter registration is up (38,630 new Democrats this year compared to 1,985 new Republicans) and the May 20 Oregon primary is more relevant than it has been in decades. But hotly contested races at the local and national level make it a difficult time to consider a unified message.

That's just what the Democratic Party of Oregon hopes to do this weekend at their annual platform convention in Eugene. Nicknamed "Building for Change," the party will play host to activists from around the state as well as champions for both presidential candidates (Chelsea Clinton from the Clinton camp and Hawaii Congressman Neil Abercrombie, who will speak in support of an Obama nomination). The attorney general candidates will also get their chance to vie for support from their fellow Oregon Dems.

Are you an Oregon Democrat? Are you happy with the party's politics? What would you like to see change? Are you a recently registered Democrat? What prompted you to join the party? Are you planning to switch again after the primary? What might make you decide to stay?

GUESTS:

• Meredith Wood Smith: Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Oregon
• Paul Gronke: Professor of Political Science at Reed College
• Dave Mazza: Co-host of Voices from the Edge Talk Radio on KBOO and former editor of the Portland Alliance

Photo Credit: Kim Scarborough / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "HIV Testing and Informed Consent" (24MB MP3)

How many hurdles should you have to jump through before getting an HIV test?

Unlike most STDs and other diseases, HIV tests in Oregon require a patient's informed consent. These consent laws, which were enacted along with other restrictions in the 1980s and 1990s, were intended to protect the privacy of HIV/AIDS patients struggling with the stigma the disease still carries.

Recently, though, doctors have been looking at the nationwide disparity between the number of people getting tested and estimates of HIV-positive people. For example, according to state epidemiologist Sean Schafer, there are just under 5000 total reported cases of HIV in Oregon. But he estimates that there are another 1700 or so Oregonans living with HIV today who don't know it. What's worse, those unknowing carriers are thought to be responsible for half of all new cases.

To address these kinds of disparities, the CDC released a new set of HIV testing recommendations in 2006:

• HIV screening is recommended for patients in all health-care settings after the patient is notified that testing will be performed, unless the patient declines (opt-out screening).
• Persons at high risk for HIV infection should be screened for HIV at least annually.
• Separate written consent for HIV testing should not be required; general consent for medical care should be considered sufficient to encompass consent for HIV testing.
• Prevention counseling should not be required with HIV diagnostic testing or as part of HIV screening programs in health-care settings.

Oregon and Washington are currently talking about implementing the CDC's recommendations. But some members of the HIV/AIDS community are concerned about potential changes to the informed consent laws. For starters, they believe that signatures before testing allow for more patient control. And they worry about questions of privacy, inadequate (or non-existent) pre-test counseling, and insufficient resources for the disproportionately high numbers of HIV/AIDS-positive citizens without health care.

What's your experience with HIV testing? If a stigma does persist, is it too early to drop informed consent restrictions? Is it possible to streamline a testing process while maintaining the care and counseling that many patients might need after receiving a positive result? Is Oregon's health system capable of supporting a large number of newly tested, uninsured HIV+ patients -- and is any answer to that question a good enough reason not to encourage more testing?

GUESTS:

• Jean Ann Van Krevelen: Executive Director of the Cascade AIDS Project
• Jerry Walker: Purchasing Manager of the Housing Authority of Portland and member of the Center for Ryan White Planning Council of Oregon
• Kit Degulia: Resident of Our House of Portland

Today's paper brought a few reminders -- not that we need them, but it never hurts -- that our show topics continue to develop even after we've talked about them.

The 2008 coastal salmon season, which we covered last month, is back in the news. An informal vote by the Pacific Fishery Management Council means that, as predicted, coastal salmon fishing from Oregon to the Mexico border will be all but shut down this year. You can read the rest in The Oregonian.

In other news, Nike released its Olympics 2008 line this week. We'd hoped to talk to Nike in our China as consumer show but they couldn't make someone available in time. (Hopefully we'll get them in the future.)

In any case, as the AP reported yesterday:

If you can read Chinese, you can see Nike's direct marketing here.

And last but not least there was Stephen Colbert. We talked about Oregon's "Health Care Lottery" a month and a half ago. It took Colbert a while, but he finally saw that Oregon had provided some low hanging comedy fruit.

LISTEN TO "Girlfriends from the Battlefield" (24MB MP3)

All day Tuesday, Senators on two powerful committees heard about the situation in Iraq through well practiced and thoroughly vetted testimony by the top US commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, and the US Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker.Today they'll do the same thing in front of the House Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees.

We're offering another view. This is the story of two women who got to know each other in Iraq. There they faced combat, threats and personal upheaval. Now, here in the Northwest, help each other navigate the aftermath of that experience.

One is former Staff Sergeant Rebekah-Mae Bruns, who deployed with the 2nd Battalion 162nd Infantry Oregon National Guard to Iraq for a year. She was attached to the 39th Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs staff. During her time there she met an interpreter who, when she tells her story in public, uses a pseudonym.

Many translators put their lives at risk to work for the US military in Iraq -- they are often targeted as traitors, threatened and killed. They've had difficulty trying to come to the US, even after a special visa program was set up. In Oregon, groups like the Checkpoint One Foundation work to bring former translators here.

The interpreter we'll hear from came here before there was any special program for translators. All she had going for her was the determination of her friend Rebekah-Mae Bruns. For the former staff sergeant, bringing her friend here became an obsession that helped drive away other demons that haunted her after Iraq. If there was one good thing that came out of Iraq, says Bruns, it was "getting to see her in the flesh" again.

Although they share a great deal, they come from very different backgrounds. What would you like to hear these two friends talk about? Do you have close relationships based on a unique, specific shared experience? How are they different from your other relationships?

If you've worked in Iraq, we'd love to hear from you too. What were you doing there? Did you try to bring any of the Iraqis you worked with there here? Are you an Iraqi who moved to the US since the start of the war? What has your experience been?

The Senate Armed Services Committee meets tomorrow to receive testimony from General David Petraeus and Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker, about the war in Iraq.

The Committee meets at 9:30 am in DC (6:30 am here on the West Coast) and OPB will bring you live coverage of the entire hearing. You’ll have a first hand opportunity to listen in as senators from across the country (including John McCain and Hillary Clinton) question the top American commander in Iraq. It's likely to be a dramatic morning.

Here at Think Out Loud we’ll listen (and blog) intently. And if the Committee breaks for lunch when our show would typically be on air (between 9 and 10 am PST), we’ll join you live to discuss what we’ve heard.

In the meantime, let’s get the conversation started. What do you hope to come out of the war hearing? What do you want John McCain or Hillary Clinton to ask? If you could ask General Petraeus a question, what would it be?

(Note: In the afternoon Senator Barack Obama will question General Petraeus in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Hearing.)

LISTEN TO "Report Cards For Special Education" (24MB MP3)

When our Talented and Gifted program hit a commenting nerve -- its 135 comments are still by far the most we've gotten on any thread -- and when our autism show stoked regional passions, questions of special education were constantly lurking in the background. They jumped to the fore this week when the state released its latest special ed. report cards.

The results, based on the percentage of special education students from each district who graduated with regular high school diplomas, were a mixed bag -- with serious disparities from district to district. In Central Oregon alone, three districts beat the state target of 58% (Culver School district hit 85.7%, for example), while Jefferson County, Bend-LaPine, and Redmond (at 37.8%) all fell short. Other parts of the state saw equally wide spreads.

Do these disparities hold lessons for what works in special ed. and what doesn't? Do they point to the most effective ways to spend the $10,800 in state money that Oregon schools receive to educate a special education student? And when so many districts are already failing to meet the 58% graduation goal, is it appropriate to ask if even that goal is too low?

In a larger sense, is the "special education" umbrella still a viable designation when it lumps together students diagnosed with everything from autism and emotional disturbance to orthopedic impairment and ADHD?

What's your experience with Oregon's special ed. system -- as a student, a parent, or an educator? And how would you fill in its report card?

Photo credit: lnx / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "Clinton and the Generational Gender Divide" (24MB MP3)

Senator Hillary Clinton is coming to Oregon this weekend. In anticipation of her visit we're looking at how gender has played out in this long run to the presidential nomination. And how women as a whole are succeeding, and failing, in today's so-called post-feminist era.

Senator Clinton has been described by some as "the feminist dream incarnate." Others think that's bunk. They say women are doing just fine today, thank you very much. They believe we don't need to elect a woman as president just to prove equality.

And those differences are -- often -- marked on generational lines.

Pioneering women, like the Honorable Betty Roberts, feel compelled to vote for her because she is a woman. They look back at how hard they worked to break through the glass ceiling and feel they need to support Senator Clinton's push through the highest ceiling of all.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are the young women who are agitated by the fact that gender is even an issue. They don't necessarily describe themselves as feminists, and they certainly don't feel obliged to vote for Clinton because she is female.

What does this generational divide on gender say about feminism today?

This has been dubbed the "post-feminist" era (and also, among many other designations, Third-Wave Feminist). What does that mean to you? As a woman, or a man, do you consider yourself a feminist? Or is that is a dated term? Do you believe men and women are truly equal today?

Photo credit: Daniella Zalcman / Flickr / Creative Commons

LISTEN TO "One Billion Served?" (24MB MP3)

A few weeks ago, the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers played two exhibition games in Beijing. They were the first Major League Baseball games ever to be played in China. MLB is trying to win over Chinese sports fans (who currently favor basketball and soccer), but it's really just just one example of a broader shift: viewing China as an enormous market of potential consumers, not merely a source of