MHCC District Board of Education Approves Partnership with OPB to Operate Jazz Radio Station KMHD

By a unanimous vote at their May 13 meeting, the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) District Board of Education approved a partnership agreement between Mt. Hood Community College and Oregon Public Broadcasting for OPB to operate jazz station KMHD, 89.1-FM.

"This partnership ensures jazz programming will continue to be heard throughout greater Portland for years to come. We look forward to working with listeners, the jazz community and Mt. Hood Community College to enhance KMHD's on-air programming and community engagement activities," said OPB's President and CEO, Steve Bass.

"Under the leadership of Mt. Hood Community College President John J. "Ski" Sygielski, MHCC is on its way to becoming the most innovative, most responsive and highest quality College in the region. This new partnership is an exciting and important step by MHCC to distinguish itself as unique, through new opportunities to students and the increased exposure that OPB provides," expressed Mt. Hood Community College Board Chair Duke Shepard.

"We are excited about this new partnership and the many opportunities it will create for our current and future students through internship opportunities with OPB's radio and television stations. For KMHD, the City of Gresham, the College and those who have supported it for almost three decades, this agreement ensures a more stable and robust future for all who greatly enjoy the station and its jazz format," said MHCC President Sygielski.

Under the arrangement, OPB will begin operating KMHD on July 1, and will be responsible for all of the operating costs of the station. OPB and MHCC will jointly develop internship programs for students in areas including radio and television production, multimedia and journalism. In addition, OPB will provide Mt. Hood Community College with on-air sponsorship credits designed to heighten awareness of the College and its programs throughout OPB's extensive coverage area.

New Episode of OREGON EXPERIENCE, "A Cuisine of Our Own," Premieres May 21 at 9pm

Today, good food has become a movement. "Fresh and local" is the mantra of cooks throughout the Pacific Northwest. Yet many have forgotten the name of the man, the native Oregonian, who may have started it all. James Beard was a renowned chef and cookbook author. From an early age, he had a passion for good food. During his life, Beard authored 22 cookbooks, wrote a long-running newspaper column and hosted the first-ever television cooking show. He preached a message of quality ingredients, simply prepared. And he would change the way Americans think about food. The next installment in the Oregon Experience series, "A Cuisine of Our Own," looks at the life and work of Beard in the context of the Pacific Northwest food environment in which he was raised. Tune in to the stations of Oregon Public Broadcasting on Thursday, May 21 at 9pm.

Beard was born in Portland in 1903 and lived his first twenty-some years in Oregon, spending summers on the coast in Gearhart. Throughout his life, Beard had a gift: an extremely good sense of taste. He could remember flavors much like a person with a photographic memory recalls images. Fortunately for him, he grew up in a world of excellent food.

His mother cooked with only the finest, freshest ingredients bought from the farmers who grew it. Good local seafood was plentiful as well. And between her and the family's Chinese cook, the Beard home served some of the best meals in town.

Although Beard lived most of his adult life in New York City where people in the food world proclaimed him "the dean of American cookery," Beard forever championed Oregon as a food-lover's paradise. His friend Julia Child would say simply, "In the beginning, was Beard."

Oregon Experience draws on the knowledge of historians and cookbook collectors Richard Engeman and Jacqueline Williams, Beard biographer Robert Clark, personal friend Jerry Lamb, and Astoria couple Irene and Duane Jue who took several of his summer cooking classes at Seaside High School. These and other ingredients combine to form a tantalizing profile of this remarkable Oregon icon.

Portland chefs David Machado and Cory Schreiber also share how their careers were influenced by Beard's vision and cook several recipes from old Oregon cookbooks and Beard's books.

Beard passed away in 1985 and his ashes were scattered in the ocean off Gearhart.

Watch this episode of Oregon Experience online after May 14 and other episodes, anytime at the Oregon Experience Web site.

About Oregon Experience
Oregon Experience is an exciting history series on OPB that brings to life fascinating stories that help us understand who we are and that reinforce our shared identity as Oregonians. The series, co-produced by the Oregon Historical Society and Oregon Public Broadcasting, takes advantage of the extensive film, video and stills from the archives of OHS and OPB, and draws upon the expertise of OHS researchers and historians. Each show features captivating characters -- both familiar and forgotten -- who have played key roles in building our state into the unique place we call home. Funding for Oregon Experience is provided in part by Ann & Bill Swindells Charitable Trust, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation and Oregon Cultural Trust. The Oregon Experience Web site is opb.org/oregonexperience.

Brea Douglas Awarded OPB's Tuttle Diversity Internship

Oregon Public Broadcasting has awarded the 2009 Jon R. Tuttle Diversity Internship to Brea Douglas from Fairview, Oregon. Douglas, who was selected from a pool of candidates from throughout the country, graduates this month from Grambling State University in Louisiana with a degree in mass communications.

"We are thrilled to offer this internship to such an impressive student," said Debbie Rotich, vice president of Human Resources. While at OPB, Douglas will work with OPB's local television production team and the Web staff. The three-month internship begins in June.

Douglas said that this internship program will provide hands-on experience with an accredited and well-established network and help her create a solid foundation to help make her dreams become a reality.

OPB established the internship in 1994 to encourage future generations of compassionate broadcasters and journalists. Historically, the internship enables an outstanding student to spend the summer studying telecommunications and broadcast journalism in a hands-on environment.

The internship is in memory of Jon Tuttle, one of Oregon's most-respected broadcast journalists who died in 1991 after a brief battle with leukemia. Tuttle was a working journalist and a lead producer for OPB's documentary unit. Prior to OPB, he worked for KGW TV.

The internship is made possible by a generous grant from the Charles J. Swindells family. Other contributors include the Portland Trail Blazers, the Jackson Foundation, Paula Craig, Patsy Smullin, Muriel Walsh, Madeline Nelson, The Oregonian Publishing Company and PBH, Inc.

Find out more about the Jon R. Tuttle Diversity Internship.