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October Ideas

Tuesday: October 14th 2008

Again, better late than never, here's a new thread for your show ideas for October. And here is the thread from last month.

Keep those suggestions coming. We're reading each one!

Photo credit: Artiii / Flickr

How about doing a show on imported LNG? Oregon LNG? It is a large controversy here in Oregon and so far, OPB only takes the under-writing side of Oregon LNG. For this reason, OPB has lost many long time supporters.

nancyfmonroe — Tue Oct. 14th 11:45p.m.

This could include the environmental hazards of extracting NG
Could be interesting...

DreamTheEndless — Thu Oct. 30th 1:22a.m.

The interview this morning with former Gov. Barbara Roberts suggests a topic: rights of the homeless. This morning, for example, the interview ended without a discussion of what a person should do to exercise their right to vote when they cannot prove a fixed address. How to get a ballot? How to assert one's right to vote in the national and state-wide races? I am sure there are other similar rights that could be included in such a show.

KarenInPortland — Wed Oct. 15th 12:01p.m.

How about a show on where we're going to get good new jobs to replace those which have been lost?

How about a show on how we can limit Oregon's population. Someone can move in when someone leaves. I don't want Portland to grow any more. I want Oregon to have the population it had back in the 1960s. (Not a reasonable request given the new arrivals and the amount of building that has ensued since.) I want the rain back. I want dripping forests and 20 kg slugs with Titanium fangs like we used to have. I channel Governor Tom McCall: You foreigners have three years to leave my beloved Oregon! Shoo! Be gone with you!

More seriously, nobody wants to pay taxes, but we have streets to pave, sewers to fix, electrical lines to bury under ground, greasy children to educate, etceteras.

When everybody pays some taxes it decreases the burden on the few who pay a lot of taxes. What services do Oregonians want? How much will those services cost? Can we go Marcus The Cat on the Tax Code and boil it down to one page which takes five minutes to fill out? Can this revised tax system be fair to everybody? Aren't we Oregonians smarter and more clever than we settle for?

Oh, oh, oh! How about this? Let's ban cell phones in Oregon! We could be the France of the mobile technology world. "We don't use *those* here," as we look down our noses at the Illiteratci.

Elegance, Simplicity and Sophisitimication for Oregon.

trurl9 — Wed Oct. 15th 1:44p.m.

I would like a show that focuses on how the different ballot measures would effect those who make less than $60K a year. It seems that there is a lot of focus on businesses and high income earners, but I would like to know what effect these measures would have on the people I see in my community.

JuliaMJK — Thu Oct. 16th 4:42p.m.

How about a show on social entrepreneurship -- when people find ways to make a living and palpably improve the quality of their communities? Portland's home to many of these efforts: the Rebuilding Center is probably the most visible, but there are others. A local Portland nonprofit offers a social enterpreneurship "launcher" program that incubates these ideas and helps potential entrepreneurs develop the skills to get going... and cities all over the country are clamoring for similar programs in their communities.

Update: Check out this article from The Oregonian, which details the program and some of its participants: [url]http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2008/10/social_entrepreneurs_make_drea.html[/url]

aaron ray — Fri Oct. 17th 12:48p.m.

How about a show on leaving the United States? I know my wife and I have talked about it because we don't have much hope for America, regardless of the outcome of the election. Reasons we've heard from others contemplating leaving are: racism, anti-gay bias, debt and the broken economy, U.S. arrogance and aggression, resisting the war, wealth inequality, expensive unequal health care, guns + crime, religion, redstate/bluestate polarization, broken government, shame, etc.

Articles in these magazines at these links offer discussion:
-U.S. News and World Reports
http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/2008/07/28/a-growing-trend-of-leaving-america.html

-Harpers
http://harpers.org/archive/2004/10/0080240

-Web pages:
we moved to canada (An essay at this link is worth reading)
http://www.wmtc.blogspot.com/2006/03/me-again.html

a general info page on "escaping from america"
http://www.escapeartist.com/

Examples of books on why people are leaving America. (on Amazon.com)
-Getting Out: Your Guide to Leaving America by Mark Ehrman
-Leaving America: The New Expatriate Generation by John R. Wennersten

Following is a review quote on Wennersten's book:
"Today more than ever, large numbers of Americans are leaving the United States. It is estimated that by the end of the decade, some 10 million of the brightest and most talented Americans, representing an estimated $136 billion in wages, will be living and working overseas. This emigration trend contradicts the internalized myth of America as the land of affluence, opportunity, and freedom. What is behind this trend? Wennersten argues that many people these days, from college students to retirees, are uncertain or ambivalent about what it means to be an American".

Your show could also address the counter point. The need for people to stay here and work to solve the problems.

Just a thought,
Ed.

EdinCorvallis — Fri Oct. 17th 5:13p.m.

Ed,

This idea is intriguing, but we'd want to talk to folks from the Northwest who have actually left the U.S... or are seriously considering doing so. Also, we wouldn't want this to turn into a political rant show. (In other words, we're not interested in an hour devoted to people threatening to leave if McCain or Obama becomes the next president.) We'd want to get into the economic and social realities at play, for example.

Do any of you happen to know people who have moved out of the U.S. in the last few years? Why did they leave?

David Miller — Tue Oct. 21st 3:02p.m.

This is an excellent topic.

LauraT — Wed Oct. 22nd 12:53p.m.

I would be late to work to hear a show about this. The real stories of what it means to make a switch.

chaika — Thu Oct. 23rd 4:40p.m.

Agreed. Great topic. I've heard so many people threaten to leave the US. I'm very interested to know who is actually leaving, where they're going and what the means are in doing so.

knielsen — Wed Oct. 29th 6:30p.m.

Given some of the ballet measures seem to be re-runs of previous ballet measure failures, I'd suggest a discussion of these re-runs, why they failed before, who keeps recycling them, and what could be done to prevent this try-try-again abuse of the process.

Would it be legal to change the constitution to prevent a ballet measure that is substantially the same as one that has been proposed in the last four years?

John Providenza — Wed Oct. 22nd 12:50p.m.

I am a CERT member and I recently participated in the CERT Rodeo in Sherwood OR. I would love to hear an hour devoted to emergency preparedness.

"During the first 72 hours of a disaster or other large-scale emergency, public safety professionals are overwhelmed with requests for help. Spontaneous citizen volunteers actually make eighty percent of successful rescues following a disaster. Unfortunately, many Good Samaritans are themselves killed or injured in the process. They may also cause further harm to injured or trapped victims by improper first aid or inappropriate extrication techniques.

Since people naturally respond to help spontaneously in a disaster, it is better if they have some training in how to help others more effectively. CERT training provides a structured curriculum that not only tells them how to help, but reinforces the rules of disaster safety to keep rescuers safe.

CERTs save lives and protect property that otherwise would be lost in the early hours of a disaster. They also relay valuable information to responders that will lead to better resource allocation when professional resources are overtaxed. CERTs are a critical human resource when disaster strikes.

"Our CERT members have made a personal commitment to disaster preparedness. How about you?"

Feel free to contact me if you'd like further info or contact info for potential speakers.
http://www.cresa911.org/cert/index.html

LauraT — Thu Oct. 23rd 1:47p.m.

I would like to hear a show on the Oregon Judicial system and it?s total lack of accountability and responsibility at times.

When I was 7 years old, my ?guardian? mother filed for adoption. While my biological father signed away his parental rights to who I call mother, my biological mother decided to come down from Fairbanks, Alaska and contest the adoption. This is a woman who I have had no contact with since my 1st birthday.

When the Oregon judge was confronted with what would be in the best interest of the child, this judge actually said

?We are not interested in what is best for the child; we are interested in who has legal right to this child.?

My biological mother had just been diagnosed with schizophrenia. She was not stable on her medication, and this became very apparent by her actions in court. Still, the judge awarded ?guardianship? to the woman I had always known as my mother and the state of Oregon forced a 7 year old child to mandatory visitation rights in Fairbanks, Alaska. I will not go into details, but because of the Oregon courts choice to not take into account what is best for the child, I was abused by an unstable schizophrenic who had just started taking heavy medication.

When I decided I was psychologically ready to relive this and wanted to take action against the courts, I was told that I couldn?t. That the only way to challenge a court is to take the matter up in another, higher court. I am now 33 years old and this matter is not something that can be brought to a higher court.

Courts are run by people, and people can make mistakes. But there has to be accountability with people in power. From my understanding of how the court system works, there is very little accountability.

VictorC — Sat Oct. 25th 1:58a.m.

Members of the Deschutes Citizen Action Group (CAG) have gathered enough signatures to place on the spring ballot a referendum addressing "Local Rule". This ordinance was passed by the County without confirmation of a USGS model. The measure deals with nitrate pollution from conventional septic systems. This topic deals with many issues from Goal 11, expensive replacement systems, land use, and tenuous assumptions in the model.
This a rare occurence in Deschutes County and I believe the only contestation of an ordinance passed by the Commissioners in Deschutes County.

lapinerobert — Mon Oct. 27th 1:09p.m.

I have started to commute by bike to the bus to save fuel. I have become aware of how difficult it can be to commute by bike or on foot because of pedestrian-unfriendly crossings, debris in the bike lanes, and narrow roads, not to mention that some car drivers don't see anything but other cars when deciding to make turns, etc. I would like to hear some discussion about how the city/county could help by designing bike boulevards, helping keep debris out of the roads, widening roads, etc, to encourage those of us who are trying to do the right thing.

Helen Lawce — Wed Oct. 29th 1:50p.m.

I think this would be a great topic. I live in Yamhill county. Yamhill county has very few bike lanes. I know many people at work that would ride except for a certain section of road close to work (largest employer in the county). The section is a little finger of land outside the city limits, there is no bike lane, no lighting, and hardly a shoulder. I would guess we have 50+ individual that drive, but live less than 1-2 miles from work.
The tie in to public transit would be great. Perhaps a bit about the new commuter line from Beaverton to Wilsonville. What about the Hwy. 99 bypass in Newberg/Dundee? Has anyone propose light rail from PDX to McMinville down Hwy. 99. Commute during the week, visit wineries by the weekend.
I feel our public transit system is at a bit of a tipping point. Too small to server the masses, not enough people benefit to see the value; but has such great potential with additional investment.

TeeKay421 — Thu Oct. 30th 1:53a.m.

I've enjoyed listening to the show about Venture Capital, but it got me thinking about the non-profit sector. Perhaps you could do a show about starting non-profits in Oregon, and the climate for non-profits in an economic downturn? You could talk to folks at PSU's center for non-profits, local foundations that support non-profits, state organizations like the Cultural Heritage Trust, and of course people that have started different kinds of non-profits around the state. Would also be an interesting link to the social entrepreneurship idea mentioned above.

Rachaelvr — Thu Oct. 30th 12:52p.m.

Cemeteries??? I just heard that you are looking for ideas on listener's favorite cemeteries. Mine's the Lebanon Pioneer Cemetery. Between 2000 and 2006 when I was the 7th-8th grade social studies teacher at Lebanon Middle School/Pioneer K-8 School my students adopted the cemetery and did geographic fieldwork there in the fall and service learning on the annual "Day of Caring" SOLV project in May. The cemetery was researched and documented by Pat Dunn and Jeanne Robinson in the 1990's. The kids and I use their Lebanon Cemetery Book to learn both in the classroom and then go to the cemetery. There's a rich variety of gravestone types (marble, white bronze, and granite) and some interesting stories. The marble stone of Daniel Simons, a veteran of the War of 1812, is carved with a pioneer wagon with oxen and an epitaph in cursive writing that reads "Men like these won the West" (or something close to that). The first burial was in 1850 and was a 13-year old girl who died of diphtheria. Her stone has a carved rose. One of Oregon's first female physicians, Clara Montigue Davidson is buried there. After the death of her young daughter, she dedicated herself to medicine and went by wagon back to Philadelphia for medical training. Clara's death was caused by an infection, probably blood-borne, that happened when she lanced a boil on a farm child's leg. A favorite epithaph is on Philothea Elkin's grave--"She hath done what she could." At least two of my students are descendents of people buried in the cemetery. The kids' favorite story is Ray (Rae) Leonard, a "he" who swapped stories, out-fished and hunted all "his" cronies. When Ray suddenly took sick, the town doctor was called in. After an examination the doc revealed that their friend was a woman. Kids say they've found out the identity of Lebanon's first cross-dresser! Cemeteries are great places for learning, to teach about demographics such as change in family size, causes of death, age at death, and migration. One year on Halloween, some over-zealous 8th graders called the police to report that someone had "started a fire in our cemetery". It turned out that it was the Civil War re-enactment group who, to deter vandalism, were set up with a bonfire and cider for trick-or-treaters. We don't have any ghosts, that I know of. One girl did tell me that her grandmother, who lives near the cemetery, had her keep an eye out for the fairies that dance around the large cedar tree on the east side of the cemetery on warm summer evenings. Several kids have reported sightings.

Gailpioneer — Thu Oct. 30th 6:07p.m.

These are great stories, thank you so much for sharing them. I hope you don't mind if I add them to the blog for that show to get the conversation started there. It will be up any minute. Thanks!

Sarah Jane Rothenfluch — Thu Oct. 30th 7:45p.m.

Is there a space for November Ideas for Stories?

I would like to see a show looking back on what happened in the senate race here in Oregon.

What worked for either candidate and what failed?

Did negative ads influence people's votes?

Paul Cooke — Thu Nov. 6th 12:05p.m.

I would appreciate a show on unemployment, particularly from the perspective of the unemployed. It seems timely, and I know it is for me, personally. After over 20 years of working, I find myself unemployed and collecting benefits for the first time.

I?ve learned a lot about the unemployment benefits system in the last few months, e.g., benefit payment rates are higher in Washington than in Oregon, you have to apply for at least 3 jobs a week regardless of whether there is work in your field, and many of the people working in the unemployment benefits offices are very supportive and friendly. I?ve also learned a little bit about the impact that filing unemployment has on the company that laid you off, but I still don?t completely understand how it payments are structured: Is it possible that a state could run OUT of money to pay the benefits if enough companies went bust?

I have other questions: what exactly is involved in extending benefits after your first six months? (I hope that isn?t relevant to me, but it would be good to know!) What will Obama?s policy of not taxing unemployment benefits mean (and how long have we been taxing unemployment benefits, anyway?)

And I?ve had a chance for some personal/sociological reflection: As a white collar worker facing unemployment for the first time, it was strange and new to collect unemployment benefits, but many of the people in my are in construction trades, and it?s been a part of their working lives for a long time. What?s different about collecting unemployment as a white collar worker?

How are other people keeping their spirits up? What are they doing with their time? There?s a part of me that?s really enjoying time off, after years of working with only brief vacations and lots of stress. But on the other hand, my self-esteem is suffering, and part of me really fears never getting another job, or heading on some kind of middle-aged downward career path.

Anyway ? these are some of the questions I have. I?d love to hear from people from the Oregon unemployment office, an accountant (to talk about the impact on companies facing layoffs, and maybe the tax implications for those of us unemployed ? not basic fiscal advice), maybe a historian, and other people who have been unemployed, now and in the past.

Thanks!

-- Mary

marywheeler — Fri Nov. 7th 6:12p.m.

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