2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures bomb books budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal portland mayor president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes television terrorism theater third parties timber payments transportation union university of oregon violence washington water wildfire women

I started using meth at the tender age of 16 (quit about a year later).  I started using because I lacked a strong and supportive family life, had a very low self esteem, had lost interest in school and was convinced that I had no future - all of these issues were outcomes of poverty and growing up in a culture of poverty.  Education is important for lifting our citizens out of poverty - reduce poverty and you will reduce the use of seriously life destroying drugs (not marijuana).

Despite my prior drug use, I really think that Oregon's law is excessively strict.  I have issues with fluid in my middle ear due to deformed eustachian tubes. When I get a cold, I am prone to ear infections, which are the catalyst for calcium growth that eats away at the bones in my middle ears.  A couple years ago, lacking health insurance, I couldn't get ahold of any effective decongestant, which led to an infection in my middle ear that made me go deaf until I was able to get health insurance, at which time I had a surgery (that cost me $4,000 out of pocket).  If we, as a society, aren't going to ensure access to doctors, it seems really excessive to make it impossible for people to get the most effective decongestant on the market.

posted 2 years, 3 months ago
view in context

It is not just a matter of buying healthier foods, it is also a matter of knowing how to prepare them.  It doesn't do much good to buy unprocessed foods if you don't know how to cook anything that doesn't come out of a box. 

posted 3 years, 11 months ago
view in context

Hi,
I was wondering if there are any piano tuners still offering apprenticeships, or are piano tuning correspondence courses the only way to learn how to tune pianos and break into the field.
Thanks.

posted 5 years ago
view in context

Are you sure that's Rock Bottom? I swear I thought she was talking about the Greek Cuisina. Eh, maybe they are both doing it at this point.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context

To the woman who responded on-air: I have to disagree that this is simply a part of 'urban living.' I've lived downtown for a total of about 8 years in a few different apartments and neighborhoods, and I lived in close-in North Portland before it was completely redeveloped, when rent was still super cheap. The problems I described above didn't exist in other neighborhoods that I have lived in, in fact, they were not even an issue on my block until the sit-lie law was enacted and the Julia West House became the place for homeless people to hang out. Sure, we had random homeless people/drug addicts/drunkards/panhandlers and a few permanent fixtures which generally was not a problem, but the difference is that now it is a concentrated, large group in a few block radius, which makes is very difficult to deal with. As a woman, I don't feel safe in my neighborhood anymore, particularly during the summer. Where can I find out more information about giving input to the city? I've filed complaints with the city and spoken with the police officers for my 'hood, but I've basically just been told that there's nothing to be done about it. It's sad, really, that this will end up causing up-standing citizens to abandon the neighborhood. Of course, I am sure that when the new office tower is finished in two years the city will make a concerted effort to clean up the halfway houses and homeless shelters, and then will finally do something about the crowds of homeless on my street.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context

The sit-lie law in downtown Portland has simply shifted the people sitting/lying on the sidewalks over to the sidewalks around my apartment building (which is downtown). In the summer I have to fight my way through crowds of up to 30 homeless people, who insist on harassing me, just to get into my building, of which the homeless people use the doorway as their own personal bathroom and the sidewalk a their trash can. At this moment there are two police cars in front of the Julia West house, and 5 homeless people hanging out on the sidewalk - yet another 'incident.' Julia West house is not helping people, it just corrals the homeless into a few block radius. I used to be sympathetic to homeless people, but after all the inappropriate crap homeless people have said to me, being woken up frequently at two AM from some inconsiderate jerks shouting at each other, and the frequent ambulance/police showing up at Julia West house for fights and drug overdoses, I don't care about them at all, I just want them to go away. The panhandling around downtown is a constant annoyance also, but a quick no is all it takes. There is no way to be 'comfortable' with a stranger asking you for money. Worse are the people asking for money for charities - they are basically asking for the same thing (they get paid much more than minimum wage to stand there and ask for money) but are pumped up on self-righteousness, and can't take no for an answer. I used to love living downtown but what with the homeless people, gutter punks, drug addicts, lunatics, and clipboard carriers, I can't wait until I graduate and can afford to move out of here.

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
view in context

I was a vegetarian for a few years, but went back to meat eating when I went to France and realized that I could either pick the meat out of a sandwich, eat it as is, or starve. It seemed wasteful and disrespectful to the animal to pick the meat out so I ate it. That was a few years ago, and I tend to cook a lot of local free-range chicken and a bit of fish at this point...but I do occasionally splurge on some locally grown grass fed beef. I'd rather eat a locally grown and grass fed cow than some fake-meat soybean product packaged in plastic and shipped from 1000 miles or more away.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
view in context

I don't think anyone should ask kids to take responsibility for their education when an adult is making the pertinent decisions. This is particularly true when they may come from challenging backgrounds and are not receiving the support at home that they need.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
view in context

It seems to me that quite a few parents have mentioned that their TAG child dropped out of school. I think it's truly sad that the students who are identified as particularly brilliant, who have the capability to contribute greatly to society, end up dropping out of school due to, essentially, boredom.
I was identified as a TAG student, and I also dropped out of school from boredom and the belief that there was no way I could ever afford college. I got absolutely nothing from the TAG program, which is sad because if that extra support had been there, I probably wouldn't have dropped out. I ended up getting my GED with perfect scores and going to college a few years later, but sometimes I wonder about what kind of contribution I could have made by now to society if there had been more challenging classes and additional support to keep me interested in school.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
view in context

Also, why are people talking about selling the SUV and buying a hybrid? A) someone else will buy the SUV and it's still a problem for the world and
B) You're still unnecessarily consuming energy because you don't need to drive!
We need to completely shift our way of thinking about life and ways of living.
Live close to where you work and you can walk everywhere. Imagine if kids grew up thinking it was normal to walk everywhere instead of drive everywhere. We'd cut down on rates of obesity and everyone would be consuming less energy as well.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
view in context

I do what I can but as a college student I feel like I am limited in time and money to be able to make real changes that have an impact. This makes me feel pretty hopeless. In addition, we have built a fossil fuel driven global economy of consumption, which has been growing for nearly 100 years. I'm all for a massive change in society - I feel like our current obsession with overconsumption is a serious problem and contributes to making our lives completely meaningless. However there are too many of us on the planet who want more and more cheap, worthless goods, and as long as our economies and cultures are based on high consumption levels we will never be able to reduce energy consumption to the point where we as a species can live sustainably. We are too numerous, and we are too greedy.
While I find this all very depressing, I will continue to do what I can to contribute to sustainable living, because I personally care about this lovely blue dot.

posted 5 years, 4 months ago
view in context