The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: August 7, 2014 Hr 1A: The fresh salt air.  The sound of the waves crashing on the shore.  The smell of cigarette smoke. Two of those will continue at Oregon ocean beaches, and it's probably not the smoke. The Oregon State Parks Department proposes ending all smoking on Parks property along the ocean... which is almost all of Oregon's coastline. This follows a similar smoking ban in inland state parks.  A public comment period is open through late August; we hear the next steps in the process.

The Jefferson Exchange: August 7, 2014 Hr 1B:Oregon seems to take longer to emerge from recessions than the rest of the country. And Medford seems to take longer than other Oregon metro areas. While the Medford area showed strong growth until the recession, a recent report shows it still struggling to get back to that success.  University of Oregon economist and report author Tim Duy joins us with analysis.  

The Jefferson Exchange: August 7, 2014 Hr2 :While it's probably true we can't reach all of our goals, we can at least make sure we've done everything in our power. And Heidi Reeder is determined to help people on that end. Reeder, a communications professor at Boise State, is the author of Commit to Win: How To Harness the Four Elements of Commitment to Reach Your Goals. Reeder says it's about putting wishing behind and taking a more forthright approach.  

The Jefferson Exchange: August 6, 2014 Hour 1A: Plenty of evidence suggests that students who enter school speaking a language other than English can face some long-term educational challenges. But in Oregon, the records are incomplete. English language learners are reclassified as English-proficient students once they've mastered the language. And the federal government only requires tracking for two years after reclassification.  Oregon State University's College of Education just received a grant to investigate further. Professor Karen Thompson joins us.

The Jefferson Exchange: August 6, 2014 Hour 1B:For the first time, listeners chose one of this week's topics for VENTSday, and it's a big one: we'll talk about Zionism, the creation of a Jewish homeland, in the context of the recent battles in Gaza. We'll also let listeners vent on California proposal to take guns away from someone who shows signs of mental illness. We do not schedule guests for Wednesday at 8:30, because that's the time for VENTSday, your chance to vent (politely, please) on a pair of topics in the news.  We bring the topics, you bring the opinions. One more time, this week's topics: What should happen to unsnarl the constant fighting between Israel and the Palestinians? Should family members be able to petition a judge to take firearms away from people who show signs of harming themselves or others?

The Jefferson Exchange: August 6, 2014 Hour 2: Most people like to be recognized for a job well-done. A bonus, a free dinner, even a certificate saying we accomplished something. But there's a whole class of workers who do NOT get noticed, precisely because they're doing their jobs. And when they mess up, that's when we learn of their very existence.  Think interpreters, fact-checkers, and anesthesiologists. David Zweig profiles these people and their work in his book Invisibles: The Power of Anonymous Work in an Age of Relentless Self-Promotion. 

 The Jefferson Exchange: August 5, 2014, Hour 1:One of the major gripes about the Affordable Care Act--Obamacare--is that it does not include a public option, a Medicare-style single-payer element. Many of the people who like the concept of single-payer health care do not like the concept of for-profit insurance companies. There are non-profit insurance co-ops out there, including Health Republic Insurance.  Health Republic will begin signing up customers in the next round of insurance signups in the fall. CEO Dawn Bonder joins us.    

The Jefferson Exchange: August 5, 2014, Hour 2:It's been a busy couple of weeks for firefighters in the region. The Oregon Gulch fire is one of those rare ones that involves both states, and it's a big one. It is also far from the only big one burning; crews are working fires in many places in both states.  We'll spend the hour visiting with people from firefighting agencies in both Oregon and California, getting a handle on fire behavior and firefighting. 

The Jefferson Exchange: August 4, 2014, Hour 1A: While much of the focus on illegal drug abuse went to meth and heroin, prescription drugs came along and became a huge problem. The opioids--Oxycontin and the like--are responsible for much of the illegal drug trade. And medical professionals have teamed up to curb the trade, through groups like the Opioid Prescribers Group in the Rogue Valley.  Acupuncturist Joshua Graner at Kolpia Counseling Services is part of the effort. He joins us to talk about the approaches, which differ from patient to patient.      

The Jefferson Exchange: August 4, 2014, Hour 1B:"Gordon Ramsay Checks Into a Hotel Run By Hippies," reads the promo headline for Fox TV's "Hotel Hell" airing tonight (August 4).  Who are they calling hippies? The owners of the Applegate River Lodge west of Medford, it turns out.  Ramsay, the flamboyant chef and restaurateur, attempts to help divorced business partners Joanna and Richard Davis hold the business together. Joanna Davis joins us.    

The Jefferson Exchange June 16, 2014, Hour 1A:There's probably a good story on every square mile of the Earth. And Pat Acklin and her students went looking for those stories. Acklin teaches at Southern Oregon University, and she led students through something called "The Square Mile Project."  Students researched the history and events of a square mile of land within Jackson County. Acklin checks in to talk about the project and its findings.   

The Jefferson Exchange June 16, 2014, Hour 1B:It's not exactly playing in the dirt, but it’s close. Archaeology allows its practitioners to spend time literally digging up pieces of our history. And Southern Oregon University archaeologist Chelsea Rose is getting noticed for it.  Her work will be featured on national TV, on a program produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting.  Dr. Rose joins us in the studio, with a couple of colleagues on the phone. 

The Jefferson Exchange June 16, 2014, Hour 2:Greta Beigel spent much of her career writing about the work of other people. Beigel worked as an arts reporter and editor for the New York Times. But she also harbored her own talents in the arts, as a concert pianist. And she pulls the disparate parts of her life together in one memoir.  Not that she wants to complain or anything, but the book is called Kvetch: One Bitch of a Life." Beigel now lives in the area and joins us in the studio.   

The Jefferson Exchange, June 132014, Hour 1A.Birth control is a fact of life in our society, but it was not always easy to obtain. It took a Supreme Court ruling in the mid 1960s to legalize contraception for married couples. The availability has only expanded from there, but not without challenges. Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon is taking note of the anniversary of that earlier court decision. PPAO also focuses on a pending court ruling about whether religious/personal beliefs can be a basis for an employer to deny health insurance coverage for birth control. PODCAST 6/13, Hr. 1A: Jimmy Radosta of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon joins on PPAO’s expansion, and current contraceptive cases.

The Jefferson Exchange, June 132014, Hour 1B.Lots of organizations rescue dogs from shelters and potential death. Some, like Golden Bond Rescue of Oregon, focus on specific breeds. Golden Bond looks for golden retrievers in need of good homes.  And lately, that work led the organization to look across the Pacific to Taiwan, where a surplus of the dogs is developing.