The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: December 31, 2013 Hour 2:Dorothea Lange RememberedGoogle the term "migrant mother" and look at the pictures. You will know instantly the work of the depression-era photographer Dorothea Lange. Lange died in 1965, but left behind some of the most unforgettable images in photographic history, especially her images of Americans down on their luck. Lange's goddaughter Elizabeth Partridge places her writing aside Lange's work in the book Dorothea Lange: Grab a Hunk of Lightning.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 30, 2013 Hour 1A:Learning The Ropes In The World Of ArtsWe want our students to do better in school, but budget cuts in recent years fell hard on offerings like art and music. And those offerings can be critical to the success of some students. The Oregon Arts Commission recently announced grants to bring knowledge of arts careers to those students through the "World of Work" projects. We hear about the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and other venues where the students will learn.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 30, 2013 Hour 1B:Military Interest In Sex Assault ProgramThe very title of Ashland's program for sexual assault victims says a lot: "You Have Options." Those options include waiting to decide whether to file charges, which can make a big difference in a victim's well-being. The military, troubled by a series of sexual assaults, recently received a briefing from Ashland's assistant police chief on the program. We catch up on the details of the program and the military's interest.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 30, 2013 Hour 2:Solving The Procrastination Puzzle TODAYWe could not wait until the New Year started to talk to the author of this book. And true to form, Timothy Pychyl could not wait for a major publisher, so he self-published Solving The Procrastination Puzzle before a major house picked it up. We pick Dr. Pychyl's brain about his strategies for moving ahead with our work, NOT putting it off.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 24, 2013, Hour 1A:In this season of giving, many people either make gifts of donations to charity or make year-end donations to beef up their charity deductions on the next income tax return. Oregon's Justice Department puts out an annual list of "the worst charities" seeking donations in Oregon. DOJ's Ellen Klem joins us with the names of the offenders, and details on HOW they offend. 

The Jefferson Exchange: December 24, 2013, Hour 1B:The "Millennials" born between 1980 and 2000 take a fair amount of heat for a lack of enthusiasm perceived by other generations. But they're plenty enthusiastic about volunteering, at least in Oregon. The state now boasts one of the highest volunteer rates in the country for that generation. We discuss the causes and campaigns for which millennials are donating their time and effort. 

The Jefferson Exchange: December 24, 2013, Hour 2:The old saying "one person's trash is another's treasure" comes to life every week on the PBS television show "Antiques Roadshow."   People from all over the country find curious items in their attics and basements, and find out they're worth a great deal of money. OR they find out that Grandma's prized silver tureen is really not worth much money. We get an inside look at the process of assigning value to antiques from Peter Pap, who works as an appraiser on the show.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 23, 2013 Hour 1A:The Fight To Maintain Protected Status For WolvesWe nearly wiped out wolves in the United States. And now large areas that were once home to wolves, including all of California, are wolf-free. Just the same, the federal government proposes lifting some protections for gray wolves, and a comment period on the proposal just closed. The idea faces predictably fierce opposition from Cascadia Wildlands and a host of other environmental groups.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 23, 2013 Hour 1B:Behind The Numbers As Oregon Unemployment DeclinesOregon's unemployment rate is only now dropping to levels last seen before the Great Recession. But there's still plenty of room for improvement; thousands of people are either looking for employment or new jobs to replace the ones they have. Guy Towers from the Oregon Employment Department joins us with the numbers and the interpretations of them.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 23, 2013 Hour 2:Eating "Anything That Moves"Remember a while back when we interviewed the author of a cookbook for bugs? Let's pick up that discussion once again, because interest in the subject is picking up momentum. And it's not just bugs that are gaining ground as potential meal fare... plenty of previously off-limits materials, both animal and vegetable, are making it to the table. Dana Goodyear gives us an idea of the scope in her book Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters, and the Making of a New American Food Culture.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 20, 2013, Hour 1A:What's good for driving may not necessarily be good for the vehicle, or the environment. Salt is commonly used to help road crews get rid of snow and ice in colder climates, but Oregon began using it in recent years, in places like the frequently snowbound Siskiyou Summit. What are the situations that call for salt, and how much is used? We get the picture from workers at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). 

The Jefferson Exchange: December 20, 2013, Hour 1B: Public forests are managed with limits on their uses and are required to keep detailed records. Private forests, on the other hand, have to follow laws like the Oregon Forest Practices Act, but the records are less open to the public. Eugene-based Beyond Toxics just released a report examining pesticide use on private forest land, and it lists a number of concerns about pesticide use and exposure to humans and wildlife. Lisa Arkin from Beyond Toxics joins us, along with former Oregon Board of Forestry member Peter Hayes.  

The Jefferson Exchange: December 20, 2013, Hour 2:Maybe by the time you read this, Congress will have completed work on a farm bill. But it certainly dragged its feet getting up to speed. The farm bill(s), plural, are important because of all the issues in both agriculture and food policy that they address.  And without passage of a new one or at least renewal of the current one, consumers would notice immediate differences, like a potential doubling of milk prices. We'll talk to a couple of farm bill experts, Eric Shuck and Dan Imhoff,  about all the issues involved.  

The Jefferson Exchange: December 19, 2013 Hour 1A:Girl Scouts Beyond BarsGoing to prison is no picnic, but it's hard on more than the person serving time. The Girl Scouts of America runs a program to help women in prison stay connected to their daughters, for the benefit of both. We learn the details of the Girls Scouts Beyond Bars program.

The Jefferson Exchange: December 19, 2013 Hour 1B:Spotted Frog Take Two: Defending ProtectionAnd now the other side: our earlier conversation with Klamath County Commissioner Tom Mallams examined the resistance to the possible placement of the Oregon spotted frog on the endangered species list. The frog (and its defenders) have been waiting a long time: it was first proposed for listing 20 years ago. The endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity explains the spotted frog's issues... and the process.