The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: March 25, 2014, Hour 1A: The old buildings that give downtown areas character in places like Ashland are often made of brick. And there's a potential problem: older buildings made of unreinforced masonry are prone to heavy damage in earthquakes. Ashland building officials are beginning to think in terms of seismic renovations to bring older buildings up to current building codes. We talk with Ashland's building official about what that process might entail.      

The Jefferson Exchange: March 25, 2014, Hour 2:When the warning light goes on in your car, you reach for the owner's manual, don't you? It sure would be great if we had that kind of manual for the human body.  Mission accomplished... Physical therapist Doranne Long puts what she's learned about the human form and how to keep it working into the book Your Body Book.  

The Jefferson Exchange: March 24, 2014, Hour 1A:The people we once called "ambulance attendants" became "firefighters," and "EMTs," and "first responders." The mission--saving lives--remains the same. But the titles and the equipment evolve over the years, and the people involved inemergency medical worktrain and compare notes frequently. We catch up on the latest trends in the business with a family and emergency medicine physician and an EMT from Jackson County Fire District 3.    

The Jefferson Exchange: March 14, 2014 Hour 1A:Laughing About Dogs And Cats For A Good Cause Ashland playwright/poet Dori Appel wrote a pile of work already, and continues to add to it. Her latest project is less about the play than the critters who benefit: homeless and sheltered animals.  Appel's series of comic vignettes, Far From the Zoo, will be performed across the Rogue Valley on three consecutive weekends. Proceeds will go to five separate animal welfare organizations in the valley. Appel joins us to explain the project and its creation.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 14, 2014 Hour 1B:Foreclosure Prevention Program Expands In Oregon Seven years after the first signs of the Great Recession, we're still talking about people in trouble with their mortgages. The Oregon Housing and Community Services Department (OHCS) is expanding a program to help underwater mortgagees keep their homes. The program was available only in the Portland metro area until recently.  We get the details from Neighbor Works Umpqua on how the program works, and who is eligible to make use of it.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 14, 2014 Hour 2:Rosie Perez And An Unpredictable Life The actress Rosie Perez is always a ray of sunshine in her movies and TV shows. But the sunny disposition emerged from a life that began with some storm clouds.  Her mentally ill mother put her in a children's home when she was very young... and the story just gets more harrowing from there. Rosie Perez joins us to talk about her life, a story she tells in Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair).

The Jefferson Exchange: March 13, 2014 Hour 1A:Bringing Modern Medicine To The Remote PhilippinesThe modern world is taken for granted in our region. But it has barely penetrated into remote areas in other parts of the world. Medford physician Theresa Chan got a crash course in that knowledge earlier this year, when she traveled to the Philippines with Project Hope to help establish good health practices among mothers and midwives. She shares her experiences with us.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 13, 2014 Hour 1B:The Case Against A Jackson County GMO BanJackson County is the only county in Oregon to hold its own vote on whether to ban genetically modified (GMO) crops. And it will likely be the last, since the Oregon legislature banned further local votes.  But measure 15-119 is an interesting test case. We heard from the pro-measure side on March 5; John Watt from Good Neighbor Farmers--opposed to the measure--joins us in this segment.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 13, 2014 Hour 2:From Drug Prosecutor To LEAP-erComplaints about America's longstanding war on drugs are common. And some of the complaints come from people who were soldiers in that war. Inge Fryklund of Bend prosecuted members of drug gangs in Chicago and met opium growers in Afghanistan. She saw clear parallels between the two; both involve drug suppliers trying to protect their "turf". Fryklund is now a member of LEAP, Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.  We'll visit with her prior to a couple of events in Weed (California).

The Jefferson Exchange: March 12, 2014, Hour 1A:Like so many other things, public libraries have become a political football in recent decades, subject to cutting or closing to balance local budgets. Jackson County lived through one round of library shutdowns in 2007, only to see libraries reopen with outsourced management and reduced hours. County commissioners say they'll be forced to close libraries without a new funding source.  Enter the new funding source: a separate library district that includes all of Jackson County. A vote to establish the district appears on the May election ballot (Measure 15-122). Former Ashland mayor and campaign leader Cathy Shaw joins us to explain the plan. 

The Jefferson Exchange: March 12, 2014, Hour 1B: Oregon's troubled health care exchange, Cover Oregon, continues to struggle. And many of us continue to struggle with the recent switch to Daylight Saving Time.  Those are the subject areas for the weekly free-for-all we call VENTSday.That's our Wednesday morning discussion of issues that does NOT feature a guest... you and your (polite) opinions take center stage.  Join the lively debate by calling 1-800-838-3760 anywhere you can hear us, 541-552-6782 in the Rogue Valley, or send an email to JX@jeffnet.org.This week's topics again: Cover Oregon: fix it, or pull the plug?  And who's responsible? Daylight Saving Time: worth the hassle, or a waste of time?

The Jefferson Exchange: March 12, 2014, Hour 2:Maybe Mom and Dad told us it's better to give than to receive, but there's a need for balance, isn't there? Social worker/counselor/consultant Amanda Owen advises women in particular to counter their giving tendencies by allowing themselves to be on the receiving end of nurturing and generosity. She re-states the case in her new book Born To Receive: 7 Powerful Steps Women Can Take Today To Reclaim Their Half of the Universe.    

The Jefferson Exchange: March 11, 2014 Hour 1A:Closing Ranks On ColonoscopiesThe Oregon Legislature recently took a stand on colonoscopies. Not pro or con, mind you--medicine is quite convinced of the value of a picture of the large intestine.  What the legislature did is make sure that insurance companies will cover the cost of removing polyps discovered during the procedure. We talk about the law and colon cancer more generally with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Networks. 

The Jefferson Exchange: March 11, 2014 Hour 1B:Approaching The End With COHOThe organization that goes by "COHO" is not about fish. The name is an acronym for Choosing Options, Honoring Options: helping people make choices about the end of life that will be respected and followed. And it's not just about the medical issues, either. Pastor and chaplain Fred Grewe will speak this week about passing life's meaning along to loved ones; he'll visit The Exchange first.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 11, 2014 Hour 2:China And "The Contest Of The Century"When Russia is not flexing its muscles, China is often the focus of incidents on the world stage. There are more people in China than any other country, and its economic growth has been nothing short of astounding.  And it is widely suspected that China wants to turn its economic might into other kinds of power. Geoff Dyer is a former Beijing bureau chief for a western publication; he writes of the potential struggle in The Contest of the Century: The New Era of Competition with China--and How America Can Win.