The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: February 14, 2014 Hour 2:Rebroadcast: Ascent of the A-WordListen to how careful we can be NOT saying an objectionable-but common-word on the radio. Why? Because Geoffrey Nunberg wrote a whole book on the word, its uses and its connotations. And he called it…ASCENT OF THE A-WORD. It’s a look at the word and the behavior we’ll call “A-hole-ism”.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 12, 2014, Hour 1A:"Retrenchment" is not a word used lightly on the Southern Oregon University campus. It is the term required when the university considers program cuts that would result in faculty jobs being lost. And SOU's plan for retrenchment is now up for comment on campus. It would eliminate programs in physics and art history, among other majors; the point is to save millions of dollars in university money each year. SOU President Mary Cullinan joins us to explain why the programs targeted for cuts were chosen, and where the process goes from here.          

The Jefferson Exchange: February 12, 2014, Hour 1B: What will it take to make college more affordable in our country? And those nifty electronic or "E-cigarettes": should we regulate those like the old-fashioned cigarettes? Those are the key questions in our weekly VENTSday segment. 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.  It's VENTSday on The Jefferson Exchange, and you participate by calling 1-800-838-3760 or 541-552-6782 or emailing JX@jeffnet.org. This week's topics, again: What should we do to make college affordable for more students? Should e-cigarettes be subject to regulation just like regular tobacco products?

The Jefferson Exchange: February 12, 2014, Hour 2:It's been almost exactly 50 years since The Beatles first landed in America and changed the world.There are many commemorations planned, including a book by Penelope Rowlands called The Beatles Are Here! Rowlands was a Beatlemaniac herself, appearing among a flock of screaming girls in the New York Times at the height of the mania. Her story and those of many artists and performers takes us back to a more innocent—and screaming—America. 

The Jefferson Exchange: February 11, 2014 Hour 1A:Not every species that enters the endangered species list stays there for decades. The bald eagle recovered enough to get de-listed, and so did several other animals.  But no fish ever came off the list… until now. The Oregon chub, native to the Willamette Valley, will be removed from the endangered species list. The federal Fish & Wildlife Service got help from its state counterpart and other agencies. You'll hear how well the little chub is faring now. 

The Jefferson Exchange: February 11, 2014, Hour 1B:It has been said many times that journalists and legislators know they've probably done their jobs well when many people are angry with them. Oregon Senator Ron Wyden can probably relate. His recently announced plan to change the management of federal timber on Bureau of Land Management land in Western Oregon drew criticism from both the timber industry and conservation groups. Cue the conservation group: Dominick DellaSala of the Geos Institute based in Ashland explains the on-the-ground concerns his group and others have with the Wyden plan.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 11, 2014, Hour 2:Recent rain and snow are good to have, but probably not good enough. The region is way behind in precipitation, and California's governor already declared a drought weeks ago.  Oregon may follow suit if the conditions demand. Recent snow surveys show grim news for the months ahead unless there's a lot more precipitation. From California's Department of Water Resources, Chief of Cooperative Snow Surveys Frank Gehrke is our guest. 

The Jefferson Exchange: February 10, 2014, Hour 1A:Long faces, tired eyes, and picket signs marked the start of the Medford teacher strike on Thursday (February 6th). Teachers hit the picket lines after nearly 10 months of negotiating with the Medford district failed to produce a teacher contract. The teachers' union and the district planned to return to talks over the weekend, while the district prepared to reopen schools on Tuesday with substitute teachers. On the eve of the strike deadline, we offered interview time to union and district. We'll hear from both sides about their story of the strike and why it happened.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 10, 2014, Hour 1B: February includes a lot of important dates, one of great regional significance: it is the month the Oregon Shakespeare Festival opens for the season. Previews begin later this week on OSF's indoor stages. Alison Carey joins us to talk about season highlights and the project she directs, the “American Revolutions” cycle of history plays, including one--”All the Way”--that opens on Broadway in a few weeks.      

The Jefferson Exchange: February 10, 2014, Hour 2:Did we mention February is big for Shakespeare in Ashland? What are YOU looking at, you wanton, motley-minded horn-beast? We could not resist an interview with the creator of the clever book Shakespeare Insult Generator.  Think of it as “Mad Libs” for insults, using lines and words from Shakespeare plays. Oregon Shakespeare Festival veteran Barry Kraft is the author and will be our guest. We plan to talk about the book and the huge effect Shakespeare had upon the English language itself.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 7, 2014 Hour 1A:Tale Of Two Rivers: The "Klamazon" DelegationDams in, dams out (maybe): the Amazon River may be home to a huge new dam, at the very time efforts continue to remove four dams from the Klamath River. Now young people from the Yurok and other local tribes will travel to the Amazon. They'll visit with indigenous people from that region and join them in opposing the building of the Belo Monte dam.  We visit with members of what has become known as "The Klamazon Delegation."

The Jefferson Exchange: February 7, 2014 Hour 1B:Chinese New Year, Southern Oregon StyleOne of the biggest celebrations of Chinese New Year in the region comes in the small historic mining town of Jacksonville, once the Jackson County seat. Why this neck of the woods?  Because in its gold mining and county-seat heyday, Jacksonville was home to a thriving community of Chinese immigrants. By and large, they went back to China when the boom years ended, after persecution and even legislation against them. On the eve of the Chinese New Year celebrations in Jacksonville, we'll learn about the poor treatment of the immigrants, and the legacy they left.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 7, 2014 Hour 2:Rebroadcast: "Smitten"So much dating advice revolves around making a good first impression. But is that first impression really a good look at the real person?  In their book SMITTEN: The Way of the Brilliant Flirt, authors Ariel Kiley and Simone Kornfeld counsel letting the real woman shine through.  This is an encore interview from August of 2013.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 6, 2014 Hour 1A:Future Planning At Ashland's HospitalA year ago, the future of Ashland Community Hospital was unclear. The former city hospital was searching for a hospital group with which to affiliate, and one proposal had fallen through. Last summer the Medford-based Asante group stepped in, and in short order hired its own CEO. Now that Sheila Clough has been in place for several months, we visit with her about the strategic plan for what is now called Asante Ashland Community Hospital.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 6, 2014 Hour 1B:Oregon Gets Even Bike-FriendlierBikes bring bucks. It's not an official slogan, but it neatly captures the tourism approach to bicyclists in Oregon. The state's tourism apparatus, Travel Oregon, is now expanding its experimental Bike Friendly Business Program to the entire state, offering a chance for businesses to get in on the two-wheel activity. We get the program details from Travel Oregon.