The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: February 6, 2014 Hour 2:No App For HappinessIsn't social media great? You can connect with people you lost touch with years ago, and swap notes about your lives now.  And then you can put up pictures and see theirs and trade funny messages and wait for replies. It's no surprise that some people need to take the occasional break from the ever-present screen in the face. Yoga instructor, philosopher and teacher Max Strom heartily agrees, in his book There is No App for Happiness.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 5, 2014, Hour 1A: Foster care is meant to keep children safe and healthy, but taking kids away from their parents is tough on everyone involved: children, birth parents, and foster parents. There are advocates available for children, but Oregon is now about to take a further step. That step will be the creation of a Foster Care Ombudsman, to field calls, queries and complaints from foster children and foster parents alike.  We talk about the duties of the yet-to-be-hired ombudsman, and how the hiring process will move ahead.  

The Jefferson Exchange: February 5, 2014, Hour 1B: We continue to debate whether people behind bars are there to be punished or to be given a chance to improve their lives. And we continue to struggle with getting our children to graduate from high school on time.  These will be the topics of this week's 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: Behind bars: rehabilitate, or just punish? How do we boost our high school graduation rates? Talk to you Wednesday morning at 8:30!

The Jefferson Exchange: February 5, 2014, Hour 2:It behooves us to think ahead to the days when we are not as sharp mentally as we once were. When you think about it, how will we know we are not being taken advantage of? It certainly helps to get another person's perceptions. And that's the idea behind the Shasta County Gatekeeper program: businesses are trained to recognize the signs of seniors at risk. The Gatekeepers program is among several joining forces for a symposium on elder financial exploitation coming to Redding. We explore the issues with a couple of experts. 

The Jefferson Exchange: February 4, 2014, Hour 1A:There is general agreement that the region's streams need a bit more help to be truly friendly places for fish. But there's plenty of disagreement over HOW to provide that help. Take the Trinity River in California. The Trinity River Restoration Program has been working for years to improve river conditions. But now more than a dozen conservation groups want the TRRP to stop channel restoration efforts, at least temporarily. We get the reasons from the California Water Impact Network.    

The Jefferson Exchange: February 4, 2014, Hour 1B: The Rogue River looks pristine in many places, but looks are deceiving. The Rogue, the McKenzie, and other Oregon rivers may be added to a list of streams bearing high levels of mercury.  And the listing would likely result in restrictions on the eating of fish from the Rogue, though likely not salmon and steelhead.  We talk to Oregon's Department of Environmental Quality about the sources of mercury, and the approach to cleanup.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 4, 2014, Hour 2:"Nice weather today." "Yes, but I hear it might rain." If this sounds like a conversation you've had often, you might be ready to absorb the knowledge of Marvin Brown. He worked his way up in sales, taking note the whole way of how people--complete strangers--engage in truly interesting conversations. Brown shares what he's learned in his book How to Meet and Talk to Anyone.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 3, 2014 Hour 1A:Arguing Timber And TerminologyThe Bureau of Land Management calls the plan for the White Castle timber sale "variable retention harvest." Environmental groups prefer "clearcut."  Welcome back to the frequent battles over logging in Western Oregon. Two environmental groups just filed legal challenges against the White Castle sale. We visit with one of those groups, Oregon Wild.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 3, 2014 Hour 1B:Ski Season WoesIt's already February and some skiers still haven't been able to hit the slopes. Winter storms have been rare visitors this winter, and winter recreation areas have little or no snow to work with.  Both Mt. Shasta Ski Park and Mt. Ashland Ski Area remain closed. We talk to Jason Young, base operations manager at Mt. Shasta, about the late start and what this season could mean financially for the resort and the skiers who hope to enjoy it.

The Jefferson Exchange: February 3, 2014 Hour 2:The Angel EffectNot every debate falls neatly within science or religion. Take angels as an example.  Even people well-versed in science claim to have felt a presence or even seen a figure guiding them to safety amid calamity. Angels, or hallucinations? John Geiger asks the question and explores the stories of people who claim supernatural guidance in his book The Angel Effect: We Are Never Alone.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 31, 2014 Hour 1:Driving Toward An EV FutureIf you're not driving a hybrid or electric vehicle yet, chances are pretty good that you will soon. Especially in Oregon, where the trade association Drive Oregon puts in a lot of miles (and watts, we presume) boosting electric vehicles, or EVs. We'll catch up with Drive Oregon about its current and ongoing efforts to put people behind the wheels (and handlebars) of EVs.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 31, 2014 Hour 2:How To Build A Hovercraft (And More)Maybe you're not a fan of either Diet Coke or Mentos candies, but they sure can put on a show together. A show Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe have been putting on for years now as the mad scientists of Eepybird. Actually, neither is a scientist; Stephen is a lawyer and Fritz is a juggler. But they put on great demonstrations of everyday objects doing extraordinary things. And they share many of their secrets in a new book, How to Build a Hovercraft.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 30, 2014 Hour 1A:Reducing Child Abuse: 90 by 30Child abuse is more widely recognized than ever before, and the work of eliminating it continues. Lane County is home to the 90 by 30 program, an effort to reduce child abuse by 90% by the year 2030. We hear from program participants about who is involved in 90 by 30, and how they plan to meet their goal.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 30, 2014 Hour 2:Going For The Gold: The "New 49ers"The first mention of "The New 49ers" came in a discussion of water quality on a recent Exchange. Like the 49ers of old, they are in search of gold in the region's rivers. And they say there is still plenty of gold to be had by modern miners. But their efforts come at a time when suction dredge mining is under new restrictions in both states. We learn more about the New 49ers goals and tactics.

The Jefferson Exchange: January 30, 2014 Hour 1B:Bringing Kids' Stories To LifeKids tell lots of stories, but those tend to be one-on-one kinds of events. A nonprofit called Stories Alive encourages literacy in children by making productions out of their stories. It's a two-week process, and Stories Alive will soon begin working with kids on a production in Ashland. Director/producer Jeanne Renaux joins us with details.