The Jefferson Exchange

The Jefferson Exchange: April 29, 2013, Hour 2: Travels With Hillary Hillary Clinton is working on a book about her years of secretary of state, but one of the reporters who covered her beat her to the punch.  BBC correspondent Kim Ghattas joins us with details of the highs and lows of the Clinton years at State in "The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power."

The Jefferson Exchange: April 26, 2013, Hour 1: Jackson County Expo in Trouble The parade of potential budget-cut victims continues: Jackson County's budget committee is discussing cuts to entire programs in the coming fiscal year, including the possibility of removing all county support for the Expo Park in Central Point, possibly spelling the end of the annual Jackson County Fair itself.  Expo Director Dave Koellermeier joins us to talk about possible futures that do not include any county funding.+ End of the Lumber Line The only game in town is closing.  Rough and Ready Lumber was the last sawmill turning out dimension lumber in Jackson and Josephine Counties (veneer and plywood mills are still open), and its owners just announced the closing of the mill.  The move turns 85 workers out at the mill near Cave Junction.  Rough and Ready co-owner Jennifer Phillippi joins us to talk about the factors leading to the decision.

The Jefferson Exchange: April 26, 2013, Hour 2: (Don't) Pick Your Poison "Toxicodendron diversilobum" neither rolls off the tongue easily nor inspires much alarm.  But use its more common name, poison oak, and suddenly it gets attention.  The springtime brings new growth to the itch-causing plants, and sends lots of people into the woods to come into contact with them.  Sandra J. Baker has written two books, both on poison oak and poison ivy, and she offers a wealth of information on identification and remedies.

Jefferson Exchange — April 25, 2013, HOUR 1 Sexual Assault Response Educating the public about sexual assault is the main focus of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.  But it is not only the general public that needs education on the subject.  Emergency workers and other first responders also need training in how to respond to a sexual assault case.  The City of Ashland plans such a training this week; you'll hear about the need and the elements. Extension on the Brink The axe fell in Lane County, now it is a possibility in Jackson County.  The extension service and experiment station west of Medford would be de-funded--zeroed out--under the budget proposal now on the table.  You'll hear the reaction, just hours after a meeting to discuss the possible future of the service. 

Jefferson Exchange — April 25, 2013, HOUR 2 Paulann Petersen and Poetry If poetry is food for the soul, this month should be quite the cafeteria for our insides.  April is National Poetry Month, a chance for all of us to partake of some of the jillions of offerings.  Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen will join us to talk about poetry generally and her own poetry specifically, and we want to hear from you about your favorite poems and poets, too.  

Jefferson Exchange – April 24, 2013, HOUR 1 STDs on the Rise Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in Shasta County and California more generally, and a combination of human and bacteriological behaviors appear to be at the center of the increase.  You'll hear from Shasta County's lead health investigator about STD transmission and prevention.  VENTSday No guest, two topics, and all the calls and emails we can fit in half an hour.  That's the general structure of our weekly VENTSday segment, a chance for listeners to vent politely on topics in the news.  Take part by calling 1-800-838-3760 or 541-552-6782 or emailing JX@jeffnet.org THIS WEEK: --Indian casino for Medford-where do you stand? --The Senate and the filibuster: time for divorce?

Jefferson Exchange – April 24, 2013, HOUR 2 Jazz and Communities Think about ways to build communities: community projects.  Fundraisers.  Jazz.  Jazz?  Musician and independent scholar Tim DuRoche says yes, jazz is very much about building communities.  DuRoche speaks on that very subject this week in Grants Pass and Medford, and we'll get a chance to visit with him beforehand. 

The Jefferson Exchange: April 23, 2013, Hour 1: Sex Assault in the Military The stories we hear from overseas are horrifying, but the United States is home to sexual violence, too.  And this week the University of Oregon observes Sexual Violence Awareness Week.  The events kick off with the screening of a film on sexual assault in the military, "The Invisible War," Monday evening.+ Temporary D.A. Ed Caleb resigned as Klamath County district attorney at the beginning of the year, after nearly three decades on the job.  Until an election is held next year, Medford attorney and former state legislator Rob Patridge will hold the job on an interim basis.  You'll hear the challenges of managing a law enforcement agency in a county with a slender budget when Patridge joins us on the air.

The Jefferson Exchange: April 23, 2013, Hour 2: Hidden Cities Many of us may be wary of wandering the streets of a strange city.  Moses Gates appears to possess no such fear.  He studied urban planning and began to explore hidden corners of New York City... and that led to similar adventures in cities on four continents, from New York subway tunnels to Paris catacombs.  His exploits are detailed in the book "Hidden Cities: Travels to the Secret Corners of the World's Great Metropolises." 

The Jefferson Exchange: April 22, 2013, Hour 1: Earth Day 2013 Happy Earth Day to you!  April 22nd has been Earth Day since 1970, and while there have been improvements in the environment, there has also been the advent of global warming and the near doubling of the world's population.  You'll hear from the Southern Oregon Climate Action Network about how things look on this Earth Day. + Freedom to Marry Public opinion on the subject of same-sex marriage appears to be changing rapidly, and a number of groups are working hard to take advantage of the situation by helping shape new laws.  Thalia Zepatos from the group Freedom to Marry joins us to talk about her group and its focus.

The Jefferson Exchange: April 22, 2013, Hour 2: Enough is Enough Think of all the newscasts you've heard that include a variation of this line: "The economy grew last month at a rate of…"  In the capitalist world, which is pretty much the whole world, economic health is measured by growth.  Authors Rob Dietz and Dan O'Neill are among the many people who would like to see us change our method of measurement.  They lay out their case for a steady-state economy in "Enough is Enough: Building A Sustainable Economy in a World of Finite Resources."  

The Jefferson Exchange: April 19, 2013, Hour 1: Immigration by the Numbers Much of the talk in the political realm since the last election has focused on immigration reform, with members of both parties considering ways to address immigration and people who have already moved to the United States, often illegally.  Roy Beck is not among the people hoping for a reform bill.  He heads the group NumbersUSA, which focuses on an appropriate number of immigrants.  You'll hear how that philosophy translates to policy. + The All-America (non-) Team As practical jokes go, this is far beyond the water-pail-atop-the-door or some of the classics.  Four college students in the 1970s created a college basketball all-America team, picked players for it, and got both the universities and the press to tout the selections.  And the perpetrators of the hoax are only now telling their story.  Current Southern Oregon University professor Paul Pavlich and co-conspirator Steve Noll will explain the prank. 

The Jefferson Exchange: April 19, 2013, Hour 2: Francine Prose Francine Prose graduated from prestigious Radcliffe College and realized she had no job skills.  After a stint in graduate school, she wrote her first novel out of desperation… and it was well-regarded and sold well.  Prose is best known for her fiction, but has also written literary and art criticism and children's books.  She speaks in Ashland this evening, and we get a chance to visit with her before the event.

Jefferson Exchange — April 18, 2013, HOUR 1 Oregon University Audit The recent complaints of Oregon University System students about rapidly rising tuition got a boost from an unlikely source.  The Oregon Secretary of State's Audit Division released a report on an audit of OUS, and found that tuition is rising faster than inflation.  You'll hear the details of the report and how its findings are likely to be used.  Snowpack Assessment People in the rest of the country may not understand the focus on snowpack in our region.  It's this simple: most of our precipitation falls outside the growing season.  So what falls as snow in the mountains in the winter flows down our streams in the summer.  You'll get an idea of the depth and quality of the snowpack from this past winter from the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Portland. 

Jefferson Exchange — April 18, 2013, HOUR 2 Rated R (for Raw) Maybe we're not eating any better, but there is general consensus that one of the keys to good health is a good diet.  Sergei Boutenko, his mother Victoria Boutenko and sister Valya are convinced that changing their diets solved their health problems.  Now they write books and blogs and make videos and more as The Raw Family.  Sergei and Victoria will join us.