The Jefferson Exchange

Jefferson Exchange — March 13, 2013, HOUR 2 McCall Centennial The late Gov. Tom McCall is still a figure in recent history for many Oregonians, but this month (March 22nd) marks the 100th anniversary of the revered governor's birth.  The Oregon Historical Society is rolling out several events to mark the McCall centennial, including a lecture by McCall biographer Brent Walth, who will bring his lecture to Ashland this evening.  We'll swap McCall stories with Walth and listeners in this hour. 

The Jefferson Exchange: March 12, 2013, Hour 1: Fishing for DX We get plenty of feedback from our listeners, but most of it comes from within our listening area.  It turns out our listening area can be quite large indeed.  A recent contact from Lapland (in Finland) reminded us of a time-honored tradition associated with radio broadcasts: DXing, or listening for signals from Distant transmitters (Xmitters, in the shorthand).  We'll visit with people who partake in the hobby about their passion and their procedures.+ Bybee Timber Sale The official public comment period is over, but the comments pro and con keep coming on the Bybee Vegetation Management Project in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, near the Crater Lake boundary.  The battle lines are drawn in the usual way: one side says it's necessary, the other says it's too big and too harmful to the environment.  We'll go into detail on the arguments.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 12, 2013, Hour 2: Food Banks in Recovery? The holiday season is now several months behind us; the spirit of giving prompts many people to provide food for the hungry, but the providing slacks off once the holidays end.  You'll hear an update on efforts to provide food assistance in three of our communities: Lane County, Humboldt County, and Ashland.

Jefferson Exchange — March 11, 2013, HOUR 1 Ashland Film Fest Ticket sales begin this week for the Ashland Independent Film Festival, set for the first week of April.  The festival's star has been rising on the film festival scene for several years now.  Director Anne Ashbey will join us to talk about this year's film offerings, and what it takes to assemble a quality lineup of films. Mad Scientist of Music Maybe you're familiar with the concept of "found objects" in the visual arts.  The concept also extends to music, as Stanford University professor Mark Applebaum often proves, by making music with objects like combs and Astroturf.  He'll travel to Ashland for a performance at Southern Oregon University. We'll get a preview from "The Mad Scientist of Music."

Jefferson Exchange — March 11, 2013, HOUR 2 Tough Times at State U. It's been a tough couple of decades for public higher education in our states.  Both Oregon and California have slashed state support for state universities, and tuition skyrocketed as a result.  And our part of the world is not alone, with similar events taking place in other states.  We'll get an overview of the changes past and future in the Oregon system from board chair Matt Donegan; Daniel Hurley of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities will provide a national perspective.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 8, 2013, Hour 1: KBRA and KlamCo Commissioners The newer members of the Klamath County Board of Commissioners ran for office on pledges to remove the county from the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement, a far-reaching agreement meant to satisfy water users, both human and animal.  And sure enough, commissioners recently voted 3-0 to get out of the KBRA.  You'll hear about the reasons for the opposition, and what happens next.+ Care and Feeding of Rivers We got quite a response to our recent interview with a suction dredge miner who hunts for minerals in the region's rivers.  In this segment, we'll hear the arguments against suction dredging from the Rogue Riverkeeper program... along with a discussion of some of the major obstacles to fish passage in streams in Oregon.

The Jefferson Exchange: March 8, 2013, Hour 2: The Great Convergence The age of the "world's last superpower" could be coming to a close.  China is not a military power on the order of the United States, but it is certainly an economic one.  And former diplomat Kishore Mahbubani says the rest of the world needs to be ready, a point he argues in his book "The Great Convergence: Asia, the West, and the logic of one World."

Jefferson Exchange – March 7, 2013, HOUR 1Buckley on the Budget The nitty-gritty of the budget battle is about to begin in the Oregon legislature.  Democrats and Republicans both laid out spending plans for the next two years, and both parties want to spend more on schools than the governor proposes.  Ashland state representative Peter Buckley chairs the budget-proposing Ways and Means Committee in the House... he will join us to explain the Democrats' plan, the Republicans' response, and how anybody proposes paying for more school money.Stocking with Dead Fish You've heard of fish-stocking programs… live fish are transported to lakes or rivers to fill out the fish populations and help the ecosystem.  But Oregon Fish and Wildlife's Restoration & Enhancement program also dumps salmon carcasses to put nutrients in streams.  You'll hear how the program works.

Jefferson Exchange – March 7, 2013, HOUR 2No One's Expecting The world faces serious issues from the burgeoning population; at least that's the general theory among environmentalists.  But they do acknowledge that the birthrate in America is already low, and dropping elsewhere in the world.  And that creates some of its own issues.  In "What to Expect When No One's Expecting: America's Coming Demographic Disaster," Author Jonathan V. Last argues that the threat to Americans is the collective unwillingness to have more kids.      

Jefferson Exchange — March 6, 2013, HOUR 1Hemp on the Horizon? Industrial hemp has an ongoing problem: it comes from the plant cannibis sativa, the very same plant that gives the world marijuana.  So the federal government will not allow its cultivation.  That could change, now that both Oregon senators introduced an industrial hemp farming act, which--if passed--would remove federal restrictions on industrial hemp farming in the U.S. and allowing states to regulate the crop. 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: --Should we limit development in earthquake- and tsunami-prone areas? --Is it time to end the "pretend draft" of Selective Service?

Jefferson Exchange — March 6, 2013, HOUR 2The Time Cure We sometimes speak of people who are dealing with PTSD and old traumas as "living in the past."  And psychology is joining that view.  In the book "The Time Cure: Overcoming PTSD with the New Psychology of Time Perspective Therapy," mental health professionals Philip Zimbardo, Richard Sword and Rosemary Sword write about overcoming PTSD with the recent psychology of time perspective therapy.   Richard Sword will join us. 

The Jefferson Exchange: March 5, 2013, Hour 1: Detailed Census Info The big every-ten-year count is over, but the U.S. Census Bureau stays busy in between counts.  The supplemental counts include data collected from 2007-2011, broken down by Zip code.  The information allows users to find out highlights down to the neighborhood level: statistics about people, households, personal income, labor force, and housing, among others. + Happiness in the Brain The examination of happiness continues at Southern Oregon University, where the campus theme of this academic year is "Exploring Happiness."  Psychology professors Mark Krause and Rachel Jochem speak Wednesday afternoon on the ways we experience happiness, with an emphasis on the question: is it all in your brain?  We'll get a preview in studio

The Jefferson Exchange: March 5, 2013, Hour 2: Earthquake Preparedness Waiting for the Big One can be nerve wracking, and predicting it is difficult, but the information is helpful and needed.  A recent study shows a major West Coast earthquake could occur in the next 50 years and Oregon's infrastructure is not ready.  You'll hear from the lead author and another scientist. 

Jefferson Exchange — March 4, 2013, HOUR 1 Tsunami Trail The search for debris from the Japanese earthquake and tsunami continues along the Oregon coast.  But not all the efforts are focused on tsunamis past.  Newport's newly blazed Tsunami Interpretive Trail is a rarity… a trail with signs indicating how much time trail users have to get to safe, high ground... down to the minute.  Suction Dredges Suction dredge mining in the region's rivers is turning into a hot topic once again.  California's moratorium on such mining is still in place, and Oregon is considering new laws and regulations.  Today you'll hear from retired research biologist and miner Joseph Greene about the process and how it works.

Jefferson Exchange — March 4, 2013, HOUR 2 Mark Winne on Hunger We love to eat, and we love to talk about food.  But sometimes the discussions are pretty heavy, especially about the times when the food supply is light.  Mark Winne, sometimes called "The Father of Food Policy Work," visits the Rogue Valley this week as part of a food summit.  He'll join us with people from Medford-based ACCESS.