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I think that the subject of affordable housing deserves [b]at least[/b] one discussion. The meteoric rise in home prices in the past decade in Oregon have put many folks out of sight of owning their own home. I think there needs to be a concerted statewide (ideally nationwide) effort to help encourage and fund creative new ways to get people of lesser means into housing that is clean, close to commerce/schools, and affords a feeling of having their own space. I think that the standard apartment building vs. ugly quad or duplex vs. single home paradigm needs expansion and attention.

PDXOutdoors — Tue May 6th 1:16p.m.

Not long ago the Portland City Club did a report on reforming our Initiative Petition System of putting issues on the ballot. They offered many good ideas on how to make this system work better. This is a controversial topic, but a very important one. Everything from signature gathering to the ease of adding amendments to our State Constitution, would make for an interesting program.

Stan Seleen — Mon June 23rd 12:30p.m.

Thank you for the idea... as we approach election season I wanted to make sure you know that we are in regular contact with the Portland City Club and we actually have a couple of copies of this report here. As we plan our coverage of the initiative system we will certainly keep this in mind. Thanks so much.

Sarah Jane Rothenfluch — Tue July 15th 2:47p.m.

i don't know where best to post this, but we would love to have a show about the bombing anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th. We have two great speakers who are experts in the history of the event in town and can field questions about those days.

Rachel Larson — Tue July 8th 3:16p.m.

Rachel, thanks for the suggestion. It does bring two things to mind for me. First, while the anniversary is certainly important we usually try to find other pegs (other than just anniversaries or "days") to link shows to. We also like to make shows resonate in the Pacific Northwest as much as possible. If you have any more ideas about how to do this show -- taking those two points to mind -- I would really love to hear your thoughts.

Sarah Jane Rothenfluch — Tue July 15th 2:51p.m.

Not sure if it helps, but one angle to cover the local connections point could be the large number of Japanese students at Willamette U. I'm not a good resource person there, but it might be a good local tie in, especially since seventeen Oregon localities have sister cities in Japan (list at http://www.jaso.org/sisters.html ). If we focus on the impact that the undercurrent of the bombings may have on various generations of folks and its impact on how we in the Northwest interact with our sister cities and the greater population, it might serve as both an educational presentation and one that might lead to better understanding.

Rather than set the show up for the 6th or the 9th, however, you might do one a week or so earlier that points towards them with a topic that looks at how we are perceiving threats from countries that have or want the bomb. this might fit well with the election season coverage. A guest or two from the only two countries that have actually used and been targets of nuclear warfare (and maybe a historian to give context) and how our relationships have been impacted sixty odd years on. Is our understanding of what the bomb represents correctly informed, exaggerated, or woefully inadequate?

Just a few thoughts.

tpohara — Tue July 15th 9:59p.m.

*the latest in potty training*

This one is actually pretty cool. It's sometimes called Elimination Communication, Natural Infant Hygiene, or just Diaper-Free, and it's about helping your baby to go 'to the toilet' somewhere other than a diaper, some of the time, then more of the time as they grow!
It's about learning to observe baby's bodily rhythms, body language and practicing responding in such a way that your connection is enhanced, benefiting your whole relationship. It's about sometimes anticipating the needs of a pre-verbal human being and experiencing their joy that you understand them. It's about using diapers as a tool rather than a necessity.
It is not toilet training, it is not 'coercive' in any way, rather it's gentle and responsive.

With Elimination Communication (EC) we help the baby stay clean and dry until they gain independence in their own time, at their own pace - gradually. It's just a way of addressing a baby's hygiene needs over full time use of diapers and changing dirty diapers for years. A parenting option.

Local resources include...
Eugene's DiaperFree baby YahooGroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dfbeugene

Portland (and Vancouver, WA) DFB YahooGroup: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/dfbportland

Wonderful books:

Diaper-Free! by ingrid Bauer
Throughout most of human existence, parents have cared for their babies hygienically without diapers. In many cutures around the world, mothers still know how to tune in to their infants to keep them clean and content. Your baby, too, can enjoy the comfort of this natural approach, whether you use diapers or not. This comprehensive guide with over 40 photos shows you how.

The Diaper Free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh

and an international yahoo group with over 2000 members http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eliminationcommunication/

Emmama — Wed Aug. 6th 5:47a.m.

anything about dogs would be great - breed bans (e.g. pit bulls) is always controversial. I would enjoy a show about the behavior and mental life of the family dog.

wittgenstein — Wed Aug. 20th 2:24p.m.

Oh yeah, this one's eating me. What gives people the right to bring their dogs into public places like stores, work, restaurants, etc? When did humans become so frail that they need their pet with them 24/7 everywhere they go?

I was at Safeway the other day and almost stepped on a lady's micro-chihauhau. Couldn't see the cute little thing because he may have been four inches tall. If I hadn't seen the descending leash that dog would have been road grill.

Can't people leave their pets at home or in their well ventilated cars? What if someone is allergic to or doesn't like dogs? I don't want dog hair (or worse) on my fruit and vegetables. Hypothetically: her dog stops, drops, and rolls in something objectionable. She picks him up all lovey and stinky. Then she handles the broccoli without washing her hands. Uugggghh!

Yeah, I know, humans without pets don't wash their hands either, but let's start by banning the over-anthropomorphization of pets. That would be a good non-Sizemore initiative, yes?

trurl9 — Thu Sept. 18th 6:53p.m.

re: leaving pets (or children) in well ventilated cars, is it regulated, is it safe?

re: the presence of companion pets in grocery stores and social places, and the laws or ordinances governing this and how they are made,
how they are enforced,

re: the roles of service animals

re hand washing: its history, its role in public health, do doctors/other personell do it in hospitals? and hospital induced infections, use of antibacterial soaps in homes and in workplaces, is hot water necessary? does a handwipe or alcohol wipe do the job? what germs do we get at checkout counters?

Elizabeth Allen — Tue Dec. 30th 12:06p.m.

re: analgesics--aspirin vs. acetominophen vs. ibuprofen--are these the only pain meds available? what about the use of arnica? and Traumeel? and what are the analgesics most often used for? headache or backache? what are other ways to deal with these problems in addition to analgesics? use of coffee, electrolytes, hot and cold packs, cranial sacral therapy (a technique of osteopathy) use of the mind, acupuncture, specifically applied muscle contraction

Here's my new topic: what are all the things you can do with toothpaste? I use it to polish silver.

Elizabeth Allen — Tue Dec. 30th 11:46a.m.

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